I teach Language Arts at an urban middle school that serves a diverse population. Most of our students have limited access to computers at home, so it falls on the schools to try to prepare them for a very high tech world.
Every day, 120 students travel through my Language Arts classroom where I have only two outdated school issued computers and one recently donated HP notebook computer. Our middle school library has only a limited supply of laptops with which to supply the entire school. One of our two computer labs is undergoing a major renovation, so none of my students receive computer classes as an elective this year. I guess this is really a moot point. Get the picture? The students from our urban Middle School are not getting the skills that they need to compete with their more affluent peers. These limitations are not fair, but I don't despair. I believe that if my students have a level paying field, they will become less discouraged and strive to do better in school, perhaps moving on to college some day. Things can get better, but only with your help.
My students would greatly benefit from one additional HP Probook to use in our Writing Center. We recently had one donated and my students went wild over it! I have long been a Hewlett Packard customer and this HP did not disappoint, except for one thing, it is almost impossible for all 120 student to get equal time using it. Our new HP Probook is much more up to date than the two ancient school issued computers we have and it has all the bells and whistles that my students need in this ever changing technological world. Because the Notebook is portable, it can be moved with ease for group work as well as presentations using the Smart Board and Power Point. This vital piece of equipment will be a major plus when we collaborate with the librarian to learn about Cyber Safety in preparation for our yearlong author Wiki Project. An added bonus is that our ELL students will be able to sit with the computer and use software that translates into English so that they may complete their assignments as they learn their new language.
Adding another notebook will bring our total number of computers to four, and I believe this is a step in the right direction. The possibilities for this tool are endless and the best part is it can all begin with you. As most teachers will agree, it's vital for students to have paper and pencil knowledge in terms of writing, but they must also know how to translate that knowledge into computer language.
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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 Mrs. Kieran and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
