Hyattsville students get ‘Teched Out’ with more technology in classroom

BY LaSHON BLAND — Rosa Parks Elementary School second-grade teacher Domonique Stroud saw a need to further integrate technology in her classroom. Encouraged by a colleague, Stroud created a project on the Donors Choose website, a non-profit organization that helps teachers get additional resources they need in the classroom. In six days, the project – Teched Out!  – found 17 donors and raised over $1,500.  

The Teched Out! project proposal requested 20 Kindle Fires and two Hokki stools for the second-grade students. According to Stroud’s Donors Choose web page, “the students will utilize the Kindle Fire tablets to become more engaged during their reading lessons. The tablets will also assist students with research, instructional material and games, such as studyisland.com. The Hokki stools will be used to assist students by providing alternative seating to curb restlessness.” Donors Choose connects the schools with donors who use a simple web page to select which project they would like to support financially.  Donors can give as little as one dollar to a project that inspires them.   

When the Kindles and stools arrived, Stroud said  “To see the joy in their faces. … They were hugging it!  kissing it! It was a special day,” she said. For some of her students, this will be their first exposure to this type of technology.

“I want to be a part of the reason why a child succeeds,” Stroud said when asked about her inspiration for teaching.  

Technology in the classroom provides alternative methods for learning. Stroud said a traditional   method would mean taking a test with paper and pencil; whereas a non-traditional method would mean taking a test on a student-held device.    

“The impact of integrating more technology in the classroom through this project teaches the students to be more responsible,” said Stroud.

Assistant Principal Kimberly Bullock stressed the importance of students using computers.   With the increasing prevalence of students taking standardized tests online, Bullock says it is vital that students become tech savvy.

“It taps into their natural curiosity. Technology in the classroom provides flexibility,”said Bullock. “Students need technology to be prepared in our society.”

On her Donors Choose page, Stroud expresses gratitude for all the donations. She says, “because of your donation, every student will have their own personal tablet to use as a resource, complete projects, and become greater engaged in learning within the classroom.”