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Anonymous Technology Donation Enhances Students’ Learning Environment
August 24, 2012
Spring Hill Elementary School (SHES) students and staff are benefiting from an extremely generous technology donation, which included a $1,000 iTunes gift card, a Kindle Fire and a $250 Amazon gift card. Excited by the district’s recent technology upgrades, including iPads for teachers, the donor wanted to support instruction and further enhance student learning.
At the end of the 2011-12 school year, a SHES family approached Principal Michelle Toon about making a donation to the school, as a way of thanking the school’s teachers for their hard work and to help support technology pursuits. After hearing more about the district’s upcoming technology upgrades and initiatives, they decided to make a donation that would significantly benefit students and teachers alike.
According to the family, "We wanted to make a meaningful donation to Spring Hill Elementary School students and staff that would pay dividends for years to come. When we found out about the iPad program for the teachers, and the district’s ongoing commitment to bring in new technology to enhance the teaching and learning environment, we knew exactly how we wanted to show our support.
In order to lead in education as a country, changes must be made to the ways that we engage and teach students in K-12. If we want our children to be successful students, we need to transform the learning environment. In order to accomplish these goals, children need access to the same technology that they will need to be successful in the workplace. We must prepare our children to be 21st Century citizens and workers, by using 21st Century technology in the classroom(s).
We couldn’t think of a better way to show our support for teachers and staff at SHES and hope others will consider contributing to the district’s technology improvement plans as well."
The donation of the iTunes gift card is already allowing teachers to explore educational applications to help with instruction and student learning on the iPads that they received from the district in May. The Kindle Fire along with the Amazon gift card is allowing students to view books in a different way and use some of the tools the device offers to help students interact more with the literature by highlighting words, having unfamiliar words pronounced or defined and the stunning graphics and animations that can be found on the Kindle Fire.
“The generous donation to SHES from this family will have very far reaching benefits to our students and staff at SHES,” said Toon. “The teachers are embracing the new technologies and the ability to explore apps that will help them to deliver the best possible instruction to students.”
She continued, “Additionally, helping to put these new technologies and applications in the hands of our students will continue to prepare them for successful futures. We are extremely grateful to this family for thinking of us.”
Thank you for the amazing donation!