Technology in the classroom - The vendor teacher relationship...

I was thinking about the things in my life I like to support.  I have a mall next to my neighborhood that is remarkably nice but pretty new.  As such, it's not as busy as it should be to sustain itself and flourish.

So, whenever I can, I head up and show my support by shopping there.  I don't head out to the more established larger mall in another town as often.

This story really only illustrates one point - if you like something, you have to support it.

I understand that there is a convoluted relationship between vendors who offer technology for schools and the people it would help.


If you are the vendor of these technologies, please realize your job isn't merely to sell stuff, but is to improve a particular classroom.  If the classroom doesn't significantly benefit from the technology you bring to it, move on gracefully.

If you are the teacher or are the person whom is being sold a product for the classroom, if it benefits you greatly, take the leap!

Realize that by not supporting something, there is no reason for it to exist.

Support what you believe in!

______________

comments below are appreciated
twitter.com/believekids

school fundraisers

The Best High-Profit Elementary School Fundraisers for PTA's PTO's

If you are involved with a PTA or PTO at your elementary school, you know first-hand the challenges of picking a successful school fundraiser.

Have you noticed a tendency to not want to burden parents, to want to be as gentle as possible because the economy is in trouble or you believe parents are hit up too much?

Believe me, your not alone!

Here's the thing though.  I've watched PTA's and PTO's choose the softest, least intrusive fundraisers only to schedule additional fundraisers later in the year.  I've seen fundraisers that take so much work to organize, that other functions of the parent group grind to a halt.  I've seen so many fundraisers run in a year, that parents stop participating in school sponsored activities.

So, there are a lot of companies, services and self-hosted fundraisers available to you but there's a secret.  There's a way to achieve the best high-profit elementary school fundraiser for your PTA or PTO.

How you ask?

Well, you could go through the numbers right?  The only numbers needed are estimated number of participants you can expect multiplied by how much on average a participant will sell.  You could ask your fundraising company what their participation is in your area and what their average sale is..  You could look at last years event fundraising records for the number of tickets sold and the income generated.  Or you could go a completely different way.

Ok, you ready for the secret?

Pick the fundraiser that will generate the most action, excitement, RESULTS!  What you are looking for is a RSVP, a ticket sale, a commitment, a purchase or an attendee!  Yes, instead of the softest sale, you want the hardest in-your-face sale in the history of sales!

So whatever you choose, make sure that the principal will get behind it!  Ensure that each and every teacher will become an active participant and supporter!  Make sure that every parent knows why it is important and why they just have to participate!

With any luck, you've picked a fundraiser that can extend to the community or even nationwide (as in the case with many high-profit elementary school fundraisers - no obligation disclaimer as this is my company).

Regardless of who you use for your PTA or PTO Fundraiser or what type of event you choose to host, there is no substitute for planning and careful execution!  Keep your fundraiser short and make it important and forget about having to run other fundraisers later in the year because you didn't hit your fundraising goal! 

This approach will shatter your fundraising records!

Ok, until next time!

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elementary school fundraisers

Teachers and Parents Relationship Important...

I just wrote a post on the educators PLN ning site.  I wrote it because I just released a book written by Hunter Thomson and myself entitled '101 Low and No-Cost Promotions for Your Fundraiser'.

The book outlines 101 low and no cost fundraising promotions that encourage fundraising participation, keep things exciting and reward sellers.

The point of the blog post was that the relationship between Teacher and Parent is critical and should be encouraged.  In order to give that relationship the chance to develop it requires, a few things have to be in place.  Minimizing distraction, adding responsibilities, disappointing parents, asking for too much too often and other factors all play into the dynamics that allow teachers and parents to have a trusting relationship.  The type of trusting relationship that encourages parents and teachers to work as a team to help children learn.

In order to create this trust, administrators, principals and parent groups need to be cautious what is introduced into that relationship and what demands are put on both teachers and parents.  Things like fundraising too often or not very effectively is a big concern.  Additionally, offering  products, services and events that do not offer value or are not professionally done can also be a disappointment that undermines a teacher's ability to include parents in their child's education.

Take a quick look at the post here:

http://edupln.ning.com/profiles/blogs/101-low-and-nocost-promotions

As always, let me know what you think.  If you would like more information on how to effectively host a high-dollar elementary school fundraiser, just let me know.  Otherwise, comment below or on twitter - twitter.com/believekids

Book download is available from Slideshare - just hit download button towards the top of this slideshare page.

Thanks!!

What Kind of School are You?

As a parent group member, administrator, principal or teacher, have you ever stopped to think what type of school you really represent? What is the aura or personality of your school?  What kind of words would parents use to describe it?

Should the goal be to have every parent love the school?  I think that's a reasonable goal.  The thing is, it's a tough task. I believe it takes a united front and a consistent message.

Here's another way to look at it:

If the school was a person sitting next you at the dinner table, what would it look like?  What demeanor would it have?  What would it truly stand for?  What would it say?  If it were to get one point across, what would it be?

I think schools often send the wrong messages - or at least inconsistent ones.  Ask yourself if your school motto, marketing message or the updates sent home to parents reflect what the school really stands for.  Is your school sending mixed messages?

If there's one thing you can do today, it's to be more aware of what message your school is currently sending and then ask yourself what the school should be in the mind of parents and the community. The point is to recognize what it should truly stand for and go after it - no holds barred, no compromises.

Sooner than later, the people of the community will sit the school down at the table and everything will make sense.

_________________

Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising, a company that offers traditional gift catalog fundraising.  Jay blogs at believejay.blogspot.com regularly as well as at thefundraisingpln.com and can be found at twitter.com/believekids

If you enjoyed the content here, please add to your RSS feed or comment below!  Thanks for sharing!

Building Momentum - Social Media and building a PLN

Eric Sheninger - esheninger.blogspot.com

Principal Eric Sheninger's post Building Momentum outlined several points about how and why Social Media and building a PLN has changed his point of view.

To sum up his take on it, the four areas of improvement are:
1. Communication
2. Branding
3. Professional Development/Growth
4. Opportunity

There are a few added benefits that Social Media and creating a PLN (personal learning network) that were not explored in his post.  Because I am very passionate about technology, social media and my PLN I thought we could explore these ideas together and see what revelations can be found.

Here are my additions:

1) Cohesiveness
Social media and PLN's seem to be creating groups of individuals that share the same passions.  Education reform, edtech, collaborative learning, paperless classrooms all represent ideas that, when searched out, become apparent.

Finding a group with similar needs has always and continues to develop excellence in certain areas.  For just about anything a person is interested in, there are groups out there of people that are already connected and moving their cause or idea forward.

2) Friendship
Having real flesh and blood friends is pretty cool.  There was a time recently where folks were anonymous on the web.  Now that everything's changed, you stand the chance of actually taking online friends from largely anonymous interactions to flesh and blood friendships.

Today, meetups, tweetups, conventions and events allow people from various parts of the world to mingle and meet - in person.  It's new and different, and real.  People from across the country who would only write letters to each other are now meeting face to face knowing what they are really about.

3) Education
For every person that encounters a circle of friends on social media or runs into an established set of like-minded individuals, it's hard not to learn something.  Generally, the discussions are poinient and powerful and really, not basic.  Running into a group of experts is a great learning experience.

I believe people exposed to a group that is at a higher level learns fast.  I am a proponent for the paperless classroom not because I don't like printing.  It's because I ran into the TeachPaperless blog through a number of conversations on twitter.  I nearly consider myself an expert in the area because of the wealth of knowledge I received in short order - no joke.

4) Inspiration
There is inspiration found in the sweaty brow of an athlete at game time.  I'm not much of a sports fan but there just is.  Similarly, an educator who is 'in the zone' so to speak has an energy and enthusiasm for what they believe in as well.

I am inspired by the educators and suppliers that provide energy and insight.  When I was in school, only a hand-full of teachers were requested by students wanting to get in their classrooms.

Online, I feel like everyone I run into is that teacher you go out of your way to get into their class - that's inspiration!