My students need tablets to build their 21 century skills through robotics!
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Holly's classroom raised $727
This project is fully funded
My Students
I teach second grade at a rural traditional public school to the most enthusiastic learners so far north it snows in April! Our district has over 60% free/reduced lunch and a high Native American population. The region's job opportunities are in agriculture and logging which limits the opportunities of those who wish to remain in their town in a different profession. Having relocated twice in my life from outside San Francisco, California and Denver, Colorado, I recognize the impact of our geography which limits access otherwise afforded to rural communities outside large cities.
For two years I've worked to develop a robotics program at the elementary level to develop thinking and skills to open new doors to the future of our world.
I currently use Lego WeDo2 kits and Sphero SPRK+ to teach robotics and coding. These tablets will help me teach coding because they will be in my classroom (instead of shared with our K-5 community).
My Project
Gidgets, widgets and gazmos are fun and entertaining but I make the art of robotics a pool of learning. Each Thursday afternoon I teach robotics to second grade students through our team's "switch" process.
Every second grade student at our school cycles through three week rotations of robotics, watercolor painting and music.
I've worked to write grants and fund devices (Lego WeDo2 and Sperhro SPRK+) and desperately need tablets for my students.
Tablets take less space which is precious when young students are building. Additionally, tablets are intuitive for our students eager to touch screens. The drag and drop process of a track pad will be antiquated by the time these students enter high school which further draws me toward tablets instead of Chromebooks. Though I prefer Apple products, I recognize a significant price difference with the competition. Without compromising the needs for our robotics products we can save significant money and reach our goal sooner.
I am writing multiple grants to meet our tablet need which is a total of 8.
In the year I've been teaching robotics to second grade students I've noticed significant growth in students who struggle with traditional learning and academics. One student who receives special resources is now engaged in learning across all content areas and making measurable growth.
Robotics is intriguing for the students and the playing field is fairly level for these students. it's a delight to challenge students of all abilities to persevere, problem solve, communicate and grow!
Our high school robotics team just competed in the World Championship and I aim to build a robotics program at the elementary level to feed into our middle and high school teams. This will strengthen our students and open opportunities.
Half 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
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