My students need 10 new digital handheld microscopes to replace our outdated ones that don't work with our updated computers anymore. Isn't technology interesting?
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Terrazas's classroom raised $573
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.
My Students
Imagine the disappointment in my students' faces when we plugged in our handheld microscopes to our recently updated computers and nothing happened! After all the buildup I had created, we became the victims of the unrelenting advance of technology.
My students are all first or second-generation immigrants in Texas still struggling with the realities of a new country and different language.
Coming from very hard-working but, maybe precisely because of it, mostly absent parents, they rely on the school to provide even the most basic education.
Our school is the center of their world, and it's here where they eat at least two of their daily meals, here where they do their homework in the afternoon and here where they find a safer place to play afterschool.
Most of my students don't have access to a computer or Internet or similar technologies at home, so experiencing digital media and hardware in the classroom is their only contact to the realities in the modern workplace.
My students are very eager and curious. They learn fast and ask for more. Without having ever done it before, they are are soon creating PowerPoint presentations, exchanging academic information with me through sites like Edmodo and operating my Smartboard.
My Project
Having used handheld digital microscopes before in my class, I have seen firsthand the reaction and impact they have on students' learning.
They are able to see, up close, the features in a mealworm's larvae face and/or body and predict/compare to those of an adult specimen and thus get a better understanding of the mechanics of metamorphosis.
They can compare different types of soil by observing individual fragments and making observations about their properties and possible uses and then be amazed by also comparing salt and sugar and realizing salt is a mineral!
They can observe the parts of a plant from up close and summarize their functions, which is much more useful that just looking at the illustrations in a book.
In summary, these inexpensive microscopes are invaluable hands-on tools which expand my students' learning experience.
Having handheld digital microscopes connected to a computer gives my students a more direct, visual and objective link to science in a way in which books, videos and pictures simply can't.
Instead of being just told about it, students discover properties, observe similarities and differences and are able to make conclusions, generalizations and predictions. These simple tools transform them into better thinkers.
More than three‑quarters of 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
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Terrazas and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
