My students need robotic arms, Raspberry Pis, Amazon Echo Dots, 3D printing filament, a graphics drawing tablet, LEGO blocks and battery packs to learn about robotics and accessibility!
"What are we learning today?" That's something that I hear from my students everyday before they even enter the classroom. No matter what kind of morning they've had, they come to school with an enthusiasm that never ceases to astonish me.
My students are dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic and bring out the best in everyone around them.
However, it's so easy to get lost in a search for a sense of belonging, due to living in a connected world. Technology provides so many incredible opportunities to improve life for ourselves and others, but things such as social media can be all-consuming due to the notion of constantly needing to be "liked." To focus on the positive side of technology, our classroom theme this year is "Likes vs. Love."
The children who walk through the doors of my class have so much to offer the world. I want them to see that putting a smile on someone's face by offering their help, support and love, is so much more meaningful than how many likes or views they get on a selfie or video they post online.
My Project
To start this school year, we watched a video of people who had received cochlear implants and were hearing sound for the first time. The emotion that we saw, helped foster a discussion about ways technology has improved lives and made things more accessible. We then talked about our computer lab and what students enjoy most here. The top response? Minecraft! So I posed a question to students. What if you had a limitation, be it a broken arm or something you were born with, that didn't allow you use of both hands to play Minecraft as the majority of us are able to do without a second thought? From that question, this project was born.
Students wanted to take something they loved and make it accessible to all who come into our lab.
They brainstormed and came up with the idea of using robotic arms, programming them to be voice controlled and 3D printing pieces that can hit keys or control a mouse. After some research, we decided to use OWI robotic arms, Raspberry Pi, Amazon Echo Dots, USB microphones and power banks to make our robotic arms portable and interactive.
We'll use Huion Giano tablets to sketch our ideas, filament to 3D print any pieces we need and LEGOs to build other parts. We'll then start connecting and programming everything. Now, I am not a programming expert but want to go through this process with my students to show that no matter your age, you can still fail. From that though, you can always learn and try again. With determination and our current plan, I know we'll make it work and students will get that amazing feeling that isn't garnered by getting "likes" but rather from helping and sharing love.
Huion Giano Wireless Graphic Drawing Tablet with 13.8-by-8.6 Inch Huge Work Surface and 8GB MicroSD Card - WH1409
• Amazon Business
$159.00
2
$318.00
Echo Dot (2nd Generation) - Black
• Amazon Business
$44.99
2
$89.98
Anker 20000mAh Portable Charger PowerCore 20100 - Ultra High Capacity Power Bank with 4.8A Output, PowerIQ Technology for iPhone, iPad & Samsung Galaxy & More - Black
• Amazon Business
$39.99
2
$79.98
OWI Robotic Arm Edge
• Amazon Business
$37.70
2
$75.40
Raspberry PI 3 Model B A1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU, 1GB RAM
• Amazon Business
$35.70
2
$71.40
OWI USB Interface for Robotic Arm
• Amazon Business
$34.95
2
$69.90
LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box 10698
• Amazon Business
$48.00
1
$48.00
HATCHBOX 3D PLA-1KG1.75-GLOW PLA 3D Printer Filament, Dimensional Accuracy +/- 0.05 mm, 1 kg Spool, 1.75 mm, Glow in the Dark
• Amazon Business
$23.99
2
$47.98
NinjaFlex TPU 3D Printing Filament - 3mm .75kg - SNOW
• Amazon Business
$43.99
1
$43.99
HATCHBOX 3D PETG-1KG1.75-YLW PETG 3D Printer Filament, Dimensional Accuracy +/- 0.05 mm, 1 kg Spool, 1.75 mm, Yellow
• Amazon Business
$24.99
1
$24.99
Amazon Echo Dot Case (fits Echo Dot 2nd Generation only) - Charcoal Fabric
• Amazon Business
$9.99
1
$9.99
Amazon Echo Dot Case (fits Echo Dot 2nd Generation only) - Sandstone Fabric
• Amazon Business
$9.99
1
$9.99
Kinobo - USB 2.0 Mini Microphone "Makio" Mic for Laptop/Desktop PCs - Skype / VOIP / Voice Recognition Software
• Amazon Business
$4.60
2
$9.20
Micro USB Cable Android, Covery 6 Pack (3x1ft, 3x4ft) Micro USB Cable High Speed USB 2.0 for Android Devices, Samsung Galaxy, Sony, Motorola and More (Common-6-Pack)
• Amazon Business
$8.99
1
$8.99
Materials cost
$907.79
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$13.62
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$951.41
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$167.90
Total project goal
$1,119.31
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$1,119.31
3 Donors
-$478.92
Donations toward project cost
-$478.33
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$0.59
match offer
-$556.57
Match offer toward project cost
-$473.08
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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. Avery and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
