Past projects 5
Oh What A Sight! Webcams
Funded Nov 23, 2020Thank you for all of the webcams! This pandemic has taught us in education to be that much more flexible. It has also taught us how large of a digital divide there is in our country & local communities. I'm talking about how many students have access to their own technology at home, and how many rely on their school or community libraries to provide technology.
These webcams have provided one more layer in accessibility for students and staff. Our students at home who have desktops are now able to simply plug in a webcam and be able to join the class and see their peers! This is particularly important for some of our students with physical impairments who have customized computers.
The webcams have also been used to set on top of the monitors in the classroom and allow for students at home (or in some cases teachers in quarantine) to see their entire class collectively. This is a welcome change compared to students being in school and still needing to each be on a separate computer with headphones and a mic.
Again thank you for the ability for our teachers to find what model/setup best works for students and for their class as a whole!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Swanson
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation and 3 other donors.Speakers/Mics To Communicate During A Pandemic!
Funded Oct 6, 2020Thank you for the donation of the Jabra speakers! The pandemic has been tough on our students and teachers. They have all had to show their resilience with multiple learning model changes and learning new technologies on the fly.
The Jabra speakers have helped teachers switch the learning environment on a regular basis (sometimes daily) to support students. During one learning model, we had students in the building 2 days a week, staff in the building 4 days a week, and other students online 5 days a week. We were able to move the speakers from room to room daily, to allow for the most fluid and natural conversations to take place. This included the most student and staff as possible.
Students have liked that when they are in-person, they no longer need to solely sit in front of a screen with headphones on, but instead have the option to have a normal conversation with their peers around a large table. Some of their peers just happen to be online (via the TV), and others are sitting across the table from them.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Swanson
Aquaponics & ZipTowers for Healthy Eating
Funded Mar 11, 2016Thank you for your support in getting the ZipGrow towers for our students. Our students have been working hard this year on their sustainable garden initiative. With it being winter they are working to take this initiative indoors. To accomplish this our students are building an aquaponic system which is incorporating the ZipGrow towers.
About a month ago we received two large IBC totes which will house our Tilapia. Our students worked with our garden coordinator and Woods elective class to cut the tops off of these totes and build a support structure for them. These totes will be filled with water and fish and the water will be pumped up through the ZipGrow towers and filter on down. Students were excited to see the towers as they have never seen anything where plants will grow in a vertical column.
Now that we have our system built (as you can see in the pictures) we will be filtering our water, putting in our grow media, and adding plants and fish! We look forward to using the greens that we grow in these systems in our cafeteria for student lunches.
Thank you for your support. We will be posting more pictures as our system develops.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Swanson
This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 2 other donors.PrintrBot for a MakerSpace
Funded Oct 3, 2014Thank you so much for donating this 3D printer kit to my students. For the past 2 months I have had a handful of students working on putting this 3D printer together. They have absolutely love the hands-on learning process of building a 3D printer.
My students have been bragging around the district of their accomplishments and that their printer is fancier than the one their teacher built. In fact the district is so impressed with what they have accomplished that the school board has come to visit as well as the superintendent and her directors cabinet!
This project has helped my students see that there are plenty of struggles with working on projects like this but that in the long run it's exciting to see your final project. There is only a little bit of wiring that remains to be done before my students fire up their printer for the first time! Thank you so much for allowing my students the opportunity to expand their learning through this project.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Swanson
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 4 other donors.Student Centered 3D Printing
Funded Nov 15, 2014Thank you so much for your contribution to our maker space. My students have begun printing projects of their design and are ecstatic to have received this filament to use. Examples of projects they have designed so far are key chains, rings, and earrings. They like picking between the vibrant colors you have donated.
These filaments have allowed my students to finally see how their hard work has paid off. This winter along with students traditional math I have had students working on Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs to learn out to make 3D models. Now that we have filament for our printers they can see the tangible object they set out to design on a computer. If I let them they would sit and watch the hour long process of printing their objects.
By allowing students to access real mathematical thinking through this project, students have been able to learn skills that can immediately be applied in a technical field. Not only that but students have learned how to struggle and persevere through this process. You have helped make our makerspace a place where students develop growth mindsets and critical thinking skills that will help them in all areas of their life.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Swanson