Past projects 56
College-Ready Presentations for College-Ready Students
Funded Apr 16, 2009Thank you very much for generously donating an LCD projector to our school. It has been a wonderful and crucial addition that has already impacted student learning.
For example, just this past Tuesday, juniors presented their Exhibitions, in which they share their research, service, and action plan to interrupt an equity they see in their community. Most groups used PowerPoint and Google Presentations, and without an LCD Projector, the students' visuals would have been much less professional.
You would have been proud to witness the Junior Exhibitions. Issues ranged from homelessness to LGBT youth to gang violence to adult literacy to substance abuse. The audiences -- which consisted of community members, ninth graders, and tenth graders -- left the workshops not only with important information but also the importance of acting up in order to make change.
But that's not all. Just one week before, seniors used the LCD Projector to answer their essential question, "How will I best lead?" This project asks graduating students to consider a dilemma they face or will face in their future. Some students chose career paths, but others considered more immediate dilemmas, like what it means to be the first in their family to attend college. Our seniors did well: They spoke for 40 minutes without interruption, and their visuals demonstrated a marked improvement from previous years.
Thank you once again for your generosity. I love seeing the impact that your donation has made.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.Make Our Visuals Colorful!
Funded Mar 19, 2009Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Well, you did it. With the new color printer, my room is the place to be on campus. "Mr. I, I heard you had a color printer. May I print something out?"
And I say, "Yes, of course you may."
This is Finals season, which means Big Books, Senior Exhibitions, PowerPoint presentations, and more. It also means that students want to be creative with their work. The new color printer is a big hit on campus, and it's encouraging students to take more pride in their work.
So far:
(1) Thirty of forty 10th graders decided to use the color printer to create the titles of their 40-page Big Books.
(2) Ten seniors came to print out their PowerPoint notes for the audiences in their Senior Exhibitions.
(3) More than 10 freshmen have printed brochures for their Leadership 1 project.
(4) And the list goes on...
The printer is user-friendly, and students easily access it. So far, they've done an excellent job in respecting toner, and this is because they know that a color printer on campus is a luxury. It's been wonderful to see the students value the technology equipment at our school because they know it has come through DonorsChoose.
Thank you again for your kind and generous donation!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.College-Ready Students, College-Ready Presentations
Funded Feb 1, 2009Thank you again for your generous donation to purchase a LCD projector for our classroom. Already, teaching and learning have improved. Here are a few examples:
My ninth grade students just completed an Intro to College unit in Advisory. They researched a college they want to go to and made a presentation to share their findings with their peers. My tenth grade students have worked on revising their Big Books, a 40-page compilation of their best writing. We put up examples of student work from Google Docs on the screen and collaborated as a group to improve organization and grammar. Everywun.org, a non-profit that promotes service through social networking, came to the school and recruited students to get involved. Ten students have signed up already. It's been really easy to promote our student homepage, home.lhssf.org, and my personal teacher blog, iseroma.com. More students are using the sites to stay informed about assignments and due dates. Parents have been happy that they can translate the sites using Google Translate. Student participation has increased through the use of polleverywhere.com. The site enables teachers to ask questions and check for understanding through text messages. It's a great way to start a discussion and to assess my students' learning. Seniors in May will deliver their 45-minute Senior Exhibition, a graduation requirement, on the way they will become leaders in their communities. Until this year, students have had to rely on posters instead of technology. Because of DonorsChoose and your generosity, this will be the first year that all students will be able to project their work for audiences to see. Our school has never done digital portfolios. This June, my ninth graders will be the first ones. They're each creating a Google Site to share their growth, and each year, they will build their portfolio and make it more professional. These are just some of the ways I've used the projector so far. I can't wait to think over the summer about how I can engage even more students using the projector next year.
Thank you again,
Mark”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 11 other donors.A Linux Computer for Young Authors!
Funded May 2, 2008Wow! Thank you so much for your donation! I can't believe how enthusiastically and quickly this project was funded.
It's too bad it's the end of the school year and so the computer won't come until September, but I guess that will just make me even more appreciative.
My students will love this computer. I have several students without computers at home who will likely stay late into the afternoon to work on their manuscripts. It's also wonderful that students, instead of just relying on Windows products, will actually learn more about technology because of their interaction with Linux. (It is crucial to narrow the tech gap.)
Once again, thanks again! I am so happy. I can't wait for the computer to show up.
Thank you,
Mark ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero
Audio Books to Help My Struggling Readers
Funded Sep 28, 2006Wonderful! Thank you so much. We're reading *The Scarlet Letter* right now, and the students are fighting through the book. I can't wait to get the audio for it; it's going to help so much.
The biggest challenge for me as a literature teacher is to get some students to read the entire book. This is going to help so much!
Thank you!
Mark ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero
Words, Words, Words!
Funded Apr 17, 2006Thank you so much for helping to fund Words, Words, Words! My students, who are working so hard to build their vocabulary and to improve their writing, will be so grateful. I can't wait to tell them the good news. It makes me so appreciative. Thank you again”
With gratitude,
Mr. Isero