My Donors Choose Review

I was initially drawn into this application based on the title. Being a huge Disney fan, the word "Epcot" stuck out to me as an awesome experience for students to encounter. When reading further into the project, the teacher did a fantastic job of making this potential field trip into a learning experience for her students. The teacher described how their class was doing a year long study on different cultures of the world, and Epcot would be a way for her students to interact and experience what they have been learning in the class. At first, I didn't see this being a reasonable field trip since Disney is extremely expensive, however, the teacher listed a detailed financial statement of the costs and the fundraiser would cover about 30% of the costs. Ms. Diaz's class is from a rural school, so many of her students would never experience the customs of Epcot from their community. Therefor, this field trip would be a fantastic way for students to understand our diverse globalized world. The downfall of fundraising this trip is that the donors choose funds still wont cover all of the charges for every student to go. Even though it covers almost half of the expenses, there is still a large portion of expenses left.

#2 - Vocabulary Volcanoes

I chose to critique this application based off its creativity and ways of being innovative. Vocabulary Volcanoes is a science project that is tied into a unit of reading and literature. Students take learning outside of the classroom by creating models of volcanoes and volcano vocabulary words from clay, vinegar, and baking soda. Anything that allows students to be hands on and interactive produces positive learning outcomes for both the teacher and the student. Especially this specific project, I enjoyed reading about this fun filled activity that will also help student's knowledge of vocabulary grow. Donations will go towards purchasing clay, baking soda, cleaning vinegar, staples, and tootsie roll pops that will reach 35 students. Since Mrs. M's class is in a high poverty school, experiencing science through the use of hands on manipulatives and materials is extremely limited due to costs. Helping purchase simple materials will allow students to grow to love science and the fun that is tied to it! A downfall to this application is the materials can only be used as a one time experiment. Unlike other resources that can be reused, these materials can't be replenished after use.

#3 - Innovative Library Media Center

Students from a high poverty school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana are in need of tables for their library. When reading about this fundraiser, I was astonished by the fact that their own library couldn't have access to tables for their students to use. I was touched that their own librarian had bought bean bag sacks for her students to use when reading and participating in activities, but even the bean bags weren't enough for students to excel in learning. The tables that would be purchased would go towards creative learning activities that would support collaboration and use of resources. As stated in the description, libraries today are moving more towards a shift in "learning commons" instead of isolated chairs or desks. Interactive reading can help students activate their creativity and flourish their reading difficulty. Another factor that caught my eye was the amount of students this project would reach. Overall, 250 students would get use of the brand new tables. The downfall to this application is the quality of the title. The title describes a "library media center," and the description discusses the purchasing of new tables for collaboration. Although the title was catchy, the accuracy may have thrown readers off.

5 Recommendations
1. A Catchy Picture - Having a quality picture that describes the project you are working towards, or your overall "goal" will draw readers in. The picture needs to be inviting and interesting since it's one of the first things viewers will see when looking at the application.
2. Proper Grammar - Grammar needs to be correct not only in the title, but also in the description box that lists what your project is about. Professionalism is an important marketing tool when trying to reel in viewers into being interested in the product you are publicizing.
3. A Catchy Phrase - Although the product/project is what is most important in donors choose, having a catchy title will make viewers remember your project over the next project. Just like a quality picture, a quality title will be the icing on the cake for the viewers to see.
4. Show compassion - The viewers will be more obligated to support your project over someone else if your description shows the compassion towards the students. Teachers are in need of these resources because they care about the success of their students, so the description should say so too!
5. Make your description lengthy - The description is what sells your project! Viewers want to know more about the project you are wanting funding for, so the description needs to be as detailed and descriptive as possible. The description is what made me choose a specific donors choose over another based off the information the teacher provided.