Past projects 8
Learn Electrical Engineering by Exploring Digital Electronics
Funded Sep 9, 2022My students were incredibly touched by your generosity and your support for our electrical engineering project. While my students are used to hands-on projects, your support of this project took it up to a whole new level.
When it was finally time to start unpacking the parts and unveil what we were doing, there was a quiet hush. Many of my students had only heard of some these parts like transistors and capacitors, in online simulations. But now to actually get to hold them and learn to put these parts to work, my students were super excited.
Thank you again for supporting STEM education and expanding the knowledge of my students. This was a project they won't soon forget.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
Reading Like an Engineer
Funded Aug 14, 2019When I announced to my class that we would be reading a novel in our engineering class, my students were skeptical. "What, you are you doing this again?" said one student, who had heard that I did this last year. However, upon hearing that the novel for our class this year would be Jurassic Park, most of my students were actually very excited.
The past few weeks in my engineering class, students have been working in their book groups, leading riveting discussions about the need for both scientific ethics and killer dinosaurs. Most students are very comfortable talking and sharing about what they are reading. When I gave students the task of designing their own Jurassic Park, I had a lot of fun mediating as students argued about the ideal dimensions for a Velociraptor pen and what would be the most effective voltage to restrain a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Your contributions have made it easier for my students to be critical thinkers and innovative engineering designers. On behalf of my students and our school, we are grateful for your continued support.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 3 other donors.Reading Like a Data Scientist
Funded Sep 3, 2018At first, my students were skeptical: "This is math class...why are we reading a book?" However, after only reading the first chapter, the majority of them were hooked. "You know, this is actually pretty cool," said one student.
Each week in my math class, students look forward to a group discussion of a new chapter of Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers. Four students lead a round table discussion of each chapter. This is a time when there aren't formulas and graphs; instead, it's a low-stress time for students to discuss some of the real-world applications of the concepts they are learning in class each day. Most students are very comfortable talking and sharing about what they are reading. For example, Gladwell's different way of looking at the concepts of success and luck have led several students to analyze and openly question why it is that working hard is not necessarily enough to be successful. More recently, students have been fascinated by the chapter about how certain cultures defer more to authority, and the effect this can have in communication styles of pilots; certain cultural norms can increase the likelihood of a plane crash, for example.
Your contributions have made it easier for my students to succeed and be critical thinkers in a rapidly changing world. On behalf of my students and our school, we are grateful for your support.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 2 other donors.Computers Are Key to a Computer Science Class
Funded Aug 26, 2015This class does not exist without you. My students and I are so thrilled to have generous people like you make this class a reality!
To be completely honest, my students were skeptical at first. How can a computer science class function with mostly chromebooks? But when I started to hear quotes like, "Wow, these chromebooks work better than laptops" and "they are so cute and powerful," I knew that things were going to work out great this year.
Your computers have allowed us to make programs in Scratch and HTML so far. And my students are especially looking forward to using them to make apps for Android tablets and learn to code in Python later this year.
Thank you again for your wonderful generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
We Still Need More Computers To Teach Computer Science
Funded Jun 19, 2015This class does not exist without you. My students and I are so thrilled to have generous people like you make this class a reality!
To be completely honest, my students were skeptical at first. How can a computer science class function with mostly Chromebooks? But when I started to hear quotes like, "Wow, these chromebooks work better than laptops" and "they are so cute and powerful," I knew that things were going to work out great this year.
Your computers have allowed us to make programs in Scratch and HTML so far. And my students are especially looking forward to using them to make apps for Android tablets and learn to code in Python later this year.
Thank you again for your wonderful generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
We Still Need Computers To Teach Computer Science
Funded Jun 8, 2015This class does not exist without you. My students and I are so thrilled to have generous people like you make this class a reality!
To be completely honest, my students were skeptical at first. How can a computer science class function with mostly Chromebooks? But when I started to hear quotes like, "Wow, these chromebooks work better than laptops" and "they are so cute and powerful," I knew that things were going to work out great this year.
Your computers have allowed us to make programs in Scratch and HTML so far. And my students are especially looking forward to using them to make apps for Android tablets and learn to code in Python later this year.
Thank you again for your wonderful generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and one other donor.Help Bring More Real-World Tools to a Mathematics Classroom!
Funded May 28, 2015The students really appreciate the scientific calculators. They are integral to learning in our classroom.
The calculators allow us to use real-life data. For example, students calculated the slope, riser height, and tread length to investigate if the stairs in our building were built to code. They also used the scientific calculators to find the average height of a tennis ball bounce when dropped from various heights. In lessons such as these, the students have a lot of fun and master the algebra common core standards at the same time.
"These are so much better than the old calculators!" The fact that these calculators can use parentheses and exponents have been so helpful for my students.
Thank you again for your wonderful generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo
Help Bring Real-World Tools to a Mathematics Classroom!
Funded Sep 15, 2014The students really appreciate the scientific calculators and the algebra tiles. They are integral to learning in our classroom.
The calculators allow us to use real-life data. For example, students calculated the slope, riser height, and tread length to investigate if the stairs in our building were built to code. They also used the scientific calculators to find the average height of a tennis ball bounce when dropped from various heights. In lessons such as these, the students have a lot of fun and master the algebra common core standards at the same time.
"These are so cool!" the students exclaimed when we first used the algebra tiles to learn how to balance equations. The tiles are especially helpful for students who are kinesthetic and visual learners.
Thank you again for your wonderful generosity and support.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rojo