Just Give Me the Light: Projecting the Future Through Education
The cost of an LCD Projector is $2329, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Tan's classroom raised $2,222
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
One of the most challenging things to do as a teacher in an inner city school is to make the education engaging and meaningful for the students. Due to systemic issues, schools in similar areas are mandated to teach "one size fits all" scripted programs that the local school districts have invested billions of dollars into. Yet, with all that money, these programs do not account for the students' individual, critical, and cultural needs. Every year, I have my students (ranging from fourth to fifth grade) evaluate the mandated programs only to have a resounding complaint about how boring the material is. One of the reasons for my popularity in the community, with the students, and the school is through my creativity and and time given to "enhance" or supplement the learning curriculum.
Unfortunately, my personal anecdotes of classroom and curricular struggles occur everywhere in similar schools. At my school, located in South Los Angeles, resources are always an issue. The message is clear that students must learn and achieve, but the only tools we are guaranteed to accomplish this task are the same mandated programs that the students dread. Everything else, from paper to necessary school supplies are never truly automatic despite their necessity. One of the unsung measures of a good teacher is their ability to be resourceful.
In this day and age where teachers are competing for the attention and engagement of their students, it is necessary to take education and teaching to the "next level". Paper, pencil, and books are being refused for video, music, and games. In order to engage today's students, one must present the type of stimuli that they are engrossed in.
To help combat this issue, the classroom could really utilize an LCD projector for a plethora of things. At its core, the projector would be used on a frequent basis to help teach lessons. You can bring vocabulary lessons to life using and projecting Power Point presentations. Online movies from educational sites can be displayed to the classroom to connect the learning to real life instances. In teaching chemistry (even at the fifth grade content standard level) the use of an LCD projector can go a very long way for students to conceptualize abstract concepts like atoms and atomic bonding.
Yet as useful as the projector can be on the simplest level, its uses can be extended toward student creativity, academic and personal growth, and student action. Students would use the LCD projector to create their own presentations on Power Point for the entire school and other venues as well (like UCLA).
My class, consisting of approximately 35 fifth grade students at a South Los Angeles elementary school, will use the LCD projector to learn and produce learning moments as student teachers and researchers. The uses are endless as my students will use the LCD projector for performances, showcase video productions to the school, present their student projects to other classes, as well as receive varying stimuli and media in their lessons.
In this day and age, where technology and multimedia rule, the competition for students' attention is very difficult. The school I teach in, and others like mine, have historically been disenfranchised and neglected, yet continue to be scrutinized for their "failures". Enhancing teacher creativity with the use of technology can help create future urban intellectuals, academics, problem solvers, and change agents.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Tan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
