One Mouse Per Laptop!

Funded Dec 22, 2019

Thanks to your generosity our students have ease of access toward computer science content. Before we received the class set of USB mice, coding on our small Lenovo notebooks with the trackpad was tedious, frustrating, and sometimes even painful on those poor little fingers. Being able to point and click with the mouse has helped us to stop thinking about the tool and start thinking about the work we are doing with it.

On the first day of opening my 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students were surprised by how "fast the arrow moves!" (This setting could be adjusted in the laptop cursor sensitivity levels, but they thought this was fun.) It also helped them to see how a PC has the "left-click" and "right-click" functions. The touchpad had one too many elements combined to show left and right. Having a mouse with clearly delineated "left" and "right" buttons helped us to handle computer input more efficiently. Our 2nd and 1st graders were very excited to have a more mechanical device for information input. As efficient as these touch screens are, there's something to be said for pushing a button!

A handful of students, especially those who have not been exposed to technology in their personal lives, would be frustrated to the point of quitting without the mouse. A 3rd-grade girl, who is an English language learner and has only been in the country for 2 years, would sigh and slam the computer shut. Now, she is finishing my basic Scratch assignments so quickly that she is able to work on original projects of her own design. She absolutely loves coding. Honestly, donors, this gift is invaluable to our students' education. I wouldn't be surprised if your generosity just inspired our next Grace Hopper. Thank you so much. Your gift is appreciated every day by so many.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Hannon