Snappers Support Educational Technology

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I'm so thankful for your donation to my classroom. The Upfront magazine subscription has been a fantastic tool for teaching my kids about both non-fiction texts and current events. I keep the magazines on their desks at all times and often have to tell students to put it away so they can do their classwork for the day. Students who claim to hate reading will pick up this magazine then turn to a neighbor pointing out a picture or article and say "Did you read this?!"

But that's not so say the magazines are only used during students' independent reading time. Often I gear lessons around the articles in the current magazine. Recently, we received Upfront's annual World Atlas and Almanac issue. We used that to study how charts, graph and infographics are set up and how we can compare the information in each. I also used a news story regarding government surveillance as a companion piece to a fictional story for the theme, "Who knows you the best?"

I can not thank you enough for your generous give. It has truly made my class more interesting, more challenging and more entertaining for my students.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Mason

These letters are always the toughest thing to do I can't type fast enough to tell you what an impact your gift has had on my class. The small storage cabinet has been a blessing as I can put things away, but close at hand, that curious hands don't need to be dealing with with.

The tape player has been the best! Actually it's a cd player, I just call it a tape player and the kids remind me of the change. But, the cool thing is my multihandicapped student, who is 14 and has been in a wheel chair all of his life is now walking with assistance! How does a tape(CD) player help with that? He will walk to it to choose a tape (cd) to listen to! It is sooooooooo exciting to see him do this, and he is so proud of himself! It is light enough that he can carry it with his good hand and lean on me to walk back to the table then enjoy the music or story.

Donors, with out you I know he would have walked with out it, but I do believe that it helped him to want to and to make those steps a little sooner.

Thank you so, so much for your thinking of public education.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Permar

Thank you so, very much for donating to my projector project to help my 8th graders. I work at a truly undeserved school in which my students do not have access to technology and therefore I have trouble creating engaging and interesting lessons for my middle schoolers.

Now, with the projector, I can create power point presentations and show video clips. It is amazing how much more interest my students have when they are exposed to technology. With video clips, I can hook my students into a seemingly boring topic with real life relevance. For instance, teaching the importance of grammar can be exemplified by showing a speech from an important person and analyzing his presence. I can also show educational documentaries.

One specific example of something that I have done with my projector is showing my students the movie "Waiting on Superman." This documentary, about the educational system in America, exposed my students to the achievement gap- an issue in America that they experience first hand. My students in New Orleans were able to have an insightful discussion about the differences in schools in America and how unfair it is. I was proud and excited to hear my students learn through something they cared about.

Thank you again for helping my students become the best that they can be.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Allen

Thank you so much for your kind and generous donation to my project. The bulb arrived just in time! The children love using the Smart board and love doing so many different activities. They have learned so much and are now able to go and use their personal computers at school and home with much more ease and proficiency.

The Smart board really has helped make the children smart! Thank you so very much. The skills the children are learning will be skills they can use forever.

Your generosity is truly heart warming.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. E.

I want to give a heart felt thank you to all of you who have given so generously and invested in the lives of these children. The document projector has helped in so many ways.

The largest impact it has had thus far is allowing students to see what is expected of them. I can show all students how to complete an assignment and answer questions without have to go to them individually. This allows students to complete classwork in a timely manner and keeps them interested in what we are doing.

We have also used the ELMO for activities such as correct the teacher and for displaying student work. Each day in math I fill out a number of the day sheet with mistakes and allow students to find my mistakes and come up to the ELMO to correct them. Students are so proud when they do a good job and they love being able to show what they have done to the class!

You have made such an incredible difference!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Blackmon

Thank you so much for your incredible generosity! My students and I are so grateful for the resources you have provided for them. They love using calculators in math class and we would not have these if it weren't for your kindness.

This model of calculator is my students' favorite and they are really simple to use. These calculators are also allowed for the end of year state test and thanks to your donations, we are one step closer to having enough for all my students to test with them.

Thank you for helping my students succeed on their journey TO and THROUGH college!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Rains

Our students are so excited to be able to have computers to use during free time and intervention time! We have a rotating schedule and when it is their turn, each student gets to choose what they want to do for 30 minutes from a list of educational sites. This autonomy is very important at this age as they are students who have established certain interests. Having ownership in their learning, rather than having the teacher choose, creates a more earnest desire to learn. One student who loves informational reading, asked to go on World Book for Kids to learn about animals in the Rain Forest. He was regaling me with his new information for the next two days!

An added bonus to having computers in the room is that the students receive more practice with necessary keyboarding skills. Keyboarding is not just a luxury skill, rather a needed skill as more and more programs and tests are taken on line. The way students learn today is becoming more and more computer-based as well. The generous donation from each of you has allowed our financially struggling school to be equal with schools who have the financial means to bring this type of technology to the classroom. Thank you, each one of you, ever so much!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. G.