Funded Jan 2, 2013I want to begin by thanking you all from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and kindness. Your donations have provided an amazing learning experience for my students. My students were beyond excited when the laptop arrived in our classroom. For many of my students, it was their first time seeing a laptop in person and many did not know how to use it. It was exciting to be able to watch them learn how to navigate the cursor without a traditional mouse. My students were motivated by the technology and quickly learned how to use the laptop.
My students have been able to use the laptop to practice math facts, listen to books read to them online, typed stories in Microsoft Word, drafted emails to their pen pals in Spain, and participated in language activities to help them with their English skills. Each morning before school begins I have a group of students that come for extra help and tutoring. Each student will take a turn on the laptop and practice their math facts in a fun and interesting way using special math websites. My students don't realize they are learning as they are engaged in these educational activities. I have already seen a huge increase in my students' willingness to practice basic facts and other routine concepts because they know that they can use the laptop. This increase in their motivation has led my students to perform better on their everyday tasks and homework.
Many of my students do not have computers or other technology devices in their homes and having this laptop in our classroom has been the perfect way to expose them to more technology. Thanks to your generous donations, my students are being prepared to keep up with the demands of going to school in the 21st century.
As all of my students are learning English, the laptop has been especially helpful for them to hear books read to them by native English speakers. My students are motivated to learn English and now have another opportunity to hear and practice their English skills. They love playing different vocabulary games on the laptop. It has been wonderful to be able to have the laptop in our classroom where we do not need to worry about sharing it with the other 300 students in our school.
My next big plan for the laptop is to have students create slideshow presentations for parent teacher conferences in February. Students will be uploading photos and recording their voices explaining the different things they have been learning in class with me. Their parents will then be able to see all of the things they have been doing in class and my students can feel proud of all of their accomplishments. It will be a great way for my students to showcase their talents.
My students and I want to thank you again for your generosity and kindness. Without caring people like you, my students would not have this wonderful learning tool to use. The laptop has also been able to enhance my teaching. I am amazed at how fast my students have learned how to use the laptop and will continue to find more websites and projects for them to participate in. We truly appreciate what you have done for us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Johnson