On Friday March 13, 2020 I told my students to have a great weekend not realizing that was the last time that I would see them in person. You see while not every teenager and I click; there are more students than not that I would say are my kids. I am the teacher that gets called, emailed, texted to figure out why they’re skipping class, have a low grade, have been absent or more. We are a Title 1 school in a low-income community, but my students do not let their situations define them.
My students are the ones that have struggled with math their entire lives, but instead of just teaching math I also teach them grit laced with compassion and empathy.
I tell them they have to want something because they want it bad enough to work for it, not because someone said they could be or have whatever they want. These are my kids. I talk about them, worry for them and I show up for them.
My students have done AMAZING things over the last few months, and they deserve nothing short of top notch materials and resources to enhance their digital learning experiences.
My Project
Teaching and learning in the virtual world has been a shift for everyone. My students have done an amazing job at adapting and transitioning to all the curveballs being thrown at them, but as I reflect on my teaching practices during distance learning...I know that I can do better for my kids. Math is a very visual subject, especially to those that struggle and without the proper technology during this time, I am not able to provide my students that interactive, real-time assistance that I am able to when we are in the classroom.
This iPad will allow me to use touchscreen capabilities that will give me the opportunity to show math problems being solved, in real-time and will allow me to be more accessible to students who have questions that can't be answered verbally!
This will undoubtedly increase student's success with their distance and digital learning. I will also be able to use this technology to begin to record asynchronous learning videos for student use with this project.
Looking towards the fall and the unknown, this project will allow me and my students to continue digital learning and continue that interactive experience regardless of what our daily and weekly schedule looks like.
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 Ms. Karpinski and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
