Make Math More Relevant With Technology!

Funded Dec 14, 2012

I am finding it difficult to find words to express how thankful my students and I are for your generosity and selflessness. Let me at least begin by saying thank you for your donation of Chromebooks to my classroom. This is the fifth year I have taught seventh grade mathematics. My school, as well as my district, is very dedicated to student learning. They have tried to provide ample opportunities for students to engage with technology in the classroom. However, when there is only one properly working computer lab to share among an entire school of excellent teachers, integrating technology into the classroom becomes challenging. The addition of wouldn't in my classroom has given my students access to technology that they wouldn'€™t have otherwise had. And for this, we are extremely appreciative.

My school is considered a high poverty school. The students in my classes are about 50% Latino. In addition, nearly 80% of my students receive free or reduced lunch. I am a firm believer that every student has the ability to succeed and therefore every student should have access to a quality education. I believe that a quality education should integrate technology with learning. Again, I am full of gratitude that you have helped me improve the quality of my students' education.

As soon as the boxes with the Chromebooks arrived in my room, my students immediately began asking questions such as: €œWhat are those? €€œDo we get to use those? When can we start? €œWhat can we do with them? I couldn't get the computers out of the boxes and set up quickly enough for my eager seventh graders! When the computers were finally ready, we spent some time brainstorming what we would use them for. This is what my students have decided to use the Chromebooks for on a daily basis: PENDA (a computer program that allows my students to practice their math skills), Khan Academy, research, the HELP program, and Desmos (an online graphing calculator), among other uses. We will continue to look for exciting and engaging uses as we move into new subject areas and develop our understanding of the software.

One of my other main purposes for wanting Chromebooks was the ability they created for me to infuse Google Documents into my lessons and projects. Google Documents includes word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software that allows for multiple students, with multiple accounts, to work on the same document simultaneously. Earlier this year, without the assistance of the Chromebooks, my students completed a project in which they had to create a concession stand that maximized profit. If we had the Chromebooks at the time, students could have created a spreadsheet with all of the costs and calculations using Google Documents while at school. Then each student could have worked on and edited at their projects from home. They would have been able to create a presentation through Google using the same software. I am excited that when I repeat this project next year, and conduct future projects this year and next, groups of students will be able to use Chromebooks to access and create don't Documents. I believe this will become an integral part of the project-based learning I am beginning to implement into my classroom.

Again thank you so much for your kindness and donation. It overwhelms me that you donated to students you don’t even know, thus increasing the quality of their education and therefore their opportunities later in life. Thank you so much for caring about our youth and their education. Unfortunately, I am not always able to provide my students with all of the materials I would like to. Therefore, I am deeply thankful, that through your charity, you have allowed me to provide my students with opportunities and materials that I otherwise would not have been able to provide.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Ogden