Tech Craving 4th Grade Detroiters

My Students

I meet students where they are. I enter their world, speak their language and adapt my teaching to meet their needs. That is what my classroom looks like. I push them to their limits, but I do so in their world. Our class quote is, "We are defined by what we do when we've reached our limits."

My school is located in one of the poorest areas of Detroit.

My students crave for education that matters to them. They love school, in fact our school is the most stable environment in their life. Here they know they can count on their teachers, I can't afford to let them down. I recently visited some schools in Pittsburgh that have the same type of inner city families as the one I work at in Detroit. These schools have proved that raising scores and helping students be successful can be achieved even in the inner city. But the one thing they have that my school does not is adequate technological resources. The teachers' room that I am aspiring to be like had multiple computers in his room, access to cameras for student use and he used all of this to get 100% of his students to proficiency in ELA and math. Right now I have 42 students in my classroom and 35 of my students came to me below grade level. My school does not have the money to purchase any type of extra technology.

My Project

With these four extra Chromebooks in my room my students will be able to participate in programs such as Edmodo. Edmodo is an educational website that takes the ideas of a social network and refines them and makes it appropriate for a classroom. Using Edmodo, students and teachers can reach out to one another and connect by sharing ideas, problems, and helpful tips. Parents have told me that since learning how to use Edmodo, students have gone home and started doing the OPTIONAL homework on Edmodo instead of turning on their favorite TV show or video game. I even get a text on my phone the second they submit an assignment and I can respond with feedback within the minute they turn something in. The students love the instant feedback. It also helps keep students accountable in the classroom. In addition to Edmodo, students will learn how to create bullying PSA videos, safety PSA videos and learn how to be safe online. But I just can't do these things without the technology I need.

Once again, we live in a technological world, it is not going away.

Bringing in these 4 Chromebooks will be life changing. We all hear of the kids in the news who didn't know how to handle situations online, every student who waltzes through my room throughout the years will be met at their level with lessons on how to be safe online and how to use technology to advance their educational life. In addition to all this they will be learning how to read, write and socially interact with each other.