Mrs. Anderson's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 11

• Augmented Reality Sandbox

  Funded Dec 30, 2015

  Thank you for helping fund the Augmented Reality Sandbox. We are appreciative of your willingness to help us make this project happen for our class. The donation of the materials to build the virtual reality device will make teaching and understanding groundwater, topography, and watersheds more engaging and memorable.

  Learning starts with intriguing ideas and passionate teachers. Learning is further enhanced when technology is used to give learners new experiences. The Augmented Reality Sandbox is the epitome of using technology to engage students of all learning styles and to make learning memorable.

  I'm excited and blessed to know that there are individuals willing to support STEM education. We greatly appreciate your help!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Moticam X WiFi-Enabled Microscope Camera

  Funded Dec 16, 2015

  It's amazing what a small piece of technology can do for the excitement and engagement in the classroom. This week my students had the opportunity to design water filters to filter water we collected from the creek running by our school. Inside the classroom, we used the Moticam to take before and after pictures of the water samples. The students were amazed at how their water looked under the microscope after being filtered.

  Earlier in the year we read a book called "A Long Walk to Water." While reading the books, many of my students felt upset and sad that the characters in the book did not have the same availability to resources as them. Many of my students stated over and over again that the book made them sad, and that they wanted to do something to help. As a result of looking at the water samples under the microscope, students became even more concerned by the microscopic waterborne species that could cause illness if consumed. It made them even more concerned about the negative impacts of poor drinking water conditions.

  Using the Moticam with water samples, brought the story of "A Long Walk to Water" to life. The new technology will continue to help students understand the microscopic world and how it impacts their daily lives. Thanks again for your contributions to this project. I know my students will forever be grateful for this learning opportunity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Building Environmental Perspective

  Funded Sep 16, 2015

  I am astounded by the emotional connection my students made to the content and people discussed in the book "A Long Walk to Water". While reading the books, many of my students felt upset and sad that the characters in the book did not have the same availability to resources as them, nor did they have the same educational opportunities. Many of my students stated over and over again that the book made them sad, and that they wanted to do something to help.

  While reading the book, students had many opportunities to reflect on the events. For example, students recorded common themes that emerged, challenges the characters encountered, and solutions that could be engineered to help the characters overcome the challenges. After reading the book, the students were asked to create a slide in response to the following question, "Clean water is still a global problem. How does the story of Salva and Nya empower you to be a part of the solution?" The slide brought to light the thoughts they had in response to the events in the book; many very powerful!

  Incorporating the A Long Walk to Water into my classroom has helped students think about the challenges that are faced by individuals every day. The reading has helped surface ideas for how they can help individuals in Africa, as well as educate members of their community about access to clean water and ways to help. Thanks again for your contributions to this project. I know my students will forever be grateful for this learning opportunity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Coffee Shop Classroom

  Funded Aug 21, 2015

  It was an awesome experience to see the faces of my students light up when they entered my room for the first time. Even though my room already had different types of seating, the purchase of the new chairs helped further evolve the seating choices in my classroom. The flexible environment allows my students to make daily choices about their learning based on their physical and emotional needs. Watching them make these choices, I am reminded daily about the power of flexible seating and student choice.

  In class, students try to arrive to class before anyone else to get the best seats. As a result, tardies in my classes have dramatically decreased. When tardies are lessened so are the distractions, which leaves more time for learning to take place.

  I am continually inspired by the generosity of our donors. My students are grateful daily to be able to work in an environment that does not scream "school," but an environment that reflects our style of learning. We love how it creates a more cooperative and flexible classroom where learning can take place.

  We are sincerely grateful for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Blended Learners Need Earbuds

  Funded Jul 15, 2015

  Thank you for contributing to our project to purchase the 72 pairs of Juicy Headphones for my students. I am appreciative of your willingness to help us make this project happen for our class. The headphones have helped make our classroom a more focused learning environment. They have allowed students who need music to focus or need to be able to listen to instruction videos multiple times to do so without disturbing other students.

  The headphones have also allowed students to explore visuals. For example, while exploring their earth science Discovery Education Techbook they are able to seamlessly interact with both the written content and the videos that accompanying the information. This helps engage all types of learners in my classroom by taking them from written to visual, then to hands-on activities in the science lab.

  I'm excited and blessed to know that there are individuals willing to support our non-traditional classroom. We greatly appreciate your help!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 4 other donors.

• Add Volume to our Seating

  Funded May 5, 2015

  My students were shocked when they walked into our room and there were fluffy bean bag chairs to sit in. With the purchase of the foam, I was able to beef up our bean bag chairs and put them back into the classroom as another seating choice for students. The furniture has helped evolve our classroom environment from comfy to plush. I am so impressed with how the addition of the bean bags has helped some of my students as they navigate earth science curriculum and grow as learners.

  In class, students try to arrive to class before anyone else arrives to get the best bean bag chair. They use the bean bags for comfort, and our classroom ottomans and mini-tables to put their HP Streams on to do their work. Due to the fact they are bean bags, the seating arrangement is flexible and versatile. Students can manipulate the environment based on their needs for the day.

  We are awe-inspired by the generosity of our donors. My students are grateful daily to be able to work in an environment that does not scream "school," but an environment that reflects our style of learning. We love how it creates a more cooperative and flexible environment for learning.

  We are sincerely grateful for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Rolling Code Into our Classroom

  Funded Nov 5, 2014

  From the moment we unpacked the Sphero balls, students were excited. They started talking the projects they'd design and how they were going to incorporate programming into our astronomy course. As a result of the discussion, students decided to incorporate their knowledge about the surface of Mars and the programming capabilities of the Sphero balls. The project they designed was called Mars Sphero Rovers. They spent two weeks researching space rovers, designing rovers to fit around the Sphero balls, promoting them via green screen, and programming the "mission" course. The part they found most difficult was the programming portion. We had several objects the Sphero ball had to "pick-up" in order to complete the mission. The students had to troubleshoot how to navigate the course and reach within 3 inches of each object. This took a lot of trial and error, and some mathematical calculations too! At the end of the project, they felt accomplished and decided to publish a collaborative blog post on their learning experiences. You can view the blog post here: http://triscicurious.blogspot.com/2015/01/mars-sphero-rovers.html

  This project was one of the most engaging projects we have worked on all year. Students were excited to learn to code and how programming applies to the study of astronomy. I even had one girl step out of her comfort zone and learn to drive the rover. She was very hesitant at first, but ended up telling me this is the best and most memorable project she had done in her high school career.

  You can also view how we incorporated it into the Hour of Code week via a blog post on the NCCE website: http://blog.ncce.org/2014/12/11/montanas-jessi-anderson-triscicurious-hour-code-science-classroom/

  Thank you so much for making this project a reality for my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Mericos Foundation and 3 other donors.

• A New Environment

  Funded Jun 4, 2014

  My students were shocked when they walked into our room and saw a classroom where desks had been removed and replaced by plush furniture. The furniture has changed how our classroom culture and environment has shaped. I'm impressed with how my students are growing and learning in our student friendly classroom.

  In class, students try to arrive to class before anyone else arrives to get the best seats and to use the purple ottoman. They use the ottoman for propping their iPads up, to put their feet up, and as a seat. It has been a very versatile piece of furniture as it can be moved and manipulated based on students' needs.

  We are awe-inspired by the generosity of our donors. My students are grateful daily to be able to work in an environment that does not scream "school," but and environment that reflects our style of learning. We love how it creates a more cooperative and flexible environment for learning.

  We are sincerely grateful for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Google Glass for Science Education

  Funded Mar 21, 2014

  When Glass arrived, I had a swarm of students infiltrate my classroom. As they peeled back the frosted paper to reveal Glass, all eyes were on the device. I heard a lot of "wows" and "these are awesome" come from my students. There were lots of smiles on faces, as well as some scared, "I don't know what I'm doing" faces as they slid them on. They were all eager to try them on and took turns by passing them along to one another.

  In class, students have been using Glass to provide a 1st perspective look at our science classroom. We've recorded rocket and catapult launches, rocket building, labs and demonstrations, and everyday interactions in class. The students have learned to use them to find information during assignments and even to translate sentences from English to Spanish. Some of the most exciting footage we've captured are things that happen daily, but weren't ever documented.

  This device has been important for helping us reach our classroom goal of widening our classroom audience. It has forced students to reflect on their learning, and share their thinking and learning processes. We've been able to share more about our classroom since March than I've shared in the last six years of teaching. It has pushed the importance of innovation, digital citizenship, and using technological devices for learning. Incorporating Glass into our science classroom has been one of the most impactful tools for learning and teaching.

  We are sincerely grateful for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Surround Sound Planetarium!

  Funded Oct 25, 2012

  I am truly inspired by the support that has been given for this project! The planetarium was missing a key element, a sound system, and all of you have made this possible! I can't even begin to explain how ecstatic our class is!

  The sound system that you have funded is being used to share astronomy knowledge with students' peers and elementary students. The sound system is allowing students to create planetarium shows that come alive for all audiences. Through the use of this technology, my astronomy students are able to share what they have learned about our world and universe.

  I am incredibly excited to put up the planetarium again in the fall and share the love astronomy with more students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson