ROOM429: Giving Thanx! (thank you package at donorschoose.org)

Oh boy, if you haven't heard about http://www.donorschoose.org you really owe it yourself, and your students, to check out this website yesterday and jump on this band wagon now! Here's my site, http://www.donorschoose.org/calcpage2010

This is a site whereby a teacher can ask for donations by writing an ad describing what they need for their classroom.  People can then peruse the various listings and decide if they want to contribute the full cost of the project or any fraction thereof.  I recently got a new PC Projector for my PC Classroom this way. Here's a blog about my project!

All I had to do afterward is an online thank you package.  Now I get more points to spend on a new project!  When you first sign up, I think you get 3 points.  After you spend points (worth about $200 each in their online catalogue) you can earn them back by completing the thank you package.  The picture you see above is one of many that I took for the thank you package. 

Here's a sample thank you letter one of my students wrote:

Dear XXXX,

Thank you so much for making it possible for our class to learn Calculus to the best of our ability.  The projector is an essential tool in our classroom because without it, we'd have to squint around our teacher as he furiously scribbled on the blackboard, and if we didn't copy down every detail of what he was writing, it would be erased forever!  With the projector, our teacher is able to use Smart Notebook to write notes that are projected on a large screen at the front of the classroom, so that even the students in the back can clearly see the large numbers, letters and graphs.  Everything that we see on the screen and hear coming out of the teacher's mouth is recorded onto a website where we can go back and re-watch each lesson for review.  Clips that are about 10 minutes long from each lesson are posted on You Tube so that studying for tests is easier and more concise.  The notes that are projected during class never have to be erased because they are saved on a website that enables us to print them out even if we miss class.  The projector enriches our Calculus experience and makes it immeasurably more convenient to study for this notoriously difficult subject.  I know I speak for every student in the class when I say, "I can't imagine Calculus class without the wonderful projector you have so generously helped us obtain."

Sincerely,

Learning with Technology,

calcpage@aol.com