Alta Vista Technology Helps A Classroom Go Remote

Each year, Alta Vista Technology chooses a charitable project to fund in hopes to improve local classrooms and give children opportunities they may not have otherwise. With the ongoing COVID pandemic and the impact it is having on learning in the classroom, this year we set our sights on helping students with remote learning. Letting classmates interact even though they may not be in the classroom.

The Challenges of Remote Learning

The past 2 years have been tough on teachers and students alike. With remote learning coming into focus, teachers have had to shift how they structure their lessons and deliver content. Students have had to adapt to a new form of learning without being in the same room as their classmates or teacher. Several software companies have developed resources teachers and students can use to stay engaged and learn.

“Nearly 93% of people in households with school-age children reported their children engaged in some form of “distance learning” from home. 80% of people living with children distance learning reported the children were using online resources. About 20% were using paper materials sent home by the school.”
– Census.gov

With that in mind, we looked at Sugar Land, Texas, and worked with our partner Jennifer Devine to fund the Nearpod service for Mrs. Davis’s middle school classroom at Sugar Land Middle School.

The Nearpod Advantage

Nearpod is an interactive classroom application that allows teachers to engage students by incorporating interactive activities such as polls, collaboration boards, and game-based quizzes into their courses. Students can use any mobile device or laptop to communicate and submit replies making it the perfect tool to keep a classroom together even though they may not all be in the same room.

“This Nearpod account has allowed me to provide my students with interactive lessons that allow every student’s thinking to be shared. The students are able to be attentive as a short video is played with questions that they respond to. I heard the excitement in the room with an embedded interactive component that they could explore on their own for a few minutes. They particularly enjoy the gaming activity where they compete in the time to climb activity to wrap up the lesson. The self-paced feature is also a benefit for my students who are absent or quarantined. They can participate from home using the self-paced version of the lesson. Thank you again for funding this project!”
– Aisha Davis

Looking to Make A Difference?

DonorsChoose.org is a United States-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom projects. The organization has been given Charity Navigator’s highest rating every year since 2005 and in January 2018, they announced that 1 million projects had been funded.

They have experienced rapid growth and needed a new ERP system. Donors Choose chose Sage Intacct as their cloud platform. With Sage Intacct, they are able to handle their fundraising, supply chain procurement, customer support, file storage, and expense reporting all in one connected solution.

Alta Vista Technology offers a discount on Sage Intacct, exclusively for non-profits. Watch this online webinar, or give us a call at 855.913.3228 to receive information and a free consult to explore how Sage Intacct can work for you.