Past projects 45
Terrific Tablets are Tech Tools for Tremendous Talents!
Funded Dec 20, 2018A whole class set of tablets seems crazy and yet, your kind donations made it a reality for our fifth graders. Now, each student is able to work on their own device without needing to take turns. They can use it with Kindle and Epic! as an e-reader to expose them to even more book titles beyond own massive classroom library.
They can use it to work on interactive assessment programs like Kahoot, which assesses their comprehension of a given content area in a fun and competitive game format that they love. They think they're just playing and challenging each other, not gauging their learning.
Also, we use the tablets to work with our different robots. Students are able to use the different apps to compose different code sequences in Blockly to program the robots to move and navigate obstacles in our classroom. Having sufficient resources for all students is a game changer.
Thank you for all your kind support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 5 other donors.Lonely Robots Seek Tablet Partners to Engage Student Coders!
Funded May 24, 2018I love these tablets! We have been so fortunate to get them into our classroom. Now, we have enough that students are able to work in pairs with robots. One is responsible for inputting new code on Blockly and the other is responsible for positioning the robot, making measurements, and suggesting improvements on the code.
It's such a joy to see the automatic collaboration that happens. They alternate jobs and are comfortable knowing that everyone will get lots of time on the tablet, so there's no need to fight or argue over turns. It's such a blessing. In the past, we've had far fewer devices and every student wanted more time. It was more challenging to manage when so many students were anxious to get their hands on the limited devices.
Thank you so much for helping put these tablets/ code devices/ eBook readers/ recording studios in their hands. You never know what they're going to do with them next.
Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Arts Funder and 3 other donors.Terrific Tech Titans Need Tablets! (Take Two)
Funded Aug 31, 2018What a joy it is to see the students and how they adapt so naturally with new devices and technology. Our new tablets have been the pride of the class. Former students come by and see what we've been able to do and are jealous. Each year, we strive to improve and I'm proud of our growth.
With our tablets, we get to work much more on our coding skills with our Dash Robots. Students use Blockly to learn coding sequences and patterns. They see new ways to solve problems and design more elegant solutions.
They've been showing me ways that we can use the tablets as well. I love that they've shared Epic reading app with each other so they can access quality e-books to read right on their tablets. We have a great classroom library, but this expands the selection available to all my students. Now, no one can claim they can't find anything good to read.
Many students have tablets at home, but by focusing on educational uses, I love to see that it carries over into how they better utilize their home technology.
Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 6 other donors.Terrific Tech Titans Need Tablets!
Funded May 23, 2018Thank you so much for helping bring more technology to our students. Not too long ago, we were able to bring robotics to our students. At the start, it was something that we had to work on as a whole class, but now new materials allow us to branch off into smaller and smaller groups.
These tablets are allowing us to work in small groups and even pairs with our class robots. When the robots come out, all bets are off. Our classroom becomes a robotics obstacle course. Students use their coding skills to work their way through different stations around the room. They may have to navigate a tape maze in the front of the room. Maybe, it's guiding a robot to run errands at different points on the coordinate plane. They may also be testing and recalibrating the robot's ability to launch a ball precisely into a cup.
It's so exciting to see the enthusiasm of my students as they take on the challenging tasks. They don't worry about failure here. Each defeat gives new data to proceed forward and improve their plan, code, or design. I love seeing how undaunted they are. I get to learn along with them. It's very gratifying to experience together.
Thank you again for your support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Arts Funder and 9 other donors.Cool Robotics Club Cultivates Kid Computer Coders!
Funded Dec 12, 2017I was thrilled when we received VEX robotics materials this year. I was nervous to start a robotics club and even more so to start competing against other schools. I felt forced out of my own comfort zone. But, the truth is that's where the real growth is.
It's not about me, but rather my students. They don't seem to have the same anxieties that I feel when facing something new. They embrace new challenges with unbridled enthusiasm. Having the possibility of bringing multiple VEX kits to the classroom allowed me to engage all my students with designing, building, redesigning, and controlling their robot. They've learned how to drive their robots to complete specific tasks. But, they've also come up with their own challenges to work on.
I don't know that every student will go on to become a computer scientist, but I do know that it is now firmly in their list of possibilities. That is because of your kind support.
Thank you for helping our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Overdeck Family Foundation and Simons Foundation and 4 other donors.Robots Take Over World: 5th Graders Our Only Hope!
Funded Sep 28, 2017Robots really are taking over our fifth-grade world! It's exciting to see how the students adapt to new things. Just a few short years ago, I saw computer coding and realized how unfamiliar I was with it. It dawned on me that if it was foreign to me, then it must be totally unknown to my students. I made a decision then and there that I would expose them to computer science in as many ways as possible.
I've worked with Hour of Code each year now, not just the one-day event, but also digging into the different online courses for students. This has created a base of knowledge for them. Now, we've introduced robotics into the mix. The students have been working with Scratch as a visual coding language. Each time we bring in a new robot, it comes with different coding language, but the students see the similarities, not the differences. They are able to transfer their previous skills and apply them to the next robot.
The students were so excited to meet SPHERO. It's such a versatile robot. They were able to program it to move however they choose. The fun comes when they're given a challenge. We created a maze that tasked them with making precise measurements, inputting code, testing and recalculating their numbers. Similar challenges on a coordinate plane laid out on our classroom floor help them practice their ordered pairs along with coding.
I really enjoyed watching them develop their own challenge tasks for each other to face. They created obstacle courses, dance challenges, even bowling games. They don't see limitations, just opportunities.
Thank you so much for helping us take robotics and coding in our classroom to the next level!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by 3M and 10 other donors.Cool Computer Coding Club Encourages Creative Kid Coders!
Funded Dec 16, 2017This has been the year of robotics for our class. It's amazing how so many elements have been falling into place. We were blessed to have a patron sponsor our school in starting a VEX IQ robotics club. Much like Legos, VEX is a robotics system that students can design, build, reconfigure, and program. The exciting part is that we have been part of the inaugural tournament season in our local district. So, some students have been able to go compete against their grade level peers from other local schools. The intense tournament schedule forced us to plunge right in. That was exciting for students and teachers alike.
Unfortunately, it also forced us to quickly select a small team to focus on getting tournament ready. This left a void. We have lots of creative engineers in our classes who want to take on the challenges of robotics. With our new VEX kit, we've been able to engage far more students. It's a slower process, but that's the point. More students are getting involved and seeing that they each have something to contribute to the team. They also take more ownership of it. Students have grown as leaders, by breaking down big projects into smaller discrete tasks. Each student develops their own problem-solving mentality by knowing it doesn't all have to be fixed today and tomorrow we may discover an even better solution.
Our new laptop allows them to program the robot to move and maneuver around a challenge course in the fastest, most efficient manner. It's exciting to watch these budding computer engineers program, test the code, and revise their program each time. They challenge each other to find better ways of doing it each time.
I know that robotics is just one aspect of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, but I feel like it was something foreign to many of my students, but this year, they are becoming familiar and comfortable with it. That's a game-changer.
Thank you for making it possible!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Overdeck Family Foundation and Simons Foundation and 3 other donors.Fancy Footwork Makes Fitness Fun!
Funded Dec 7, 2017Having the right materials can be such a game changer. We really had been trying to do soccer in the mornings for PE. The students and I would work hard to use the materials that we had available. Two shredded soccer balls and some cones from my old coaching days as goals. Unfortunately, our school has no grass anywhere so we play on the blacktop. Every shot sends the cones flying. But, the kids love the game and made the most of it.
Now, we have proper goals and a dozen rubber soccer balls! When the students scrimmage, the goals stay in place and are so much more fun to take shots on. They fold down neatly and fit in a carrying bag. I'm so impressed that my students have taken responsibility for the gear. They bring it out each day, set it up, and are careful as they pack it up at the end. They know the goals are special, and take care of our new resources.
Having a dozen balls enables us to work on different skills in small groups and pairs. Coaches encourage players to get a thousand touches on the ball each practice. Difficult to do with only two balls for the class, but with so many more, each child is able to get lots of touches and develop their footwork skills.
Ultimately, this motivates my students. They love to play soccer and develop their moves. The better they play, the more they want to. Which is great for me because it also motivates physical fitness. They understand the connection with running laps and doing exercises to increase their strength, agility, speed, and endurance because they want to play better. I'm also impressed to see their supportive and encouraging nature, I love seeing them pushing each other to improve and cheering them as they do.
Thank you so much for supporting my students!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by National Fitness Foundation and 5 other donors.Consider the Following: Science Matters to Fourth Graders!
Funded Sep 6, 2017It was quite a surprise to see that this project was brought back to life. I was prepared for it to just die out, but instead, it was fully funded in its final days!
Adding two Chromebooks to our class set allows our clothes to have our own computers all day. Other classes share devices and get to use them a few times per week at specified times. By having our own devices, our class can use them throughout the day.
We use them for multiple purposes. We connect on Google Classroom which is a central hub, where I can assign articles to be read and writing tasks. Students sign into Google Drive to create their typed documents. They can easily work on and revise their documents there by logging in at home or school and the documents autosave. It's amazing. They can submit their work to me online. I can add comments directly alongside their work in real-time. They can even collaborate with each other and see each person's comments and contributions.
The times they are a-changin'.
Thank you so much for your generous support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Tom's of Maine and one other donor.Fourth Grade Poets Wax On About Science!
Funded Sep 8, 2017Wow!
It was quite a surprise to see that this project was brought back to life. I was prepared for it to just die out, but instead, it was fully funded in its final days!
Adding two Chromebooks to our class set allows our clothes to have our own computers all day. Other classes share devices and get to use them a few times per week at specified times. By having our own devices, our class can use them throughout the day.
Not only do we get to work on documents on Google Classroom. We get daily access to math intervention and strengthening through ST Math online programs. Students get to work at their individual levels and personal paces to make substantial progress.
They will also be using Lexia for language arts support. By using these programs, they get individualized lessons tailored to their specific needs.
This makes what we do in our whole group instruction even more effective.
Thank you so much for your generous support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Landazuri
This classroom project was brought to life by Tom's of Maine and one other donor.