Past projects 7
Light the Way to Learning with Paper Circuits
Funded Sep 23, 2023Thank you so very much for funding my project 'Light the Way to Learning with Paper Circuits'! I have introduced them with my Girls Who Code club and am looking forward to bringing it to my larger classes.
The first time each student made their LED light up they were so excited! They caught on very quickly to how they worked due to the excellent instructions with the kit and began making their own templates the second time we were using them. Given that many of them are talented artists, this has been a great outlet for them.
Just from these few activities, they have gained so much knowledge about how electrical circuits work. More importantly though, they are seeing how things like electrical circuits can be incorporated into something so different like their art!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 2 other donors.Headphones Are Essential
Funded Jun 15, 2023I am so excited to share with you that my project has been fully funded! Thank you so much for helping me to bring these headphones to my classroom. My students will be so happy to have access to them since not everyone has a set that will work with our devices. I really appreciate your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 2 other donors.Lift-Off to Launch Our Coding to New Heights!
Funded Oct 2, 2021Thank you so much for giving my students the opportunity to further their programming skills with these amazing kits! It took us a little more time than expected to get started with them but they are really loving them now. As they get more familiar with the curriculum, I can see their comfort level increasing as well as their ability to 'fail' and recover from that 'failure'. The hands-on nature of the kits and the step-by-step instructions really help them to realize that it's not as hard as they think it is.
A few days after we started using them one student said "Can I keep working on this next class?". When I told him he could, he was so excited! Other students are now seeing the cool things that he is doing and they are asking to use them more on their own and they are asking him for help which is so great to see as a teacher!
Thank you again for continuing to support teachers like me who want to give their students as many opportunities as possible. I couldn't do it without you all!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 4 other donors.All Hail the Mighty CodeBot and It’s Trusty Sidekick Python!
Funded Jun 14, 2021Thanks to all of you I was able to complete another incredible week with FiriaLabs at the Pathfinders Summer Institute! It was a long week but so worth it. I have become so much more comfortable with my coding in the Python coding language because of their teaching methods, the easy to follow curriculum, and the time I was given to practice. I am excited to bring what I have learned back to the classroom when we return in September along with the 4 additional robots.
The highlight of the week had to be when I finally got my virtual robot to turn towards a water bottle, drive forward, and knock it over! When I did this PD in February this part of the curriculum was only just starting to be built so I was excited to go through all of the available lessons this summer. This additional curriculum, which I was initially unaware was included, will allow students to to use either the physical or the virtual robot and access the virtual curriculum from home if they wanted to continue learning/practicing. Thanks again for your wonderful generosity, I am forever grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 7 other donors.CodeBots to the Rescue!
Funded Dec 1, 2020I am so thankful that I was able to participate in this incredible professional development opportunity again because of your generous support. It was a jam packed three days of learning but so worth it! I am so much more comfortable with the curriculum after having dedicated time just with the CodeBot curriculum this time.
The highlight of my three days was being comfortable enough to code my CodeBot to do the Hokey Pokey! I had done this in a previous PD with a different robot and coding language so I was really proud of myself that I was able to recreate the dance in a new coding language and add the music.
What I have found especially helpful for my teaching practice is that I felt like the students feel when they are learning something new. Our days were set up to allow for some direct instruction but there was also time for us to just 'play' with the CodeBots and go through the lessons like the students would. I can remember feeling frustrated when I couldn't get something to work the first time or the fifth time and I realized that this is how my students will feel sometimes. These moments are good for me to remember when I am using this curriculum with students because I will be able to tell them how I had struggled as well when I was first learning it.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 4 other donors.Calling All Coders to the Circuit Playground!
Funded May 28, 2020Thank you again for contributing to my Donors Choose project! It has been a whirlwind of a year already and it's only October! Although we have not had a chance to use these Circuit Playgrounds yet, my students were very excited when I told them about them. I know they will be very excited to see their code working in action when we do start to use them!
For many middle school students Computer Science seems too hard and out of their reach. Kits like these Circuit Playgrounds, along with curriculum from code.org, can make Computer Science seem much more approachable and exciting for this age level. I am always hopeful that with the activities we do in my class, more students decide that they want to do Computer Science when they get to the high school and even continue it into college.
We should get to the part of the curriculum where we use these kits in a few months. I am really looking forward to seeing what kids can create using these kits!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.Python Will Set Me Free...From Block Coding!
Funded Jun 16, 2020The week that I spent with the people from FiriaLabs and Pathfinders this summer was incredible! I was excited to begin the course because I had heard good things about it but I didn't realize just how amazing it really was going to be.
My comfort level with coding in general and the Python language specifically has doubled because of this course. The way that the material was presented was accessible to everyone from novices to experts and the flexibility of their presentation made it possible for everyone to go at their own pace if that what was needed.
I have finally started using the curriculum with my students and they are thrilled! My school was able to purchase an additional set of Micro:bits so that each student in the class can hold onto the kit for a term which will make it possible for students to continue learning both at school and at home. The smiles on their faces this week when they wrote their first Python program were priceless. Thank you again for your generosity. My students and I greatly appreciate it!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Magill
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 2 other donors.