Welcome Students to the USA with Virtual Ellis Island Tour
My students need a PC to power our donated Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset for a virtual Ellis Island "Welcome to the United States" tour.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Sidarous's classroom raised $1,223
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
"Everything... was taught hands-on with teachers who did prepare me well when it came to college, but I feel like CLHS should've had more focus in computers and online. I did not feel prepared for the work on computers." - alumni survey
Our school is a Ninth-Twelfth grade neighborhood public high school in a very large urban Midwestern district.
All of our students are Latino, and all of them come from low income families. Like many schools, we have limited resources, with a very limited number of computers shared with the entire school. Our students have very little background knowledge in the area of computers, and the majority do not have Internet-connected computers at home. Despite these barriers, our students are enthusiastic learners who are excited about gaining STEM skills, from science lab techniques to computer programming skills. Our district is one of the first in the nation to require ALL high school students to take a Computer Science course for graduation. Because of this, many of our students are now considering careers in STEM, and several have recently graduated with degrees ranging from Computer Science, Computer Animation, Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Zoology.
My Project
Many of our students are recent immigrants who are still learning things about our country that we take for granted. Many are homesick for their countries of origin, and many have confided in me about the fear they experience as new learners in an unfamiliar place.
We will be building Virtual Tours of the United States including important monuments and a "Welcome to the USA" tour of Ellis Island.
All students, especially ELL students and students from immigrant families, will experience the historic journey that many 20th century immigrants experienced and discuss the immigrant experience. This address of the need of our ESL and ELL families from immigrant and refugee families will help our students understand our country and feel welcome in our country and learning community.
Students in US History classes will use library resources to create a list of their most important sites in our history. Computer Science students will use computational thinking to determine the most efficient route between these monuments. Students in science classes will build a virtual tour using Google Earth technology. Our Code Club will use the Unity development environment to create a special welcome message for new immigrants.
This environment will also be useful in other classes, as we take virtual tours of the Galapagos islands, the inside of an animal cell, a simulation of the Apollo 11 mission, Arnswalde - a Polish town that was on the front line during World War II and the Roman Coliseum.
Nearly all 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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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. Sidarous and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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