Disengagement has become something of a common denominator across our school district over the last few years. We have found that starting as early as elementary school, it has been increasingly difficult to get children to school on a regular basis. There have been students in my classes over the last five years who have missed more than 30 days, which equals more than 15% of the school year. A number of factors have been found to cause this including broken homes, socioeconomic factors, as well as emotional barriers. In our school, we also have a very large population of students with special needs. Their learning barriers sometimes lower confidence and cause disengagement. What can we do as teachers to ensure that our students are engaged in those critical moments throughout their educational life?
In my classroom, I have found that technology has been incredible to personalize learning and connect with students who may otherwise find it difficult to engage with our skills and concepts.
In our district, however, funding is limited and access to technology becomes difficult.
My Project
These requested Fire 7 Tablets will provide an immense opportunity for personalized learning in my classroom. My population of students is very diverse, which means that differentiation is very important.
This new technology means that we can personalize learning for every student and find new ways to connect with them.
These tablets will allow my students to access websites such as Razkids, NewsELA, and Epic, which are tailored to their personal needs in ELA. In addition, we will be able to tap into their creativity by using the technology for more inquiry-based learning in social studies!
This is one of several projects in our school to fight student disengagement, and my colleagues and I are collaborating to fight disengagement by personalizing our students' education with technology and trying to connect with them on a daily basis.
We have seen several instances of absenteeism and lack of focus throughout our school, which can be attributed to many different factors. I had several students last year who missed a day or more a week, on average. However, I am confident that by using technology to tap into each students' personal learning styles and skills, we will be able to find new ways to keep them motivated and engaged in their education.
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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. Carlson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.