Mr. Stock's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 6

• Say What? Digital Recorders for News Reporters

  Funded Sep 20, 2023

  The voice recorders we purchased allow our students to have a voice. They are able to share their ideas with their world through podcasts and news stories. Many student love them because they aren't as bulky to carry around as their computers and can conduct interviews in a wide range of places.

  The newspaper kids love interviewing other students. They love the opportunity to talk and share ideas and interests. I have a couple of kids who go down to the cafeteria almost every day to ask students trivia questions and this-or-that questions. They have a blast getting to be real news reporters.

  One of my leadership classes enjoys using the recorders to practice their conversation skils. They record themselves talking and then can listen back and evaluate how the conversation went. They are able to reflect and improve, because they can hear opportunities to interject more questions or spend more time listening to their classmates.

  Overall, these have been useful in a variety of ways, and I'm continuing to find more opprotunities to use them.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock

  This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares.

• Learning at Their Own Pace

  Funded Nov 10, 2018

  Thank you for helping my students get headphones for the classroom. This project has had so many different applications. For starters, I have recorded myself reading chapters of books to my students, so even if I can't always be with them reading them stories, they always have a chance to get a book read to them. It also helps students who struggle with some of the more challenging books we read. Plus, they love to be able to hear the random voices I give to the characters. They are also able to watch video lessons at their own pace, so I can truly personalize learning in the classroom.

  The headphones have also helped me in the classroom. I have started recording a podcast to share what we are doing in the classroom with teachers across the state. The headphones allow me to edit the recordings easily and hear a crisp clean sound from the interviews. It's helping to spread the love of teaching to people everywhere.

  Finally, it is allowing my students to shut out different distractions around the classroom and focus in on their school work. They are able to get a lot more accomplished when they aren't distracted by every noise in the classroom. And they look cool while they are using them which is HUGE in middle school.

  Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock

• Can You Hear Me Now? Broadcasting Student Voices Through Podcasting

  Funded Mar 27, 2018

  I first introduced these microphones to my newspaper students and they were thrilled. They couldn't wait for me to take them out of the box and to start using them. Not only do the microphones give them a professional sound to their podcasts, but they also look really cool. In middle school that's a big deal.

  My 6th graders were also extremely excited to use them. One group recorded a radio broadcast about the book they were reading. My homeroom group recorded a podcast summarizing the weekly lessons in their classes. We were then able to share that with the rest of our team.

  Overall, it's been amazing to give students access to technology that amplifies their voices. These microphones help connect them to the outside world and gives their thoughts and ideas a way to get to a real world audience. Coming up we will be recording podcasts about topics of interest. I can't wait to see what they will create!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock

  This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 3 other donors.

• Robotics Team Needs a Better Bot

  Funded Mar 10, 2016

  As a teacher, it is my responsibility to teach the academic skills necessary to be a successful adult. However, it is also equally important for me to teach my students life skills that will help them be a positive member of their families, communities, careers and any other place they may interact with others.

  The EV3 robot kit my students received helped them learn a tremendous amount of skills that will help them in every aspect of their lives.

  Academically, they learned how to write a functioning computer program. They learned about angles, velocity, and drag. They learned to measure distance and found the difference between measuring for tire rotation vs. measuring general robot distance.

  They also learned engineering skills in their robot design. The group had to decide on a wide body design vs. a narrow tall body design (ultimately they decided on a wider body for a sturdier ride and easier arm attachments). They also learned how to create functioning arms, claws, pusher attachments, and hooks to catch various objects.

  More importantly they learned skills that will help them throughout the rest of their lives regardless of what career path they choose. They learned how to work together as a team. Their work on the robot was in preparation for their First Lego League robot competition. They had to work together to agree on a design that would complete the most challenges at their competition. They also learned how to disagree appropriately. Many times during the building process they had differing ideas on how best to build the robot. Instead of arguing they learned the art of the team vote and also learned the value of compromise.

  They cheered each other on, offered encouragement when they faced challenges, and came together as an unstoppable team.

  The best part was watching some of the quieter students develop confidence and eventually emerge as strong leaders. It was also great watching the older students teach the younger students how to accomplish different tasks. Very rarely did I offer anything other than encouragement and guiding questions. They completed every task and every challenge as a team.

  Thanks to your donation they won the Core Values Inspiration Award at their first competition and were invited to move on to the First Lego League Regional competition in January.

  If you would like to see more about their competition, check out the following website: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge#block-block-19”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock

  This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 2 other donors.

• Maker Space: A New Generation Of Tinkerers And Creators

  Funded Sep 5, 2014

  When the materials started arriving it was like Christmas. Every couple of days a new box would arrive, and I always made sure to open it in front of the kids. They were so excited and intrigued each time I brought something new out. At first they didn't really know what to expect. I had a growing mound of cool gadgets. And they wanted to know when they would get to play with them. I did a few quick overviews of the materials and then offered them free reign to tinker with the supplies during homeroom and after school.

  Now I have kids constantly working on various projects. There are projects tucked into every nook and cranny in my room. After school I have kids begging me to stay a little longer. Some days there are kids here over an hour after school working on projects. Here are some of the things the kids have created:

  • A cardboard piano

  • A poster size video game controller that controls a Pac Man game

  • A piano made out of bananas

  • Bongos made out of sunglasses

  • Two girls turned a metal cart in my room into a controller to control my PowerPoint slides

  • A Mr. Stock operation game (this project also motivated her to learn computer programming and create a video game interface that keeps score and plays a recording of Mr. Stock yelling every time the player loses)

  Each project the kids create is getting bigger and more elaborate. This project is teaching the kids about creativity, problem solving, collaboration, time management, electrical circuitry, conductivity, usage of various tools, and perseverance. It has encouraged kids to learn computer programming to work with their creations. But most importantly the kids are having fun! The smile on their faces and the pride they have when one of their creations succeeds is priceless. This project is developing the engineers, scientists, and big thinkers of the future.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock

• Podcasting: Giving Students A Voice

  Funded Jul 10, 2012

  Your donation has given my students the opportunity to record a variety of different podcasts for the school newspaper. The microphones you helped purchase sound great. The students love hearing themselves. They have used the technology to record announcements for the school as well as a variety of news broadcasts.

  Thanks for giving my students the opportunity to express themselves in a new and unique way.

  Next semester the students will be doing even more with the recording equipment. Thanks to your generous investment in education, my students will be sharing their knowledge with the world.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stock