After receiving an equipment grant, Harley Phillips’ fourth-grade students will now have a wide array of information resources in the classroom.

When the new school year starts, Iola Roberts teacher Harley Phillips will not only be enjoying a newly-renovated classroom, but a new piece of equipment purchased by the generosity of others.

Through www.DonorsChoose.org, Phillips registered for a $400 equipment grant and within about three months, a new DVD/VHS recorder arrived at the school’s doorstep for use in his classroom.

“We were told there were funding opportunities, and people can come and donate to whatever cause they like,” Phillips said. “When I heard it was going to be funded, I was blown away. I didn’t expect it, but we were really excited because it was so desperately needed. Without Horace Mann [Insurance Company], it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Currently, Phillips has older equipment cobbled together to transfer tapes and record programs and lessons. However, the new equipment will make the process a lot easier.

“A lot of learners are visual learners, but this will also help them to review work. If a student is absent, they can watch the lesson and get the information without me having to re-teach it and possibly forget something, to make sure the student doesn’t miss any information.”

Phillips said the burner will also give him the ability to put Powerpoint presentations and other lessons on DVD, so if a student needs to watch them at home due to an extended illness, he doesn’t risk losing his original recordings.

With the capability to play VHS and DVD videos, Phillips has a wide array of information resources available to his students, as well.

“One thing these students don’t have a lot of is background information,” he said. “If we’re studying Yellowstone, many of these kids have never been to Yellowstone. They may never go, but I can show a video on Yellowstone to give them a sense of what it’s like.”

From archiving old VHS lessons onto DVDs to receiving digital channels more clearly to record educational programs, the equipment will prove to be worth much more than its purchase price to the fourth-grade classroom.

“We get a lot of promises that we’re going to get this piece of equipment donated or that piece of equipment, but this one was actually funded,” Phillips said. “The funding system is shot, so it’s really hard to get items like this. Most teachers are left buying them with their own money or through the generosity of others.

“As simple as it seems, this will change the way we do things.”  

Donors Choose allows teachers to write grant proposals for equipment needed in classrooms, and citizens from far and wide to donate any amount to any project they deem fit. For more information on how to donate or how to propose a grant, visit www.DonorsChoose.org.