Context
I teach fourth grade in a Title 1 public school in Macomb County. Our free and reduced lunch rate is near 70%. The number of students typically in my classroom is around thirty-two, although that number differs year to year. Because of our diverse student population, some students have more experience with technology than others. Some students have access to Internet and technology at home, while others do not. Most of my students are general education students; however, my classroom normally encompasses a few students with individualized education programs who also see the resource room teacher daily. I teach all subject areas in my classroom, which includes reading, writing, math, social studies and science. In my building, we have two computer labs, which are often used by our media/library teacher. We also have 32 laptops that are open to use throughout the building on a daily basis. While there are devices available to use, they must be shared between all grade levels.
In order for this project to be successful, it would be necessary to add more devices to my classroom so that they are readily available for use. The laptops that we already have in our building are highly requested by the upper elementary teachers, which means they are only available for limited times throughout the day. In addition, it is often difficult to use the computer labs mainly because they are not collaborative workspaces. The computers are set up in rows, which does not allow students to sit in groups and work with one another, which is an important aspect of this project.
In order for this project to be successful, it would be necessary to add more devices to my classroom so that they are readily available for use. The laptops that we already have in our building are highly requested by the upper elementary teachers, which means they are only available for limited times throughout the day. In addition, it is often difficult to use the computer labs mainly because they are not collaborative workspaces. The computers are set up in rows, which does not allow students to sit in groups and work with one another, which is an important aspect of this project.