My students need 6 Kindle Fire HD 8 tablets to utilize a drag and drop coding interface that will control the 6 Sphero SPRK+ that we just earned from a local grant.
Our school is located in a rural area in VA surrounded by military bases. Our school is a Title I school, meaning a majority of our students come from a low socioeconomic status. Specifically, 30% of our students qualify for free or reduced rate lunch. We have a high military family presence, which welcomes a lot of turnover in student population. Many families come to our district after they retire from the military as well as to settle down and raise their family in a quiet and small town.
STEM Lab is still a considered a new special for students in grades K - 6 to attend each week.
We are just finishing our second school year. I am very excited to be the first STEM teacher in our building, however, we are still in need of many supplies to make our class run a little more smoothly and provide the most exciting lessons for our students. Additionally, I would like to provide all the students with the skills needed to be successful in the world in which we live. While our district has been able to provide some supplies, we still have a huge wish list of needed supplies.
My Project
Kindle Fires will spark a love of learning computer science skills in the STEM Lab. For many students in our school community, computer science sounds like a scary subject that they don't want to attempt. It is my goal as a STEM teacher to engage the students in meaningful tasks that not only include computer science skills but also integrate core subjects like reading, math, and science. Bringing exciting hands-on materials to my students has allowed me to get students interested in the exciting field of computer science while also covering core reading, math, and science skills.
Getting students hooked on learning new material can be difficult, but when students are holding a Kindle Fire 8 and controlling a spherical robot utilizing code they have written it is difficult to not be interested.
Our class has been fortunate to be the recipients of a grant to purchase 6 Sphero SPRK+ robots, however they require a tablet to control them. Kindle Fires will allow my students to get hands on experience writing code for their Sphero SPRK+ while also allowing them become problem solvers and critical thinkers as they complete tasks related to their current projects.
Adding Kindle Fires to our STEM Lab will allow more students to have access to the internet for research on projects.
Taking photos or videos of student projects can become the job of each group so that I will be able to focus my attention on being the facilitator of instruction rather than the photographer or videographer. By learning these 21st Century skills, students can learn how to create meaningful presentations to share with classmates and parents.
Kindle Fires will SPARK an interest in coding, but will soon embrace other aspects of computer science as well.
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 Mrs. Richard and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
