Computer and Technology Lab Projects

Digital Wish Grant

We are seeking the Digital Media in Classroom Grant to enhance our resources for our computer and technology classroom, which integrates curriculum material for all students across various subjects. To highlight our need, we are submitting three specific curriculum based projects that would benefit from the Clip Art Station Site resource. Clip art images are moving, compelling and touch the viewer in a very personal way. As is often said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”


First Grade
For the younger students, pictures help them to visualize ideas they cannot yet put into words and helps reinforce a lesson that was taught in a science class. The students select a picture of a flower and then name the parts of the flower. The goal is for each student to select a different type of flower, and to then label the flower with the various parts (stem, leaves, etc.). This activity gives the students a visual understanding of how things can be different and similar at the same time. They also search for weather imagery that illustrate different weather patterns. The students then label the pictures with simple terms related to weather (rain, lightning, sun, and clouds). This in turn helps the students with their vocabulary with an association of science. At this grade level, they are better able to understand a picture, because text and vocabulary are still emerging for them in the classroom. An extensive resource of clip art would aid these students in lessons from science to religion.


Fifth Grade
In Fifth Grade at St. Gregory’s, students write twelve different poems in a project called “The Poetry Calendar.” Each of the poems for the twelve months are different types of poetry such as: Acrostic, Cinquain, Couplets, Limericks, Haiku, and Tanka. In creating a poem for each month of the year, the students are challenged to convey the emotions that they have written with illustrations imagery. Also, by using a twelve month calendar, the students are given a structure to tie the poems to the seasons or a holiday that their family celebrates with the corresponding month. Graphics and Clip Art are required to convey a visual message that reinforces the message of their poetry. In today’s classroom, the focus of education is often the creation of new and original work vice just consuming information. Students require a good resource to search images that convey feelings and emotions that are expressed in original poetry. The Clip Art Station Site would be the ideal resource for these engaged students.


Seventh Grade
In Seventh Grade at St. Gregory’s, the students conduct a truly unique project known as “The Non-Violence Activist Project.” Students select a Non-Violent Activist who has contributed to society in the past or present day, and they then write a research paper highlighting their chosen person's accomplishments. The next step to the project is creating a digital presentation using images which highlight the chosen activist's messages and impact on the world. Digital presentations of an activist’s legacy can reinforce to students how they can make a positive difference in the world---a key tenant of the education experience at St. Gregory the Great School. In this capstone project, students research and present why an activist chose the path of non-violence, the impact it has had on the era they lived in, and how it continues to resonate with our society today. Allowing the students the opportunity to create a digital project encourages creativity and understanding of different types of leadership. This opportunity for the students to convey the message of non-violence that they have learned allows a freedom of expression that can be reinforced through visual art. Photographs, Clip Art and graphic images are required to develop these presentations, and the current resources for this project at the school are very limited. Most importantly, the school requires a safe, easily accessible repository of digital images and audio for these types of important projects.

This Digital Wish Grant will allow students across all grades at St. Gregory the Great School to expand their horizons in key projects, while ensuring responsible use of the internet. We thank you for your consideration of our application for this important grant.