DonorsChoose

Can I just say how awesome DonorsChoose is? I know it has its detractors (Some projects ask for basic needs such as paper and notebooks and I agree these should be covered, but unfortunately are not.), but I love the idea of crowdfunding projects. This allows teachers or librarians, such as I to get items they would otherwise only dream of. From DonorsChoose I asked for games for the students to play in the library and it has been an overwhelming success. Students play chess, checkers and try their luck with the Rubik's Cube at lunch every day. Some students I rarely saw now come in every day. Some students come looking for chess to use in another class during the day when they have some down time. Overall, more space is used and the students are using their time more wisely. Thank you DonorsChoose and to all those who helped fund the project.

I am planning to write another project soon. This past December I worked with the Math Department to have every student try Hour of Code in the library. Since that time, I have had students come in to continue learning to codie every day in the library. I am amazed at the progress that some of the students who had never even heard of coding have made since then. Inspired by my students who are ready to take on more, I am going to write a project for coding materials including, LittleBits, Arduino, Raspberry Pi and a few Chromebooks. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this also gets funded.