Since 2015, WW Georgia Teaching Fellows have had the opportunity to apply for WW + Goizueta microgrants. The microgrants benefit not only the metro Atlanta Fellows, but also the schools and communities where they teach, their students, and the other educators with whom they work, providing rich opportunities unusual in high-need schools, even for veteran teachers.

Michael Fusia, a 2016 WW Georgia Teaching Fellow at Kennesaw State University, used his microgrant to buy technologies for his classroom at Wheeler High School in Marietta. He was able to purchase a class set of Makey-Makey boards, Arduino kits, and laptops. The Makey-Makeys, as seen in the video above, are circuit boards that allow the user to override a computer keyboard, teaching students about conductivity and circuit systems.

“When they were first introduced, students were given a tableful of different materials to use, including bananas, pencils, and toothpaste,” Mr. Fusia writes in his grant report. “They needed to determine how a circuit is connected and what materials conduct electricity. It is this curiosity, questioning of preconceptions, and engineering mindset that I look to instill in the students.”

Mr. Fusia’s students have had fun experimenting to create game controls with the devices. “Students are excited to come to class and play with all the toys. They are more engaged than they would be with traditional lecture and enjoy the hands-on activities and experiences the microgrant has provided.”

More information about the WW + Goizueta microgrants and other Fellows’ projects can be found in this booklet.

---