Goto DonorsChoose.org! Hurry, run, don't walk!

Recently, I received an email from DonorsChoose about a Google Challenge for my students on Codecademy! Kindly allow me to explain:

(1) DonorsChoose is like KickStarter for teachers. You can propose a project for your classroom, say some new textbooks. Then anyone who likes your project can come along and donate to your cause. When you make a teacher account on DonorsChoose, you start with 2 points worth $1000 each to select items from their vendors. DonorsChoose has several school materials vendors, but recently added Amazon so you can get just about anything you need! If your project is funded, you can get your points back plus 1 more if you send out a thank you package to each of your donors.

(2) Codecademy is an online school of sorts. It has tons of free courses for students to learn programming. This challenge has the students complete a short introduction to Computer Science learning JavaScript, http://www.codecademy.com/donors-choose

(3) Google is offering $100 gift cards for DonorsChoose to female students that complete the Codecademy course. I get an extra $500 bonus gift card for each group of 4 students that complete the online course. The challenge encourages girls to learn Computer Science.

I'm trying to raise the money to get a class set of TI Nspire CX CAS Graphing Calculators as described below.

Please contribute to my project (text below). If you want to donate, go the link below and use promo code 100WOMEN to double your donation!
http://www.donorschoose.org/calcpage2010

My Students: Everyday, in Calculus class, the first thing we do is take out our homework, notebook, textbook and calculator. Many questions can be done analytically and verbally. However, the graphing calculator has become a focal point in class since many problems now require a graphical and numerical approach.

I have been teaching Calculus to gifted students at my High School every year since 1993. Many of my students take the AP Calculus BC exam each May and do very well. As a result, some of my students go on to major in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics at some of our nation's top Ivy League and Technical Colleges.

I try to keep in touch with my students after graduation to see what professional and career goals they may have met over the years. I am happy to report that I have found that some of my students have gone on to become teachers, professors, engineers, doctors and scientists in their own right.

I am very proud of my students, I am privileged to be their teacher and I have been blessed with the opportunity to help them fulfill their dreams.

This project is all about helping my students succeed in my class, in their college majors and in their chosen professions or careers to the best of my ability and to the best of their ability. Will you please help?

My Project: For as long as I can remember, we've been using the TI-89 Graphing Calculator. This calculator was state of the art in the early 1990s, but now it's time for a change!

The TI Nspire CX CAS is a more modern graphing calculator with several advantages:

The Nspire has a high resolution color screen making our graphs much easier to view, manipulate, color code, and label. Both the 89 and the Nspire include a Computer Algebra Systems aka CAS. This means that they can actually handle Algebra and Calculus expressions symbolically. However, the Nspire has many more such functions available. These calculators are actually programmable computers. The 89 uses a form of BASIC combined with graphing and CAS functions. The Nspire also has a new language called LUA which is perfect for GUI programming on the calculator. The Nspire is a lot like a laptop PC in that it has an operating system, file directories and several apps. Using these apps, we can save our work as documents.

The best technology for teaching and learning Calculus is a PC or Tablet running a CAS. However, the TI Nspire CX CAS has many of the same features. Also, since the AP Calculus exam requires the use of a Graphing Calculator, using the Nspire will give us access to the best of both worlds. We can still solve problems numerically and graphically. However, now we can check all our work Algebraically as well. With the Nspire I will be able to prepare my students for the AP exam and for college too! 

HTH, 

A. Jorge Garcia

http://shadowfaxrant.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009

Generally Speaking,

A. Jorge Garcia

Applied Math, Physics and CS

http://shadowfaxrant.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009
2013 NYS Secondary Math PAEMST Nominee

Teaching with Technology, 

pastebin youtube slideshare 
mathforum apcommunity
sage ebay

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

Thanx http://www.donorschoose.org! (using donors to get equipment for my PC Classroom)

I finally have a brand new Sharp XR-32X Multimedia DLP XGA Projector that produces 2500 lumens with a 2200:1 contrast ratio.  Thank God, we can now view my Smart Notes without going blind. Here's my donor site, http://www.donorschoose.org/calcpage2010

This is all thanx to http://www.donorschoose.org where I posted last year that I needed a new projector for all my Smart Board and YouTube work.  Two kind donors surfaced during the summer and funded the project. I confirmed the order in September, but the original item was out of stock.  I ordered the Sharp projector and got it in October.  However, its been sitting in a box until now as we didn’t have the right ceiling mount.  So, thanx also go to the Tech Dept for finally making me a decent mount!

I will be completing an online thank you packet this week on http://www.donorschoose.org which involves my students writing thank you letters to the donors and my taking pictures of them using the projector with my Smart Airliner Slate.  I also have to get permission slips from the parents to display these pictures on their site.  Once this packet is complete, I get more points enabling me to ask for more funding!

Learning with Technology,

calcpage@aol.com