High school students that are deprived of 21st century technology are left behind in today's world. Education is becoming more technology oriented as students gain access to online interactive math websites, educational videos, and YouTube mathematicians.
My classroom is part of a public, urban school with a diverse student population, including unprivileged and affluent students jumbled together in a single learning environment.
Although we have a functional facility, school funding has been cut systematically, increasing class sizes and decreasing the resources available for teachers to utilize. Students are confined to the lessons of the classroom, unaware of the applications math has outside of school walls. With students finding mathematics to be limited in scope rather than a tool which can be utilized today. I recently saved up enough money to buy an iPad2, after using the same computer in my classroom for the last 7 years. However I do not have the money to buy the supplies to be able to use the iPad2 in my classroom to make my students' education come to life.
My Project
My students are dedicated to learning by applying themselves as they do in class every day, working hard to understand the rigor of upper level mathematics, but are becoming increasingly unaware of the vast math community outside of school. If given the access to a wealth of math games and applications and programs available through the iPad 2, then this can have a lasting impact on my students' education. It's the student's job to be ready to learn, but it's our job as teachers to give them the resources to learn. Research proves that students are highly motivated by technology, and when they are excited and engaged, many will understand the material better. I've downloaded many math applications that students can use to practice math skills. With an iPad 2 I will be able to enhance my teaching as compared with using a white board, exposing my students to the treats of technology.
My goal is to have students see the vitality of math in everyday life.
Students need to understand the fundamentals of algebra and calculus while being able to apply what I teach them to the outside world, or what I taught would be useless. Please aid me in my hope of making our classrooms part of the high-tech world in which there is an abundance of knowledge for students to sink into.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. French-Galan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.