Category: Service

Writing Letters to Santa: From the Headlines

Annual North Pole Effort to Answer Kids’ Letters to Santa Claus Wraps up
“There’s no price tag on joy,” he said as he and several volunteers folded return letters — a handful of more than 20,000 responses to children who wrote to Santa this year. “It’s just a piece of paper with words on it, but the people who come out and give of themselves during the busiest time of the year, all to provide a child, and sometimes an adult, with a smile is pure charity and kindness,” Gaborik said.

Helping the Magic of Christmas Live on
For something that merely started as a way to buy my sons’ their Christmas presents, this has certaily turned into something more. It shows me that there still is a certain innocence in our world and that we need to let children be children…

Please also consider being a part of The Challenge.

Suggested Reading for 12/06/2008

Our Newest Community Service Project – The Reno Bike Project Project – Just one of the many great things going on in Brian Crosby‘s classroom. Perhaps it will give those interested in The Challenge some ideas.

Seven Mistakes Teachers Make with Technology

So What Is the Future of Schools?

The Educational Debate – Tone Matters

To Sing with Soul

Why You Need a Personal Learning Network

Give until It Feels Good – Perhaps another idea for those interested in The Challenge.

I’m Thankful…

This post has been rolling around in my head for a couple of weeks but I didn’t get around to sharing it prior to Thanksgiving Day. I read Babbo’s Being Grateful Makes You Full of Greatness today and realized it would be good practice for me to go ahead and share some of the things for which I’m grateful.

I’m obviously thankful for family, friends, good health, a job, a home, our Savior, and all the other big and much more important things in life. This post is an effort to move beyond all of that and help me consider the countless other blessings in my life.

I’m Thankful…

  • for free Wi-Fi in public places like the airport in Charlotte, NC.
  • that there are often Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the house.
  • when I can drive the speed limit the entire trip between home and work.
  • that we are no longer having to buy diapers!!!
  • for each person in my PLN. You’ve greatly impacted my professional development.
  • to hear that so many of my former elementary and middle school students are doing well in college and adulthood.
  • that the Mississippi State Bulldog community unanimously appreciates the character of now-former coach Sylvester Croom.
  • for the many Sonic Drive-Ins in the greater Memphis area.
  • that I won’t spend the Winter shoveling snow out of my own drive-way like my buddy Dennis.
  • for the many consulting opportunities and collaborations that came my way in 2008.
  • that this season of Heroes is really good.
  • for DVRs.
  • for hard-working and engaged graduate students. They are the reason I do what I do.
  • that gas prices aren’t so high right now.

THE CHALLENGE to All Educators 2008

(Repost from 11/20/2007)

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.

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Here are some useful resources related to this topic.

Please share other resources that you recommend in the Comments below.

An Opportunity to Make a Difference

Google announced an admirable initiative called Project 10100 (pronounced "Project 10 to the 100th") yesterday. Everyone around the world is invited to submit ideas for changing the world by helping as many people as possible. Google has committed 10 million dollars to help make 5 ideas come to fruition (good word!).

Here are a few thoughts.

  • This could be a good way to involve students in service education. Perhaps you could work together to brainstorm a new service project or use this opportunity to greatly extend your efforts with an existing project.
  • This may be a way to make one of those awesome ideas we teachers have floating around in our heads become a reality.

    • Related Resources

  • The Challenge
  • Service Education

    • NECC This Morning

    I’ve spent most of today participating in the following sessions and meeting online friends in the Bloggers’ Cafe. I’m looking forward to the presentation of the ISTE Classroom Observation Instrument (ICOT) later today. I’m curious to see how it stacks up against similar instruments like LoTi. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to post my thoughts about it. For now, here’s what I’ve attended to day.

    Diigo: A Swiss Army Knife for Your Browser by Maggie Tsai, Diigo Co-Founder
    Maggie gave a crash course in the basic features and use of Diigo. After her presentation she asked to interview me on camera and I reluctantly agreed. I shared some of the most common ways that Diigo is being used by my students, teachers with whom I mentor in professional development, and by me. She also asked me to share ways that I thought their technology could be improved and I reiterated ideas that I’d previously shared on Miguel’s discussions (here and here) related to this topic. I was pleased with her responses to my technical and design suggestions (She even contacted the engineers about one of the issues while we were talking.) and she provided Diigo’s rationale for why the ads, for now, will continue to exist throughout the tool. She assured me that they are indeed considering

    Creating a Ning Network from Scratch by Steve Hargadon
    If you want to learn about setting up your own Ning you might as well learn from the master. I’m comfortable using this “tool” but Steve provided useful insight regarding design and implementation which I found valuable.

    Using Understanding by Design (UbD) to Create Technology Rich, Deep Learning Unit Plans by Chris Lehmann and Marcie Hull
    There are oodles of similar models out there but I found this one to be practical but thorough. I’m going to take another look at Understanding by Design when I return home.