Hey hey, it's unpopular opinion day! A post for cash-strapped schools.

So, here you go. 

Schools that are financially in trouble, should not be raising money for charity outside their schools.  Phew, I said it - out loud even! 

Now, I understand that there are people that could be outraged by my comment and I do freely risk criticism there.  I probably deserve it too but hold on...

The thing is, I'm not against raising money for charity.  In fact, my professional career relies on it.  I also know that part of why schools raise money for disaster relief, foreign charity or health related issues is because it allows children to understand the importance of causes.  It can also connect our children with the world - both compelling reasons.

It allows people to come together in support of something bigger than you and I alone.

My point is only that sometimes, the school itself needs to be that cause and we shouldn't hide from it or make it any less important than it actually is.  Sure, it's not curing cancer or ending hunger.  But what it does is encourage our children to find their passions.  In the right situation, their classroom is a platform for discovering an interest that may just change the path they take in life. 

We just need to be clear that it's not that a worldly cause is bad, it's just that sometimes, you need to take care of your home base before you can head out to help the world.  It's alright if your school is the cause from time-to-time if it needs to be.

Ok, until next time!

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www.BelieveKids.com
www.Twitter.com/BelieveKids
www.Facebook.com/BelieveKids
www.BelieveKids.com/Blog/
www.BelieveFundraising.Wordpress.com

Cellphones are a Distraction in Classrooms - NOT!

Hey, there's a newer perspective out there.  One that allows and encourages smartphones in the classroom.  I am in total agreement that devices that encourage us to seek out information are beneficial to the learning experience.  Don't let me try to explain it, get it here from the source:

Cellphones are a distraction

Ok, until next time!

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Twitter.com/BelieveKids
The Fundraising PLN

Technology in the Classroom of the Future...

I read an article about technology as it relates to blended learning, online courses and brick and mortar education.  There really is not a lot of answers about what the future of education looks like.  I understand there are different camps.  For instance, online courses need students and brick and mortar schools need kids in seats.  How will these to camps meet up and what does that look like?  Nobody knows.  I really wanted to put a quick comment out there for educators and anyone else who may find it interesting. 

When I think of the future of education and technology in the classroom of the future, it reminds me of how I think of future technology and wonder what it will be like.  I wonder why soap dispensers in restaurants are allowed to run out of soap knowing darn well there is a technology solution that could fix that.

Then things happen, technology adapts and changes and every once in a while there is an unexpected game changer like those old giant cell phones from the 80's.  More recently, the iPhone comes to mind.  Nobody saw it coming and yet, when it arrived it felt right, a perfect addition to our lifestyles.  It seems like it was so obvious.

I leave you with this.  Use technology in your daily lives and classrooms as much as you can.  Take a chance and ignore any negative feelings you get telling you not to do it.  Push through and change your classroom or your day so that you automate, simplify and allow others to engage.

What happens next is you or someone else takes your idea further and it seems quite natural.  This is the way of technological improvements.  So, go do something with technology today and that will open up an opportunity for someone to one-up you later.

Ok, until next time! 

Teachers - Reduce Bullying by Improving Classroom Climate

I have a problem with Bullying.  I don't like it and I'm pretty sure you don't either.


Here is an article for teachers on how to create a plan that reduces bullying in the classroom:

Reduce Bullying by Improving Classroom Climate

Ok, until next time!

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www.BelieveKids.com
www.Twitter.com/BelieveKids
www.Facebook.com/BelieveKids
www.BelieveKids.com/Blog/
www.BelieveFundraising.Wordpress.com

Current Technology in School - It's here!

Yesterday, I encouraged us all to embrace technology and go for it despite any challenges.  Today I offer a link to a short news post from the University level illustrating a commitment to ushering in a new day.

Here is proof that it's here and ready for us to put it to use in the classroom and our daily lives:

Free iPad 2 for New Freshman and Transfer Students

*Note how they mention that the only limitation will be the pace of faculty integration.

It's here for the taking, at least at Long Island University :)

Ok, until next time!

Somewhere between Philantropy and Education Lies School Fundraising

I'm going to get on my soapbox for a minute and let the educators in my PLN know that fundraising is good and they should support it.  Fundraising is a philanthropic effort, and yet, there is resistance to it.

When many educators here something about fundraising I suspect they wince a bit.  I know how it goes.  I know that goes against the fiber of what it means to be a teacher and you'll enjoy my reasoning... Here it goes:

1) Teachers do not like intrusion - Anything that interrupts a teachers day is not good.

2) Teachers need to be encouraged to have amazing parent/teacher relationships and selling things can mess up that relationship.

3) Teachers want tools, devices and technology but what they want most is time enough to do their jobs.

4) Teachers feel that the school demands things from them and doesn't reciprocate when they give of themselves.

There's my down and dirty (and quite honest) rational as to why teachers resist getting involved with fundraising and other school activities and events. Hey, for anyone that is offended, I apologize upfront.  I am sure that many teachers do not struggle with these issues and that others feel like they do more than their part without complaint.  The individuals I mention above really do exist though in a large way and I think I have a few solutions we can consider.

The first thing that has to be addressed is intrusion. Fundraising companies, schools and administrators should minimize intrusion of classroom time.  Where it is absolutely necessary, let teachers in on why so they can be part of the overall team and not feeling like they are being taken advantage of.  If a school sends home an alarming amount of requests for this and that, consider minimizing or consolidating to make things easier.

Regarding relationships I believe that when schools introduce items that can negatively affect a parent/teacher relationship, teachers feel threatened.  A product, for instance, being sold that is not a good value or that is of low quality can erode that relationship.  I believe teachers have every right to protect themselves.  The moral is, do not pass anything on to parents that could jeopardize a teachers ability to create trust with a parent.

When it comes to a teachers time I believe that they should be able to manage day to day with some time left for professional development.  This development, I suspect, would lead to introducing new technology into the classroom and putting into place time-saving measures and collaborative learning exercises.

School fundraising events and product fundraisers should give back to the classrooms.  Teachers should see a reward for participating in school fundraising in the form of supplies they desire.  If teachers realize their efforts reward their class in particular, they will be more likely to support fundraising.

Technology can help!  By going to a digital classroom, many things like grading, tracking etc. can be done in nano seconds instead of hours.  If the input is digital so is the output so teachers who can integrate devices should be able to save hours of grading time.

Reciprocate!  A relationship between administration and teachers is a two-way street.  I believe that teachers if feeling well taken care of, will act in a more responsible way.  Teachers who feel they are being 'shafted' will not put in 100%.   Just because schools are government funded, they should not be run like the DMV.  We all owe it to our children to be active, involved and participating to the best of our ability.

This happens when we feel valuable and recognized.

So, I hope this has stoked the fire a bit.  I feel a bit strange about this one only because it's pretty honest and I don't want to speak for teachers.  In the end, I have gathered and presented this information to help everyone feel better about fundraising and why it needs to be supported.  The thing is, our teachers may need some support first before buying into the fact that fundraising is good for them too.

Ok, go out there and do some good and I'll catch up with you next time.

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Elementary School Fundriasing
Elementary School Fundraising Blog
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
Facebook.com/BelieveKids

iPad2 Facetime in the Classroom

I just ran across this test of Facetime on the new iPad.  This is not a classroom specific example but how will classrooms use this new feature?  I bet there's some creative and fun ways education will put this to use!




Ain't technology grand!

How the iPad 2 Will Revolutionize Education

I spend my days creating effective fundraising programs so that schools can fund items not affordable without assistance.  Of particular interest to me has been learning devices that create collaborative learning environments and I believe the iPad2 does just that.

First off, apps can and will be made to fill any particular niche that exists.  What that means is if, as an educator, you want an app to test children's math skills in first grade, someone will make it and sell it to you or even give it away.  As soon as folks realize there is a market, the apps will come flooding in.


The device has officially crossed the threshold.  What I mean is that with any other technology that has been introduced, there's always a 'well, if it only did X'.  With the iPad2, that has been removed.  It can do X and there just needs to be an app for that.

In the last week, I've been very encouraged with so many teachers introducing iPads into their classrooms and noting the ability for the device to be used for collaborative learning!

For more information, check out this introductory article:

How the iPad 2 Will Revolutionize Education

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Conversation via twitter (twitter.com/believekids) using hash tag #edtech --- Please comment below, follow this blog, share with friends :) 

Information on how to raise money for technology in the classroom - elementary school fundraising ideas

Thanks!!

5 Teacher tools - Presentations and Documents for the Classroom

A couple valuable teaching tools for ya!  These are all online websites so, we're talking classroom 2.0 stuff here.

Of course, these can be used for personal 'fun' projects as well as business applications so enjoy!

1) Slideshare - www.SlideShare.com

Online document or pdf viewing tool.  Easily upload entire documents for viewing and downloading.  Free.  Here is the Believe Kids page so you can see what we've created with it:  http://www.slideshare.com/believekids

2) Prezi - www.Prezi.com

Incredibly powerful animation drives this presentation software.  You can create and use online of offline.  Free with premium options.  Although I haven't used it personally, I have seen it in action and it's very cool.

3) Google Docs - docs.google.com 

It's pretty common these days but if for some reason, you're not using google docs, you probably should be and then you can say goodbye to lugging your home laptop in or using a thumb drive every day.  You can collaborate on documents and access them from anywhere you have an internet connection.

4) .docstoc - docstoc.com

 An online storage site for documents.  Not only can you find a lease or other 'real' documents you can download, but you can upload your own!  Free with a way to earn money off documents as well.  Not sure how.

5) Scribd - www.scribd.com

Scribd ties into facebook which appears to make uploading and sharing files pretty easy.  I haven't tried it.  They have tens of millions of readers every month as well as tens of millions of documents online.  Free.

The Believe Kids Tweetcloud...

I thought it was pretty cool... What's your tweet cloud look like?

Amazing  believekids   Best   Blog   books   child   children   classroom   edchat   edtech   education   elementary   Engage   followers   friends   fun   fundraising   getting   going   Google   Great    help   High   inspiration   interesting    kids   Learning   lesson   list   looks   love   Moms   more   National   nice   online   parents   Please   Post   preschool      quote   Reading   Recommended   Resources  schools      students   Summer   teachers   Teaching   Technology   Thanks   things   think   Thx   Tips   today    tool   tweets   Twitter   using   video   want   Ways  

http://tweetcloud.com/

New Video - Change Education

Here's the next video in our campaign to "Say No to Less in Schools."

It's about supporting learning in the classroom by volunteering time inside the classroom and supporting school fundraisers. 

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think :)

Easy Ways to Support Education

We've been launching a lot of new videos lately about the importance of supporting school fundraisers this year. Please keep in mind, that there are many ways to support your child and his/her school. The budget crisis really has affected schools nationally. It is important now more than ever to get involved in your child's school.

Volunteer to help after school.

We all know that several school programs are being cut due to budget shortfalls, but you can help put a stop to that simply by volunteering your time. You can volunteer to lead an art class, music class, or reading class. If you are great at working with your hands, you can offer to help build the set for a school play, paint the backdrops, or run the lights. Or you can simply volunteer your time by offering to be an extra set of hands at school practices, taking tickets at school functions, or calling other parents to help volunteer.

Volunteer to help in the classroom.

If your schedule permits you to have free time during the day, volunteer to help your child's teacher in class. You can help by reading books, being an extra set of hands during craft time, or distributing materials like papers, pencils, and books. The teacher will be glad to have an extra set of hands during the day, and your child will love to see you at school.

Donate school items.

Almost every school has a list of needed school supplies. You can help by going through some of your child's old books and donating them to the school library. Or buying some packs of pencils and papers and giving them to the school. You can even look through some of your child's old coats and donate them to the school for children who may not be able to afford a coat. Any donation helps.

Attend PTA meetings.

Becoming involved in your school's PTA is one of the best ways to stay informed on everything that is happening. You will learn why the school needs to have a fundraiser and what that money will go to. You will find all kinds of opportunities to volunteer and become involved in your child's school. You will also form a network of other parents that are in a similar boat as you. Joining the PTA gives you the most options for coming together with other adults and finding solutions for the needs of the school.

Support the main school fundraiser.

If your child brings home a fundraising packet this year,
please do not discard it.

Every school has their indiviual reasons for raising funds. Not just to pay for things that aren't critical but to impact education directly for each and every child in school. We know that education is the most important cause today and yet, children can't speak up for themselves to let us know just how important it is.

It is not widely recognized as being critically important because most of us do not have a chance to see inside the classroom. Rest assured. From the Principal to administrators to teachers and parent groups, funds donated are utilized in the best way possible. Schools use what they are given and take full advantage of their resources.Please support a child and a school.

Whether it be time or money, anything you do to help a school this year is important. Please realize that your help and participation at your child's school really does make a difference. A big one.

Students and blogging - recommended reading for teachers interested in blogging in class.

I am interested in technology integration in the classroom so I wanted to pass along this blog post for you to checkout. It's from someone I follow on Twitter. I really thought it appropriate to pass on and I hope anyone reading this is trying their best to integrate technology in schools in any productive way they can:

Ten Things Your Students Can Blog About Today

I recommend you take a minute to take a look. Thanks!

YouSendIt.com - Today's technology moment - sending large files to and from your classroom

If you have emails bouncing back to you undeliverable, it's most likely a bad email address. But, if you've ever had an email with an attachment just disappear and the recipient doesn't get it, you may just need YouSendIt.com

There are limits on sending and receiving mail at most schools and when checking mail in your office or classroom, you may not be sending or receiving the file sizes that folks work on today.

If you use video in your classroom, large powerpoint or slideshows, it's really not very likely you can email it to someone. It may leave your computer alright but the recipient may not be able to get it. I have a 10mb limit on my work email and that's equivalent to perhaps a 4 minute compressed YouTube video. If I were editing raw footage, that's another story altogether.

Point is, there are a lot of files these days that exceed what your email system will send but there's a way around it:

You Send It!

This service allows you to send large files via email. It's very easy to use and there are a number of subscription offers to choose from. You can send mp3 files or video files or any large artwork pieces without sending a disk in the mail!

The lite version is FREE! check it out here

This service works like a charm with even the largest files and I highly recommend it! Even if you don't use it all the time, it's good to have in your arsenal of killer technology to bust out when needed. You can receive big emails at school or even send big files anywhere you want easily.

I doubt this URL would be listed on your firewall at school either.

Again, that's a thumbs up review for YouSendIt.com

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If you are considering getting this to share your home files with work you may want to look at SugarSync.com which is an easier way to share your home and work files.

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising - a nationwide traditional fundraising company for elementary and middle schools. If you have comments or suggestions, please leave them below. I can be found at twitter - twitter.com/BelieveKids Thanks for looking!

Why Traditional School Fundraising Should Fuel Technology Integration in the Classroom

I remember as a kid getting a number of Apple II computers for our computer lab in school. They were awesome! Not only that, but the 64 KB performed pretty darn well on the green screen as I recall.

Point is, we didn't have a school-wide fundraiser to get them.

These days, schools, districts and states have to make hard decisions. There's no doubt that the budget crisis schools are facing today is making budgeting for technology difficult. Even at the best of times, making technology a priority is a choice. It's something a state, district and school needs to pay particular interest to and be aware of what it truly takes to effectively integrate technology into the classroom.

I know that I am of the minority when I say that as a parent, I would be more than happy to provide an iPhone or iPad or iTouch or a Kindle or laptop or whatever I needed to provide for my kids. I really feel technology is such an empowering tool that it's worth any financial sacrifice I would put forth.

I also know that asking parents to contribute cold hard cash towards these items across the board would be a monumental disaster and it's flat-out not going to happen. Just because I would put that first doesn't mean others will for a number of reasons.

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Side Note: Has anyone studied replacing typical school supplies with technology? My kids come home with piles of paper. It's great in it's own way, but, I wonder how close the expenditures in office supplies, paper, printers etc. compares to a paperless classroom? A topic for another time perhaps :)

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Can the technology be free?

I think that the computer companies of the world discuss education as a 'market' and not a 'charity' so there's really no indication that technology will be free that I know of. Will Government properly fund it? Based on the computer system in the DMV, I'm guessing no. Will parent's pay? Unfortunately, not likely directly. I know it's a sarcastic little paragraph there but money always has to come from somewhere.

So, how then can fundraising help?

Traditional fundraising has the ability to raise money for a cause. When done right, it extends beyond just parents and the community on the whole can contribute. When folks get behind a cause, there is a strengthening of community and a better sense of a understanding our priorities as a civilization. They generally get tangible rewards in exchange for their money so contributors feel it's a proper exchange.

I believe that when an individual has the realization that they will do something great for a child, without really impacting them negatively, they will respond favorably.

The community will rally behind the need for technology in school if the need is presented in the right way. My job in the fundraising industry puts me in the direct path of the need to figure it out and make things happen. I will commit energy and resources towards accomplishing the goal of better funding for technology.

It's not clear how the future will unfold when it comes to replacing paper with electronics but there's not much disagreement to the fact that it will happen one day soon.

Believe Kids is honored to be funding technology in the classroom today, but we really look forward to funding the bigger technology reforms and integrations we know will come tomorrow!

In the meantime, keep integrating what you can into the classroom and we'll formulate a plan so when the switchover from paper to touchpad comes, we'll all be ready.
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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and blogs here at fundraising-advice.com If you liked the post, please follow or make comments/suggestions.

I can be reached directly on twitter - twitter.com/BelieveKids

Introducing Random Acts of Kindness at Your School

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Actsofkindness.org is an organization that encourages kindness on school campusus. What's amazing is the amount of excellent content they have on the site. Educators can easily create lesson plans for fun and educational activities at school just by visiting the 'Free Stuff' link.

Educators Take Note - this is an amazing resource and you should take just a moment to check it out. I really can't believe a group could be put together to promote kindness but it's just touching - and I'm sure it works!

BelieveJay Quick Tip - their Teachers Guide is a good place to get a TON of ideas on how to introduce elements of their program into your classroom. I especially found the section on 'activity ideas' interesting because these activities may just spark ideas on introducing other study areas with these fun activities. It may just improve other areas of your lessons.

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and can be reached at twitter - twitter.com/BelieveKids with any comments. As with any of my posts, please make comments or suggestions and share if you see fit. Thanks for looking!