Computer science education is becoming increasingly critical in providing children with opportunities relevant to the world they are growing up in. At Wonder Workshop, we believe in giving every child the opportunity to learn to code. To help teachers bring Dash and Dot into their classrooms, we are funding 10% of qualifying Donors Choose projects.
Through this program, we hope to enable teachers like you who are passionate about giving their students opportunities in our rapidly changing world.
Here are the requirements to qualify for our matching program:
- Projects must choose Amazon as the vendor and only add Wonder Workshop products to your cart. We won’t be able to fund projects that include other classroom materials such as iPads, laptops, and so forth.
- Teachers must email their projects to teachers@makewonder.com to bring it to our attention!
Because we are committed to expanding access to underserved communities, high or highest poverty schools will be given priority. Need a little inspiration? This is what a kindergarten teacher from Oklahoma City had to say about his DonorsChoose.org project:
“Robot time is a great motivator, and I try to capitalize on that by using the robots to help teach literacy and math (usually in centers or small groups). I’ve had students go from the bottom of the class to the top. Those little robots make learning fun and addictive. They’re also a fantastic introduction into the world of coding. To so many students, robots are something off of a TV or movie screen. It’s so fun to see their faces when they discover that they’re real, and that they will get to use them! Dash & Dot make the classroom an exciting place to be, and an exciting place to learn!” — Wes Dicken, kindergarten teacher at John Rex Elementary in Oklahoma City
Getting started is easy!
Here are some tips for getting off the ground.
Step 1: Post a project on DonorsChoose.org
Start here. Simply follow the steps on the DonorsChoose.org website to get verified and start your project.
Step 2: Tell your story
Tell the world about your students and why they need to learn to code! Read about projects that have been successfully funded to get a sense of what to say.
You can use this description of Dash and Dot, and feel free to modify it:
Dash & Dot robots are hands-on learning tools that teach creativity, problem solving, and coding to children in grades K-5. Children can see their code come to life in a real-world, hands-on way that engages them fully in the concepts they are learning about. As robotics and computers become increasingly prevalent in students’ lives, understanding programming concepts is becoming very important for students’ success. Students will work in small groups to develop their collaboration and communication abilities as they learn valuable 21st century skills. Help our students get introduced to STEM early and and cultivate their skills for the opportunities of today’s world.
Step 3: Spread the word
Here are some things you can do to spread the word!
- Social media. Post your project on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to spread the word to your community! When posting to Twitter, use hashtags like #kidscancode, #csk8, #edchat, and others that you and your peers use. Here’s a list of resources that help teachers support their classrooms!
- Email your friends, family, and students’ parents! Spread the good word about what you are doing for your students. The people who care about you and your students will be happy to help by contributing or spreading the word too!
- Tell your local community. Small business and local organizations like PTAs, neighborhood mom clubs, and local media are looking to help students in their communities too!
Dash and Dot hope to meet your students soon!
