It is my job as an educator to create problem-solving citizens that think globally. In elementary school, it can be difficult to pique and keep students' interest in topics outside of their immediate world. Technology is a great way to stimulate and broaden my students' thinking.
My students attend an elementary school in an urban setting.
Our school is extremely diverse, both culturally and economically, with 80% of our students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, 30% are learning English as a second language and 30% qualify for Special Education. While more and more of my students have access to smart phones and tablets, they are not harnessing the power and potential of technology to expand their universe.
My goal as their teacher is to teach them how to use technology to foster their love of learning and enable them to be successful and innovative in life. As Malcolm Gladwell proved in his book Outliers, no one is a success story on their own and even Bill Gates would not be who he is today without the access to technology he was provided in school. Access to technology and information is key. My job is to provide my students with this and introduce them to ways it can be used to expand their worlds beyond video games and social media websites.
My Project
Science is often relegated to boring paint-by-the-numbers kits that don't allow students the power to really explore on their own. We are trying to change that in our 5th grade this year by creating a unit that will use the inquiry method to explore the energy we use, how it affects people and the environment, and possible alternative fuel sources. The robotics kits will be integrated into this Science unit by having students explore and attempt to solve real world problems. As a team, students will come up with and revise their plans and theories for what will and will not work as they build a robot for a specific purpose. They will then work as a team to run their robot on an alternate source of fuel of their choosing. This will require them to use the scientific process to come up with a hypothesis and test it. This will build critical social and teamwork skills as students work together to design their robots and explore alternative means besides electricity.
Your donations will provide an experience that I can guarantee 100% of my students will find motivating, exciting and challenging.
This learning experience, that they would not otherwise have access to while attending a Title I school with limited budget support, will allow them to think across domains and beyond the cookie cutter curriculum that so many low-income schools are subjected to due to government mandates because of low standardized test scores.
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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