My students need technology (two Chromebooks) to use in the classroom. We are attempting to go paperless and use Google Apps to share/ collaborate our data via scientific investigations.
Students are learning skills needed for high school and college. We conduct research to be used as a basis for making hypothetical predictions in our investigations with the natural world. I would like my students to be proficient with using Goggle Apps/Internet so they are ready for COLLEGE!
Students are from Brooklyn, NY.
Well, for that matter many of them are transplants from other parts of the world. This classroom is diverse, with many students speaking their parents' primary language at home, while learning English at school and in their social lives outside of school. My school culture is changing as we continue to expand our Special Education programs/ELL programs. Our school receives inadequate funding for technology and we haven't seen a new server or computer since 2007! We are way behind in the technology front. As classroom teachers we receive a meager $80 annually for classroom supplies. Through Donors Choose we can potentially give our students the skills needed to be high school, college, and career ready. The classroom contains 34 students with one third of our students classified as 'high-needs' students with learning disabilities. Many students lack technology access in their homes and therefore they lack basic technology skills and proficiency.
My Project
Our students will learn the basic skills needed to use a computer effectively; which includes the methods of constructing professional email etiquette, sharing and collaborating with Goggle Docs, basic keyboarding skills, saving and organizing files in Goggle Drive, building bibliographies and citing textual evidence within their texts.
Students will use these Chrome Books in the classroom to conduct research effectively by finding credible/authoritative sources needed to construct background information, which in turn are used develop scientific investigations. Students will also be able to collect data from outside the classroom and upload this information as Citizen Science volunteers. The classroom textbooks are archaic and contain outdated scientific information. With the Internet at our disposal, we can access contains a wealth of current scientific literature. It also allows our students to not compete with the other classrooms to book library time to access the internet.
This donation will fundamentally change the way I teach.
It will allow my students to become scientists each day they walk through the door. We will ask the appropriate questions that require students to seek out the answers with technology, collecting and organizing this data with these computers, computing displays of their data, and developing answers to natural phenomenon. Through these investigations, I believe these events challenge my students and the process can really change them.
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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 Mr. Sandman and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.