Our school serves gifted and talented, deaf, hard of hearing, as well as multiply impaired students from one of the largest urban districts in the country. The gifts and talents present themselves in many unique and various ways. Our student population represents more than half the countries in the world. This is truly a place where academics and character matter; we practice and model good citizenship, empathy for all, responsibility, honesty, courage, respect, and grow global learners. Our fourth-grade philosophy is best expressed with Nelson Mandela's words, "Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world."
My Project
To cultivate global graduates to be successful in an ever-changing world, technology is a key ingredient. I would like to enhance 21st century skills through project based design and learning for which my students need internet access and computer based tools.
By supporting this project, you would be helping children build a strong foundation with the skills necessary to succeed, in not only today's digital era but the future's as well.
We are currently using a blended learning platform in my school district, called the HUB, not having a classroom set of computers greatly inhibits my ability to provide a blended learning experience. Having a set of Chromebooks in the classroom would allow students immediate access to work independently or collaboratively on activities created within the HUB. For example, when learning about the elements of fiction, I post video lessons on the HUB for my students to view. Then the students use the discussion board tool with guiding questions, related to the video's content, to post their thoughts, connections and inquiries. Having access to Chromebooks within the classroom would encourage students to work individually or in small groups to complete activities similar to this one, within the instructional day.
Chromebooks would make cross curricular collaboration more effective to share resources, content, and other student support materials. As well, long term projects will be more sustainable. For example, a student would be able to create a digital project incorporating academic standards across content areas. Students will complete quality research to support their findings as well as, design a written piece to accompany the projects, all within the classroom. As teachers, accessing a student's work through shared Google docs makes giving feedback simpler and individualized. This is a feature easily accessed on a Chromebook.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Connors and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.