Clif’s Notes

A New Year Begins…

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I spent the winter break with my family and took a break from work. I pretty much unplugged (from email, blog, twitting, etc.) for the duration of the break. I’ve never really unplugged before and I’m surprised how much I enjoyed it. Of course, I’ll be catching up for a while, but it was well worth it. Anyway, that explains all the silence here on the blog.

Here are some notes to help us catch up.

• Our presentation proposal for NECC was accepted. I’m very excited about attending this year’s conference.
• Merry Christmas - We celebrated 4 different times. That’s actually a low number for us.
• Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. I heard her speak once and was impressed.
• The Bulldogs won in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC went 7-2 in bowl games and even captured the national championship.
• Happy New Year - I remember ringing in 2000 just like it was yesterday. I can NOT believe it is already 2008!!!
• Each of us in our family made resolutions for 2008. Did you?
• A line of tornadoes ripped across Central and North Central Mississippi. One tornado in particular tore through the little community of Caledonia. You can read about the devastation and recovery efforts here and here.
• The Cowboys, Titans and Colts have all lost. I don’t really care who wins now as long as it’s NOT the Patriots.
• Our new semester begins today. I’m excited about the courses I’m teaching.
• The Australian Open has gotten underway. I’m pulling for Djokovic and Davenport, but predicting that Federer and Henin will win.
• The Bulldogs are now 2-0 in the SEC. Tomorrow night’s game against Kentucky will be on ESPN.

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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Edublog Awards 2007 Finalists Announced

Finalists for the Eddies have been announced. This annual event showcases the best education blogs. Browse through the finalists and cast your votes for your favorites. Voting will conclude on December 6th and the awards ceremony will be held in Second Life on December 7th.

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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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