My students have not been challenged technologically in the classroom and need to be exposed to how technology can be used to apply math to problem-solving and critical thinking. Technology is critical to the application of high-school level mathematics to modeling in the real world.
My students come from a predominately rural background in a school that has limited technology resources.
The technology available is primarily old desktop computers that were donated. The students are largely unaware of the powerful tools available for applying mathematics in their lives.
My students are incredibly bright, but have reached a point of burn-out due to endless math drills on worksheets. The availability of Chromebooks would enable them to see the real-world applications of the math they are working on and allow for interactive, online practice.
My Project
My classes are all cooperative where students work together in groups. Each class is divided into four groups. I intend to assign each group a Chromebook. The Chromebook will be used daily for a variety of tasks: daily research (students look up information related to the lesson), practice (online, interactive practice utilizing Google Docs and Google Drive), modeling (students will use the interactive modeling software of Geogebra and TinkerCAD to create projects and model real-world situations), journaling (students will keep a journal regarding their thought processes related to math), and assessments (students will take daily and weekly formative assessments online with instant feedback and prompting. Summative assessments will also be online, but without prompting).
The addition of Chromebooks to my classroom would be a powerful instrument to make math come alive!
My students struggle with familiarity with technology beyond their phones.
Most have not used a computer with any regularity. The addition of the Chromebooks would increase that familiarity with technology.
In addition, my students have not been exposed to the application side of mathematics. Most of their exposure has been limited to math drills on worksheets. I plan to make extensive use of modeling software so that my students can see that math is a real-world skill, not just abstract.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Peyton and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.