My students need 15 Chromebooks in their alternative education high school class in order to effectively utilize the new classroom eLearning website and Google docs.
$1,969 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Not every program fits every learner. The ability to diversify the way students accesses information empowers and increases the likelihood of academic success. Integrating technology into learning has proved to be an effective method for engagement, skill building, problem solving and collaboration.
Alternative education students are a population made up of diverse socio-economic and psycho-social-emotional backgrounds.
Our high school is 80% Latino and 20% Caucasian, and composed of the lowest performing students in the district. Their low performance may be due to a variety of reasons, such as substance abuse (personal or family), extremely unstable home lives, chronic truancy, low academic abilities, erratic or migrant educational experiences, emotional disturbance or trauma, mental health issues, incarceration, or special education designations. Our students do not choose to attend here but are referred when not succeeding at the comprehensive high school. All of these factors lead to students who feel unsure, disenfranchised, demoralized, and angry. These feelings translate into behaviors detrimental to achievement; little motivation and lack of engagement in the learning process. Providing bite size, creative, and diversified teaching is one key to success at our school.
My Project
I have wanted laptops for my students since 2005 when I realized there was so much more we could offer beyond the static textbook and teacher centered methods. The addition of Chromebooks would allow for instructional delivery to meet the special needs of my population. For my Master's thesis I have created an eLearning portal where 50% or more of the learning would be delivered via digital media. The classroom has been converted into a space for independent and small group learning via projects, model building, individual instruction, and lab work, all of which will have technology as a part of it. Chromebooks will allow this to happen with more fluidity than standing computers. The use of laptops allows for the most current information to be conveyed and utilized, which is imperative in science education. Also, students will have the freedom of mobility, access to collaborative tools, and a total divergence from the learning experiences they have received in the past.
Elements of successful alternative education include student control over the learning, self-paced instruction, and one-on-one access to the instructor as needed (Perez, 2008).
The blended classroom environment allows for all these needs to be met by providing freedom of choice, student driven work organization, self regulation, and one-on-one teacher to student time. A bonus is the 21st century technology and collaboration skills that students can utilize for college and career success.
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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. Lipsig and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
