Past projects 9
Design It, Code It, Watch It Work!
Funded Feb 14, 2020There are not enough words to express my gratitude and thanks for your generous donations to my class project. My students and I are so very appreciative of your support for education and creative, hands-on learning. We are looking forward to receiving these mice and microbits. They will be a great tool as we continue to grow and learn in the classroom. We can't wait to share some pictures of us using our new tools! Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
The Life of Pi
Funded Dec 3, 2019All I can say right now is Thank You! You all have made our learning dreams come true. These supplies are going to motivate our students so much more! They already LOVE coding and being creative. Just wait until I tell them all about the new things we will be able to do! Thank you for the Raspberry Pi's, thank you for the power supplies, thank you for the SD cards, and thank you for all the other components that are crucial to making this project successful! Thanks again for your contribution and for supporting teachers that are trying to make their classrooms better!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 5 other donors.We Can Do the Cube!
Funded Dec 29, 2018We received our Rubik's cubes and immediately the class was ecstatic. Not only were they interested in learning to solve the cube puzzles but they also challenged one another even going so far as to created their own puzzles within the Rubik's cubes. Through the use of the Rubik's cubes students have learned perseverance and also overcoming frustrating obstacles in mathematics. Many of my students now solve the cubes for "fun." The best part is that now other classes are enjoying the cubes as well. Lunch and recess has become a haven for certain students who are interested in learning to solve the cubes. They challenge one another and support each with new algorithms and solves for the cubes. Not only have they improved their mathematical reasoning but they are improving their friendships and the interactions they have with others. Thank you so much for donating and offering your support to our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
Dream, Design, Create in 3D!
Funded Oct 22, 2018We received the Original Prusa i3 MK3 kit and right away it was a hit. Students were instantly intrigued and wanted to know everything about it. It not only got them interested in the machine itself but also got them thinking about how they could utilize it. They shared it with their parents, with other teachers, and with fellow students. The problem? It needed to be built! Together we put the pieces together; learning about design, mistakes, and teamwork all along the way.
Once it was built, I then began working with my students using the Design Thinking process. We used the program, Tinkercad to brainstorm and design our thinking process. Building in 3D requires more than just creativity, it also requires knowledge of engineering and an understanding of mathematics! Students used their knowledge, with my guidance, to create and build projects related to their Genius Hour Projects, mathematics activities, and science projects! It started with simple keychains and grew into students making mock rockets, airplanes, robots, and future windmills. They then created presentations and shared them with the class.
It's often difficult for students to truly accept failure and the Original Prusa i3 MK3 kit gave them yet another opportunity to experience it in a way that wasn't devastating but pushed them beyond their comfort levels. They were failing, taking that failure and using it to create success. It allowed us to rapidly prototype our ideas and see them come to life right in front of our eyes. We problem solved mistakes, adjusted our ideas, and built new prototypes in the span of hours. It was such a wonderful process to be a part of and seeing the excitement on their faces when they printed something that they created was priceless.
I want to extend a sincere thanks for giving my class an opportunity to do something amazing. Thank you for making education even better.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
I'm a Robot, not a Refrigerator!
Funded Sep 13, 2017Wow, what a tremendous impact these Robotics have had on our classroom. Not only are students experimenting with robots but they are attempting to solve problems with them as well. The learning curve has been difficult for some but with challenge comes reward. Students are learning that failure is only temporary if they truly put their minds to it!
The most exciting piece of all of this is the implications this has for future use. Students are constantly thinking about what they may do next and how they can incorporate it into their next project. Not only are we using these for City X projects but we are using them to introduce coding to younger students at our school. This means that your donations have reached more students than originally intended!
What has been most exciting, is seeing the types of students who are not typically engaged in classroom activities finding a niche in these robotics. It has opened up a whole new world to them and we could not have done it without the support of the donors. So for all of that we thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
This classroom project was brought to life by 3M and 13 other donors.Who Said Reading Can't Be Fun?
Funded Sep 16, 2017Our class loves reading but there are always a few students that struggle to find interesting books. One of the things that is important for my students is choosing good fit books but my classroom library does not always meet the interests of every learner. High interest books are one of the key components of choosing a good fit book and if those aren't available some students may struggle to read or find something that they enjoy reading.
With a class set of these high-interest graphic novels, we are reading stories with visually stunning images that are age-appropriate and individualized to each students' interest! This has given many of my students the opportunity to truly find a book that fits them and has in some cases even sparked their interest in topics that they may not have been exposed to otherwise.
A lot of my struggling readers are already diving into to these novels! My students are not only excited to read but they are growing as learners! They can read both the pictures and the words and it further develops their love for reading and their comprehension. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Your donations have gone to support a classroom of learners who long to learn and are on their way to love reading even more than before.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
This classroom project was brought to life by TOON Books and 4 other donors.Technology Rising
Funded Oct 13, 2015We received the 3 iPad mini's a little after we came back from our fall break and my students were pretty eager to use them. The excitement level in the classroom was definitely noticeable.
One of the things that I really wanted to use these iPad minis for was to introduce my students to a vast array of activities that allowed them to explore the content deeper. I wanted to show them that there is more than one way to learn. Currently, I have some of my class using them for research and expanding vocabulary. Some use it during our Language Arts time to play word games and for writing. Another group of students chose to create a video using iMovie to show the how to demonstrate good sportsmanship on the playground during recess. I even have groups building replicas of the some of the battles seen in the Revolutionary War in Minecraft. We use them in math for around the world as the app variety on the iPads makes that possible. I can connect them to our projector and show the rest of the class as students work through math problems using their number sense and critical thinking skills. It has become a daily challenge for some student's to compete for the best score in the Quick Math app!
I can honestly say that my students are able to do more with just these few iPad minis. It has added to my effectiveness as a teacher and has stretched their abilities beyond just pencil and paper. I want to extend a sincere thanks for giving my class an opportunity to do something amazing with a technology, which will definitely be a major part of their future. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and thank you for making education better.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
This Mission Is "Mini," It's Just A Small Quest.
Funded Oct 7, 2014We received the 5 iPad mini's right after we came back from fall break and my students were pretty eager to use them. I heard from many of their parents how excited they were and how awesome it was to have them in the classroom.
One of the things that I really wanted to use these iPad minis for was to introduce my students to a vast array of assessments. I wanted to show them that there is more than one way to show me how they learn. Currently, I have some of my class using them to explain stories and show their understanding of the books they are reading, some are making predictions while others share their opinions about the stories they are reading; all recorded right on the device. Another group of students chose to create a video using iMovie to show the relationships between Native Americans and Puritan Settlers. Yet another group chose to express their understanding of Ranchos by building them and presenting them using Haiku Deck while building replicas of them in Minecraft. I've had many students become interested in math because of the various apps that can be found on the app store. It has become a daily challenge for some student's to compete for the best score in a math facts app! Student's enjoy their time with games but have also utilized the many aspects of the devices to explore and research. As I write students are designing storyboards and scripts to explain the many aspects of severe weather and why we need to know about it.
I can honestly say that my students are able to do more with just these few iPad minis. It has added to my effectiveness as a teacher and has stretched their abilities beyond pencil and paper. I want to extend a sincere thanks for giving my class an opportunity to do something amazing with a technology that will likely be a major part of their future. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thanks for making education better.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
Revolutionize our Class with a MakerBot 3D Printer
Funded Mar 31, 2014We received the MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer right before we came back from spring break and I have to say my students were absolutely enthralled by it. They were instantly intrigued and wanted to know everything about it. It not only got them interested in the machine itself but also got them thinking about how they could utilize it. They shared it with their parents, with other teachers, and with fellow students. It became the talk of the school.
I made sure to take my time in introducing students to the creation process choosing first to show them some of the possibilities. We watched some videos, looked up articles, and I shared my knowledge and some of the stories I had read about and the possibilities. I then gave them the opportunity to share their own ideas. I first had students pick a few projects that they might be interested in and they created proposals explaining why they wanted to print those objects and how it would benefit them. They created presentations and shared them with the class. After this I had students do a group project and create their very own piece in Tinkercad. There goal? To create an object that expressed the idea of "thank you." They created some wonderful designs. We voted and then printed the top few. The learning opportunities came when the builds that they had created together failed. They had to figure out what went wrong, how to fix the issues, and how to perfect it. They learned how to incorporate each others ideas and work together to fix the problem.
It's often difficult for students to truly accept failure and this gave them yet another opportunity to experience it in a way that wasn't devastating but pushed them beyond their comfort levels. They were failing, taking that failure and using it to create success. It was such a wonderful process to be a part of and seeing the excitement on their faces when they printed something that they created was priceless. As a teacher I believe that I'm a lifelong learner and having this in my classroom offered me one more way to learn. I had to figure out how to incorporate it into my lessons and make sure students were gaining knowledge that would serve them in the future. It made me think in different ways and boosted my ability to really problem solve. The machine itself was a critical thinking opportunity as well. Often times we, as a class, had to figure out how to fix a build and we had to ask ourselves whether it was an issue with the printer or the design the students had created. It was and continues to be a great teaching tool for the whole class.
I want to extend a sincere thanks for giving my class an opportunity to do something amazing. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are all making education better.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Luke
This classroom project was brought to life by Autodesk - MakerBot and 11 other donors.