Moving at the Speed of Creativity - Step up and help classroom teachers with DonorsChoose!

Step up and help classroom teachers with DonorsChoose!

Published by Wesley Fryer in digitalstorytelling, economics, edtech on October 23rd, 2008

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

I have a personal challenge for you: Provide a small donation for a classroom teacher who has posted a purchasing wish on the Donor’s Choose website. I’ve created a custom giving page for “Moving at the Speed of Creativity,” and I’m considering what type of incentive to offer if readers and contributors reach a specified level of giving.

The September 28th post on the DonorsChoose blog suggests:

Offer to do something wacky if your readers reach a certain level of donations. Last year, the blogger behind TomatoNation.com offered to dance through Rockefeller Center dressed as a tomato if her readers funded all the projects on her challenge page. It worked.

I’m not sure I’m up for dancing through Penn Square mall dressed up in a funky costume, but who knows? Maybe such a ploy would bring in the bucks for a handful of Oklahoma teachers wanting to purchase digital cameras for use by their students in class?

Consider the following request offered up by a 1st grade Oklahoma teacher:

Pictures will help us remember our learning activities and projects, and help me reinforce learning objectives and procedures. Unfortunately our classroom camera was stolen last year and we are unable to record the events in our classroom. Our parents don’t have extra money in their budget to help buy a replacement camera.

A new camera, that would be locked up safely, would help us record our work. Once the pictures are downloaded, they can be printed on my photo printer/scanner, and added to scrapbooks that will go home at the end of the year. The pictures would also be saved to my SnapFish account so that we can create class books that demonstrate action words, classroom procedures, and community involvement.

Got any suggestions for a wacky offer I should make to promote DonorsChoose contributions? This sounds like it could work into a great opportunity for StoryChasing and having another member of my family document the event with my flash-based camcorder.

If you have your own blog or wiki, consider setting up your own giving page for others on DonorsChoose and posting a linked widget on your site.

Thanks to Scott McLeod for bringing the DonorsChoose blogger challenge to my attention.

Technorati Tags:
donation, education, teacher, camera, cameras, donate, classroom, learning, buy, donor, donors, choose, donorschoose

On this day..

4 Comments »

http://www.mindoh.wordpress.com Amy Strecker

DonorsChoose is a great program! I’ve had two different projects funded through them; they are an incredible resource.
https://room114.wikispaces.com/ Jim Cottrell

I see a lot of people seeking document cameras. A DIY solution might be made with a tripod and a good webcam. Has anyone heard about anyone trying to use a two or three megapixel webcam for this purpose. Mounting a webcam under a tripod might also work to hold the webcam. (For an adjustable base, one could use a flexible microscope light stand to hold the webcam if they found a tall one.) Some digital cameras also have a “webcam” function. These might also work if the megapixels of the webcam feature is high enough.
http://www.wesfryer.com Wesley Fryer

I would like to construct that type of “document camera on a shoestring” solution to use in workshops, Jim– I have needed to show my iPhone screen during presentations and wanted a document camera when one was not available at times… I forgot that some digital cameras have a webcam function and could be used in this way. You’ve got me thinking…. I certainly think it’s worth exploring… One of the problems with buying a document camera is that it might tend to be used exclusively by the teacher– a camera in the hands of students could be used more creatively (hopefully in good ways)– I’m going to do some experimenting on this and will report back.
http://www.theteachingpost.com kerry

nice post thanks!

I also find a similar subject in teachingpost, you can visit the website here: http://www.theteachingpost.com.

they provide your sounds, videos, pics, docs, etc and also we can share info or solve our problem in the community that they have provide. Or if you want to chat, they have the session for you.

many teacher around here need to be supported like what did you said, and i’m also starting build a page to support it. will let you know then…