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Goal

Last August 3% of my students were at or above benchmark on STAR Math Assessment and this increased to 18% by May 2018. This year I'd like to increase my percent at or above benchmark to 30%.

This year in our unique skills class, my ESE students are researching and planning for the future. We set personal goals for organization and time management and discuss how these skills will help us positively contribute to our communities. We would love to take our discussions into active planning by allowing the students to discover for themselves the cost of running a household/business or planning a vacation. We can explore real world costs through internet research. Our other ongoing goal is to be successful in our daily classroom expectations. For my ESE students testing below grade level, there are an infinite number of online games and programs that would not only engage my learners but motivate them to continue learning. Some of these include math facts, cool math games, Khan Academy, Path Blazer, Achieve 3000, and Algebra Nation. Using these programs along with their detailed STAR reports, I can assist my students with setting their own academic goals of growth. Part of our academic goals this year include practicing typing for the state writing exam and submitting more legible writing assignments as some of my students struggle with writing disabilities.

 

What will be done with my students

To meet our goal of improving time management and organization, my students will complete a series of real world application projects that include but aren't limited to: planning meals for the week through a grocery list, planning a household budget, planning a vacation and exploring the best times of year to travel, etc. The students will research and plan for these using the laptops so that their discoveries feel more authentic to them.
To meet our goal of being successful in our academics, the students will check their online grades via FOCUS daily to see what assignments they are missing or what test scores they have earned. To have 5 laptops they can check this on would help us do this quickly without much class time of our own lost. Now we have to take turns using my computer so we can only check weekly. The students will also be practicing typing through each project we do in unique skills so that they are better prepared to type on their state writing test this year. The more comfortable they get with the keys the better! A number of my students struggle with writing disabilities so having access to type their work would help them feel more confident in the final products they are submitting to their teachers. A number of my students have processing disorders and attention deficits that can be supported through online programs that are engaging and individually challenging. When on individual laptops, the students have no idea what "level" another student is on and this helps especially in middle school to support each student's confidence in learning. For example, I can individually assign articles on Achieve 3000 that are aligned with each students reading level, and they would have no idea that another student was reading above or below them. We also have a number of students in our ESE program that test in small group for district and state assessments which are on the computer. Having 5 laptops would make this small group testing so much easier!

 

Benefits to my students

The benefits of having 5 laptops are infinite. The students can explore real world skills, practice typing, check their grades, take online tests in small group, and work on more engaging academic programs. My personal favorite benefits that I see for my kids is that they would be able to work at differentiated levels at individualized paces and overcome their disabilities with a new found confidence through the technology support. 

Budget Narrative

(5) Lenovo-N22-80S6-11.6in-Celeron-N3060-4-GB-RAM-64-GB-SSD (NON
TOUCH)

5 Laptops for in classroom use
 

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