Clif’s Notes

Random Notes from Clif

Joe Namath graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies today, 42 years after leaving Alabama to go pro. Great story!!!

Have you ever seen The Human Clock? Be sure to also check out The Human Calendar!

I don’t think that I’ve ever mentioned Modest Needs. It’s another good source to get involved with charity work/ service education. The slogan, “Small Change. A World of Difference.” says it all.

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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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More about OLPC

This video nicely overviews the One Laptop Per Child initiative. Watch it and consider making a donation or purchase.

Several more good videos about OLPC are available from the BBC.

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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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