Clif’s Notes

When I become a Teacher

What kind of teacher do you want to be?

Newsletter on Educational Technology

Throughout the years many of the preservice and in-service teachers in my classes, workshops, and presentations have requested that I start an email newsletter. They indicate that in addition to this blog they would like to receive occasional emails sharing rich resources related to technology integration. I’m excited to announce that I have answered these requests.

Clif’s Newsletter on Educational Technology focuses on the effective integration of technology with teaching and learning. Subscribers of this free service will receive occasional emails providing valuable resources and information about lesson plans, activities, technologies, research, etc., related to educational technology.

OPEN TO PUBLIC
Subscription to this newsletter is open to everyone. You are encouraged to share this with everyone with an interest in education (teachers, administrators, homeschooling families, friends, classmates, co-workers, etc.). Everyone is invited to receive this free newsletter.

PRIVACY POLICY
Your email address will never be shared with others. You may unsubscribe at anytime.

MANAGING SUBSCRIPTIONS
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1 Thing

I’ve added a new feature to Clif’s Notes called 1 Thing. This special section is an area where guest bloggers can communicate “1 thing” they would like to share, suggest, say, demonstrate, etc. about a particular topic. This section will forever be a work in progress, so feel free to suggest guest bloggers and topics anytime. You can easily access this section by clicking on the 1 Thing link in the main menu.

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Did You Change the World Today?

Gadberry asks the important question, “Did you change the world today?” So many teachers go into the profession with the genuine intention to positively impact the world. Unfortunately, many of us allow lesson planning, grading, IEP meetings, curriculum standards, meetings, sports, tv, errands, etc. to fill the bulk of our schedules and crowd out any possibility of changing the world. You know exactly what I mean, so I won’t insult you by pontificating on the obvious.

I haven’t positively changed the world today, but I still have about 7.5 hours to work on it. I assure you I will.

Now it’s your turn. Did you change the world today? (Please share in your the Comments below.)

Related Resources

• The Challenge
• Links and Information

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Feed the Hungry

Free Rice is a fun and educational way to feed the hungry. It’s simplicity is genius.

I checked the legitimacy of the website’s claims. Snopes states that the claims are indeed true

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OLPC Extends “Give One, Get One” Program

I recently mentioned that OLPC had kicked-off a fund-raising drive that allowed consumers in the U.S. and Canada to acquire an XO laptop of their own. It was announced today that the deadline to participate in this opportunity was extended until December 31, 2007. Here’s the announcement from the OLPC website.

Since November 12th, OLPC has been offering a limited-time Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During Give One Get One, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. Thanks to a growing interest in the program, we are extending Give One Get One until the end of the year. You also may donate laptops via our Simply Give and Give Many options. Though the increasing public interest in OLPC, we hope to give many more children the opportunity to grow, explore, learn and express themselves.

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THE CHALLENGE to All Educators

I recently wrote a post encouraging educators to get students actively involved in service education. In it I provided my rationale for implementing service activities in the classroom and suggested some resources to help you get started.

Your feedback has caused me to decide to take this a step further. Now, rather than simply encouraging teachers (in general) to do this I’m now challenging you (specifically you) to start a service activity in your classroom. The holiday season is upon us, so I think it’s a perfect time to talk about service and initiate a project with your students.

Here’s THE CHALLENGE.

1. Kick-off a service activity in your classroom.
2. Make us, the readers of this blog (there are hundreds of visitors on a daily basis), aware of your project before you begin. I’ve dedicated a new section of the blog to this activity and added a permanent link titled The Challenge to the main menu. This allows us to to share information, provide links to personal/ class blogs, wikis, websites, etc. where we can learn about each other’s projects and share resources and ideas. You can post your information by a) leaving it in the comments in The Challenge area, b) emailing me a link to your project blog, wiki, site, etc. that I’ll add to The Challenge area, or c) emailing me your information, files, links, etc. that I’ll post in The Challenge area.
3. Keep working on your project and enjoy all the wonderful things that will surely come from it.
4. Share. Share. Share. Let’s provide updates by which we (including our students) can all follow each other’s progress. Again, you can do this by clicking on The Challenge link in the menu, or by emailing me links, information, files, photos, etc. that I can post on Clif’s Notes for you.

Let’s make the world a better place. I CHALLENGE YOU!!!

Resources

Here are some great resources to help you get started.

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OLPC: Give One, Get One

From the One Laptop Per Child site…

“The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.”

WAIT, that’s not all. You also get one year of complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot access for FREE.

Order you laptops, now.

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Kiva.org

I recently learned about an online non-profit organization that is trying to alleviate poverty all around the world. Kiva allows you to lend money “to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world–empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.” It has received great reviews and endorsements from notable organizations and individuals that lead me to believe that this is a trustworthy cause.This would be a very easy way to get students involved in service. It requires minimum effort to get started and provides the opportunity for you and your class to keep up with your grantee’s progress.

We’d all enjoy hearing your ideas and experiences related to this topic.

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Service Education

Of all the educational curricular areas and ideas service education and moral education are my favorites. Of course I became a teacher to help students become literate and knowledgeable and to assist them in becoming excellent mathematicians, scientists, etc. I think that is all very important. However, my primary motivation for becoming a teacher was and is that I want to encourage students to be “good people.” I think it is important to teach students the value in being kind, respectful, caring, and giving. I’m a big believer that actions speak louder than words. Students often learn more by watching what we do rather than from listening to what we say. I also believe that learning is enhanced when the learner is actively engaged. Service projects provide excellent opportunities to combine all of these elements into experiences that can have great, great benefit. Who knows, you might even end up encouraging your students to start their own projects just like these kids have done: Common Cents and PurBlu.

Here are a few trustworthy resources to help you begin using service projects in your classroom.

1. Kiva
2. Modest Needs
3. Touch A Life
4. Hurrican Katrina Recovery in Pascagoula, MS
5. Ryan’s Hope
6. Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation
7. Children for Tomorrow
8. Cancer Related Charities - The Breast Cancer Site, American Cancer Society, Relay for Life, Live Strong, Susan G. Komen
9. Access even more resources by clicking on the Service tag on my blog and bookmarks.

Would you please share your service project ideas, experiences, and resources with the rest of us?

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Helping the Starving [VIDEO]

I’ve received countless requests to post this again, so here it is.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this short video speaks for itself. THIS is truly “must see TV.”

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Hurricane Katrina: A Retrospective

My good friend, John Dobbs, is a minister in Pascagoula, a town right on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He has written a moving post entitled Two Years in which he reminisces on some of the things that have happened since hurricane Katrina brought detestation their way. We must not forget the ongoing needs that are still down there.