Assignment #5

I am applying for the Meadows Education Foundation grant of $10,000 to buy supplies for my classroom. I would be very grateful to receive this grant because it would allow me to purchase better resources to teach my students. If I were awarded this grant of $10,000, I would use it to purchase educational technology that will work along side my teaching to help my students learn.

The first thing that I would purchase for my classroom would be a 21.5-inch iMac desktop computer. The model has a 2.5GH processor that would be very fast online when researching or playing teaching games as a class. This computer contains 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive that would be a sufficient amount for storing everything from my classes. By buying an iMac, I will have a computer that will last for a long time and be safe from viruses. iMacs have everything built into the monitor, which allows for a more compact computer. This piece of technology contains all Microsoft office programs, like word and PowerPoint. It would benefit the students because they would have access to up to date technology that it easy to work with. My iMac desktop computer would be used in my classroom to enter grades, make worksheets and PowerPoints, and do interactive things with my class.

The most important purchase I would make for my classroom is a smart board. The specific model is called a SMART board 685ix and offers high quality interactivity for users. This smart board has a built in projector; this will help me cut down costs and installation. This is basically a smart whiteboard that allows you to write on it with a stylus and save what you have written to your computer. It also has other features similar to touch screen technology that require a stylus to be used. I would use this smart board in all of my lessons: I would use it as a dry erase board when writing important information on the board and I would use it as a projector when playing movies for my students or performing math problems on the ELMO. This would benefit my student because it will give them the opportunity to personally interact with their subject. The SMART Board 685ix would be a costly, but valuable purchase to help me teach my students in an effective way.

After making the large purchases, I would buy accessories for my computer and smart board. I would also purchase an Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One Color Inkjet Printer to go with my computer. This printer is compact enough to fit on my desk with the computer. The printer is also wireless which will cut down on the amount of wires on my desk. I would use this printer to print out handouts that would consist of worksheets, notes, and outlines. Next, I would purchase a speaker system so we would be able to hear audio when projecting movies and videos through the smart board. This system would specifically be the Dayton Audio Classroom Speaker System because it is inexpensive and is made for classrooms. This speaker system features clear, crisp sound that fills the room that it is in. With the funds I would also buy an ELMO TT-12 Document Camera; this is basically a mounted color camera. This piece of technology would allow me to write things on paper at my desk and it be projected up in front of the class. An ELMO would be a great technology for math lessons and it would be very easy for my students to follow along. The last technological accessory would be the i>clicker2. This is a small handheld remote with buttons and an LCD screen that allows students to answer multiple choice and text entry questions that are then recorded onto the computer and graded. This could be used to quiz my students on any subject. I would purchase 20 of these items so each of my students could have one.

I would use the remaining funds to purchase supplies for my classroom. I would need to purchase a large amount of black and color printer ink in order to be able to print handouts for the entire school year. I would purchase Epson 124 Black and Color ink cartridges to fit with my Epson Stylus NX430 printer. I would buy 10 black inks because black is used the most for handouts, and then 5 color inks. To print on and also do any other type of project, I would purchase 2 boxes of Staples multipurpose paper. Each box contains 5,000 sheets of paper; this will be plenty of paper to last me one school year. Lastly, I would purchase 2 boxes of Crayola Classpack Washable Markers. Each box contains 200 markers, 25 of each color: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, black, and brown. My students would use these when completing any assignment involving pictures and color.