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The Inoculation Project 6/11/2023: New Books and Digital Citizenship [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-06-11

This week, we’re helping a Dallas first grade learn about digital citizenship, and an Alabama elementary school library get an overhaul with plenty of new books. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects.

The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science, math, and literacy projects for red-state public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.

I thought this was a different take on a literacy/STEM project from where we usually go. This Dallas first-grade teacher needs books to help her students learn “digital citizenship”, the current subject name for learning to exist online safely, distinguish accurate information from “fake news”, and similar topics. I had no idea this is taught now, but I’m very glad to hear it!

PROJECT #1 Project: Digital Citizenship Through Books Resources: Help me give my students picture books that focus on technology and digital citizenship. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary School, Dallas, Texas Total: $227.13 Still Needed: $ 166.25 $101.25 Project description by Mrs. Bryant: I am always looking for fresh ways to introduce my students to new technology skills and internet safety. Books are a great way to introduce the concept without the screen. These books will help my students better understand the technology concepts. Like most children, my students need to be taught the benefits - and also dangers, of having technology readily available to them. My amazing students find it helpful if they can make connections of a real-life experience to a book character. The books will help to teach the students to be kind, safe, and responsible digital citizens! I selected technology books for kids filled with learning, fun stories, and great illustrations on the joys and cautions of technology. The list of books I am asking for will address online bullying, creating a digital trail, using technology to learn and grow, creating healthy screen habits, and finding a balance between technology and the real world. Thank you so much for considering my project and helping me teach my students how to safely use technology as a learning tool! DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! The author of one of the requested books, Mitzi and the Big Bad Nosy Wolf, talks a bit about how she, as a school librarian, came to write the story. You can hear the story read here. x x YouTube Video This mildly snarky video on safe web use is for older kids. x x YouTube Video

We started a couple of weeks ago on this exciting and ambitious project in Alabama, to overhaul the school library of the James I. Dawson Elementary School, in Huntsville, and we’re making great progress! Our friend Eastern Bluebird, who found this for us, adds that the school was recently renamed to honor the late Dr, James Dawson, a very distinguished local educator and the first Black man to earn a PhD in Agriculture from Penn State (short article on the renaming). I’m sure he would be delighted to see this project going on in his school!

PROJECT #2 Project: New, Exciting Books! Resources: Help me give my students new, exciting books that foster a love of reading! Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households. Location: James I. Dawson Elementary School, Huntsville, Alabama Total: $1,189.56 Still Needed: $ 463.56 $378.56 Project description by Mrs. Rodgers: Help me provide new, exciting books for my students. Studies show that the best way to foster a love of reading is offering kids a vast array of different types of books. Every kid deserves great books to read that help them love reading. New books with colorful covers call to young readers in a way that old books simply cannot. Our school library is very old, outdated, and in great need of an overhaul. You can help put thrilling books into the hands of deserving young readers! Thank you! DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! Rather than more trailers about individual books, here are a couple of quick tours of some very nice children’s libraries in city public library systems. The Children’s Library Discovery Center at the Queens Central Library has worked with awesome science museum the Exploratorium, to integrate science and STEM concepts, and hands-on learning in general, into the library experience. x YouTube Video As sort of a companion piece to the above, this is an often-funny TED Talk from a graphic designer who got involved with a library project for all New York City public schools. x x YouTube Video

Our main project from last week was completed, fairly late in the week, after our donors got the amount needed within sight of the goal! Project #1, Let's Cultivate Our Children And Help Our Garden Grow!: Mrs. Smith teaches early elementary grades in Gulf Coast Mississippi, and she’s been hoping to start a raised-bed garden where her students can learn where food comes from and how to grow it. As I write, Mrs. Smith hasn’t seen the good news yet. If that’s still true at publication time, we’ll bring you her note next week!

DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet two criteria: at least 50% of students are Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial, and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need. You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education.

Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science, anti-education push in conservative America by funding science, math, and literacy projects in red-state public school classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.

Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund projects in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!

Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 1039! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/6/11/2174555/-The-Inoculation-Project-6-11-2023-New-Books-and-Digital-Citizenship

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