Approximately 140 in my classes alone.
Summarize how the grant impacted the students it served:
The Power to Learn grant impacted a number of students by providing a different form of media that is not always easily accessible in every classroom. By receiving the grant, our team was able to purchase 42 laptops that have been used daily since their arrival. Also, we received 2 Nintendo Wii systems that have been used to supplement different learning stations throughout the year. Students have responded positively after using both of these tools.
Briefly share a couple of specific experiences that went well:
Eco Tycoon:
During this lesson, students used the laptops and "Eco Tycoon" PC game to study the effects of negative urban planning. The premise of the game is to make each student a world leader. Throughout the game, students are advised to make annual decisions on city expansion, pollution control, scientific research, legislation, etc. The outcome and flow of the game differs based on the decisions that are made. Many different scenarios are brought up as the game continues.
As an assessment, students keep a log of all the events they encounter during the game. Also, they are given several critical thinking questions about how their decisions effect the world.
Latin America brochure: During this lesson, students used the laptops to collect information about a specific South American country. Information to be gathered included flag, map, standard of living statistics, travel info, imports/exports, significant dates, attractions, and famous people. After all of this was collected, students were given the option to produce either a hard or digital copy of the brochure. Students were excited to learn that they could research during class and then send this information to their email for further improvements at a later time. As a class, we were not confined to a specific amount of work time.
Your plan for next year- how you plan to take the project forward next year:
My plan for next year is to implement more lessons that involve the laptops. They have become useful for gathering research information and for presenting many other digital/software based activities. As new ideas and computer applications arise, the content of my world geography sections will also adapt for the benefit of the 21st century learner.
