As the school year comes to a close, Yachad’s Individualized Vocational Development Unit (IVDU) Schools, located in Brooklyn, would like to express thanks to the Joseph LeRoy and Ann C. Warner Fund for a generous grant of $15,000. The Warner Fund’s donation at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year enabled IVDU to buy three SMART Boards and six new computers to outfit classrooms that didn’t have them. Students have been able to publish their work online and to achieve even more depth in their learning thanks to the interactive technology integrated into lessons. As but one example, Simcha, one of this year’s graduating students, was able to publish all of his newsletters onto an internet blog.
IVDU teachers have used the SMART Boards in a variety of ways this year. The frequent utilization of visual aids – including photos, illustrations, maps, graphs, games, and video – has significantly enhanced the way the students process class material. Additionally, differentiated learning styles are made possible as students have the option of not only observing a lesson, but also dynamically participating in the lesson using the touch-based features of the Smart Board. Especially at a time when smartphones often steal students’ attention, the sophisticated, savvy and interactive style of the Smart Boards enables learning to be more fun and engaging than students could have ever imagined.
“It brings out a personality in the students that you don’t see on a pen and paper,” said Dovid Jankelovitz, a teacher at IVDU. Daniel, an IVDU student, enthusiastically agrees. “It makes class more interesting because we get to take a break from looking in books, and get to see real footage.”
The extent to which this grant has helped the IVDU Schools is incalculable. We’d like to publicly thank the Warner Fund for supporting the growth and individual learning needs of our students, and for better enabling us to provide tools for their future success and independence.