Past projects 4
I Bring the Rug, You Bring the Rest
Funded Sep 6, 2023Thank you so much for helping to fund a comfortable and safe space for my students to retreat to.
The space became a place that students knew they could come to when they needed to talk, take a break, or just a quiet place to study. The students were impressed with the set up and they loved to come by and just plop on the couch.
The headphones are always an item that our students benefit from. In this age of technology, teachers rely on instructional videos and other things to enhance lessons and provide differentiation for our various learners. The headphones enable students who cannot afford their own headphones to easily participate in lessons.
We are going to continue to update and enhance this safe space for students, especially our special education students. Thank you for being the donors that got it off the ground this school year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Killeen
The Return: Let's Make it Amazing
Funded Sep 23, 2021Thank you so much for your wonderful donations last year. The products we received made our classroom warm, inviting, and super functional for our students returning for the first time since COVID.
The headphones were perfect for students who did not have their own to bring from home. We use them when they are taking guided notes, completing Edpuzzle videos, or watching virtual experiments. The students were particularly impressed with the sound quality of the headphones I bought for them last year with your donations. They were very grateful.
The InstaPix camera was a HUGE hit with all students. Particularly, during Spirit Week, the kids were always dressing up as something else each day and they always wanted their pictures taken. They loved that the picture would print immediately and they could take it home that day. We also used pictures to decorate our classroom so they all felt that it was their own space.
As for the extension cords and power outlet towers, they just increased the ease of use of laptops in the classroom. Every student received a device last year on their return to school but often they forget to charge them or they used them all day and need to charge them for their last class. We created so many outlets that allowed any student to charge who needed to. This relieved much stress for our students when they were trying to finish a lesson or assignment.
Our students and my co-teacher and I are eternally grateful for the help you provided. Many of the items we got last year will be used again this year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Killeen
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 10 other donors.The New Normal Needs Help
Funded Sep 2, 2020Thank you so much for providing our classroom with new tech that helped us during the difficult transition to blended and fully remote learning.
This fully funded project provided our classroom with an iPad for lessons this year. This piece of tech, in combination with an array of educational tech platforms, allowed me to move around my classroom while conducting a lesson to both students who were in school with me and at home at the same time. Using a platform called Nearpod, we can create a completely interactive lesson that is done on the computer or a device. The way Nearpod is set up, I can easily run the lesson from the iPad which allows me to be mobile in the classroom, walking around to check on the work students in the room are doing. It also allowed the students at home to see our classroom and me walking around and speaking to them from the classroom as opposed to just seeing my face sitting at a desk. It really allowed our lessons to move pretty fluidly considering some students were at home and some were in school with me.
One unexpected perk of having the classroom iPad this school year was being able to view what some students saw when they were working on their own iPads. Not every student received a laptop for remote learning last year; for some, they were given a Dept. of Education iPad instead. With all of our work being done on the computer, we realized that sometimes, lessons we created worked or looked different on an iPad versus a laptop; occasionally they did not work on the iPads at all. Having a classroom iPad with me when I created lessons allowed me to test run lessons prior to assigning them to make sure that all my students could access them, regardless of the device they were using.
As a special educator, one of my classes is a self-contained Earth Science class and is comprised on up to 15 students who are all diagnosed with learning differences. They particularly benefitted from the classroom iPad because I was able to be closer to them during lessons and show them examples using the iPad more readily. This created a more interactive learning environment for them during a year when we were so isolated, even when we were together.
Thank you again for doing so much for our students, especially during a time that was so difficult for so many.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Killeen
This classroom project was brought to life by AT&T and 6 other donors.Software for Science Super Stars
Funded Aug 10, 2019Thank you for the generous donations and contributing to this special project. It is a beautiful thing and my students will be so grateful.
My fellow Special Education teachers are hopeful that we can use this opportunity to convince our principal to purchase BrainPop for the entire school so that all our children can benefit. Please know that your donation will extend beyond my classroom.
Be on the look out for our letter of thanks and some photos in the coming school year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Killeen
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 5 other donors.