Review of the three Donors Choose Applications

Publishing Par-tay! -               What was good: This teacher asked for things in a very reasonable price range (colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, paper, etc.) which are all things that every classroom truly does need so people would most likely be inclined to contribute donations for necessitates. She also described her level of brainstorming for her project in great depth, and said exactly what each thing she asked for would be used for in her classroom. -               What could be improved: There was hardly any explanation of the specific types of students in the classroom. It didn’t share what they have tried in the past to make her realize there was a change that needed to be made, and I think donors would be more likely to contribute if they were told more specifics about the students.   Sensory Success for Special Learners -               What was good: This teacher did a great job telling all about her classroom in depth. What variety of students she has, what their disability ranges are, age ranges, and what she believes would benefit them as a whole and why. She wants them to have more visual and hands on activities throughout class to keep them engaged and makes good points for why she is asking for the things she is. -               What could be improved: Overall, I think this is a very good donors choose, however, each material item that the teacher is asking for is quite pricey. The cheapest item is $79, and the most expensive is $299. I think in a case like this, where she is asking for multiple expensive things, it may be a better strategy to break them up and create multiple donors choose requests in order for people to feel like their money would actually make a substantial difference in this classroom.   Calming Classroom Environment -               What was good: This teacher told about her students in a way that is very easy to understand, and flows very well. She made it clear what the need to help with their disabilities and how she would incorporate the donated items into her classroom. She also went through what a normal day looks like in her classroom, which I thought added a lot to the drive. -               What could be improved: Though I did like the way this donors choose was set up, I don’t see her meeting her request. She is asking for a very specific, giant, $500 rug, as well as (also kind of expensive) light filters. I think that the light filters are a much more realistic possibility for her to receive the funds for because they would probably make more of a difference, they’re cheaper, and they can be split up amongst donors in different ways because she is asking for multiples. I think she should consider lowering her bar slightly for the rug because I don’t see many people reading this and deciding to donate $500 for a rug.

All three of these seemed really well written, and where things that either are necessary for a classroom or would enrich the students learning environments. They described their students well, explained the project and exactly what was needed. I think my favorite was the Speaking of Speech because it was to help grades from pre-k to sixth with language impairments. 

The first project was one that focused on an area the teacher wants in the room where children can feel comfortable and relax in. I personally think and area like this is necessary in every classroom that children are spending majority of their days in no matter how old they are. The set up of the page for this project was done pretty well in my opinion. They did a good job of making a title that made people want to click on it that included the words "comfort and joy" and in the title work and play were also mentioned so I feel like people are pretty on board from the start. This page has a good summary and detailed description of how they intend to use this area and why she sees it as necessary in her classroom. This teacher did a good job explain how her children will benefit from this area in the room and it is clear that she cares for her students in the way she's talking about them.

The second project I looked at was a request for 15 of the same book for one classroom. At glance I think that I was kind of bored and disinterested in this project, and don't think the teacher did a good job of the advertising aspect of this page. However, when I clicked on the page to learn more about why they needed this specific book- the teacher did a wonderful job of quoting students and expressing why this book is important for their book club to read. 

The last project was a request for special desks for a few students in her classroom. I thought this teacher did a lot right on this post, I am not going to lie. She divided this page into two sections which the first intro paragraph was started out with a J.K. Rowling quote and she helps us understand the environment of the school she is in so we can relate with her more. The second half of the page talks about the project and the specific children that she think these desks would help and why. I think this was my favorite page that I viewed and I wanted to donate myself! I think its such a cool concept and that she truly made a good page. 

1. She creates a nice narrative for the reader. She also clearly outlines what she wants. Everything is clearly stated and well-written. However, I do not think that her requests are the best examples to show what the students are doing in class. The same things could be accomplished with pawn shop guitars or something. She gives some insight to what the students will be doing with them, but it is still relatively vague.
2. There are some spelling and grammatical errors that are very difficult to overlook. I think that the idea is very good, but it seems like a lot of necessary items that I would assume are provided by the school or district. The descriptions of the uses of the items seem to vague to be included. He doesn't really give enough detail about how they will be used, which makes it seem like they won't be used well.
3. This one seems the most odd to me. I looked up Highlands Ranch and it is just outside of Denver, which I would assume is a wealthy enough area to have projectors in the classrooms. If they do not, that seems very strange for a classroom in 2018. I wish that the teacher gave more information on how his classroom currently functions and how it will function after he gets a projector.

I reviewed Mrs. Haverly, Mr. Jenkins, and Mrs Egglestons requests. I think that each of the teachers did a good job asking for what they needed. However I think that out of the three Mrs. Eagleston who is the first time poster, did not provide a picture so I think that she could have done a little better.

1. The first donors choose that I picked was called “flexible seating for student success”. It was from a teacher in Florida that teaches special education in a Title 1 school. She said her class would greatly benefit from getting to wiggle during class, meaning have flexible seating options. She said the students are super sweet but cannot sit still to save their lives. They are full of energy and wobble stools would help them release that energy. She knows that every student learns differently so this would help the students have a choice about how they learn. The choice would also help them improve their engagement and focus in the classroom. I think she did a really good job with explaining exactly why she wants wobble chairs beyond the typical answers. She explanined short and sweet where the money would be going exactly. She also talked about how the students all would be entering 3rd grade soon, which is a year that is very rigorous so they would want to be comfortable before getting even more stressed out. 

2. The next donor I reviewed was “Coffee for Life”. This was from a 6-8th grade special education teacher from Chicago. She wanted to create better life skills for her students who would soon be entering high school! Every student in her class had diverse needs due to their disabilities. They have very limited funding but wanted to give them a chance to learn important vocational skills. She wants to create a hand on, real life classroom coffee cart. The kids would run it and would be able to teach many skills that would help them in the future. I think this is an AMAZING idea. The students would not only increase their skills, but their independence. After reading this, I wanted to donate!! The only thing I think missing would be, what happens when they run out of coffee? Is this an ongoing donation page? She is asking for a variety of coffees and teas, but those can only last so long. Maybe the students could even get tips to pay for more coffee to keep this idea a year long project. 

3. The final donor I reviewed was “Help my students learn to communicate”. First reading this, I was a little hesitant since she was a pre-K teacher. I say this because some people argue if students that young should already be using technology. She is asking for devices to help communicate with others. All of her students are nonverbal so they cannon ask for simple things such as going to the bathroom, or getting a pencil. The device would help them much better than picture charts can since technology is faster and always changing and adapting. I think this would help the students out greatly! She mentioned how each tablet would be personalized to meet each students need, and help them in their current and future classrooms. I think that starting the kids with communication devices this young would benefit them greatly. They will be able to learn how to use the device at such a young age, that by middle school or high school, they will be doing much more advanced things than students who did not have this opportunity to use the device starting so young. I think she did a good job explaining why they need to communicate, since communication is needed for almost every job in post secondary.