Upgrading on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Please consider donating your old/less wanted stuff to @gr8fullyfeclub

Hi all,

So far, I've helped about 5 students this year with my charity.  I've got to set up meetings to make it a 501c3 nonprofit and continue to network with companies so that we can have their old, off lease stuff.  I'm hopeful that over the holiday season, students can bring me their old phones, ipads, tablets, notebooks, and even desktops and all in ones for the charity.  My goal this year is 25, and I've decided to do a few things to make that happen.

a) Have students write thank you notes for their donations, and at least post them on social media if not send them to the donors.
b) Run a donorschoose project or two to get the SSDs and RAM that will make the old tech faster again.
c) Donate 2 more machines of my own to the cause.
d) Get better at screen replacement, on phones and on tablets and laptops, so I can keep some more of the broken ones going
e) Make a blanket donation slip and actually offer tax incentives for people who donate (finish the 501c3 stuff)
f) Write some grants

Anyhow, I hope you're all having a great day today, and if you are considering recycling tech any other way, please consider us first.  I only want students in Hartford to have fair access to technology, and by breathing new life into your old tech with Linux, I can make that happen for no cost except my time.

Have a great Turkey Day everybody!

Mark @gr8fullyfeclub

More Gratitude

Hi all,

A parent recently received a donation of 9 laptops from a company he's affiliated with.  They are a bit old, a bit large (17" i3 laptops) but they are such an upgrade to our school.  For instance, the teacher machines in our building run windows 7 and haven't been replaced or upgraded since 2005.  Every year, the budget gets reduced in public schools, and it's always a choice between keeping staff and getting functioning technology.  The teacher machine in my room is a dual core pentium, with 2 gigs of ram.  The machines that were donated were i3s, which are significantly faster and newer, and they are portable, which is a big deal for many of our staff members who have to attend meetings and can't bring their desktop computers to meeting rooms.  I kept a few for my room, but I also donated some to staffers who I know need them.  The social worker attends meetings most days, so she needs a laptop to take notes.  Another colleague teaches English but has 3 ELL students in one class, who require computers to translate.  Another staff member is giving online assessments, but his teacher machine isn't fast enough to handle the software. 

As I upgrade the school building, I'm also sending computers home to students.  Some of these students have financial need, as diagnosed by the counseling staff, the school social workers, or teachers who know them well.  Some of them just want technology and are willing to help me fix it for others.  I'm hoping to build in the ethic in many of my students that they should help others in need.  Sometimes I think it's working - for instance, I have a former student who saw my pleas on facebook for my donorschoose project to get a laptop, and decided to donate his old laptop instead! 

At any rate, the feeling I want to convey is gratitude.  I am humbled by the generosity of others, and I am staggered by the amount of difference that even a small upgrade like this can make.  I'm excited to see what a full upgrade to our school would look like, and this keeps me committed to writing grants, getting estimates, and ensuring that our school gets upgraded, by hook or by crook.

Have a great day all!

Mark @gr8fullyfeclub

Gratitude

Hi all,

I had a parent bring me 9 laptops yesterday, and a former student offer another.  Maybe I finally have a bit of momentum behind this nonprofit of mine.  The hard part now will be getting students to help, and distributing them effectively so that everybody gets what they need.  Of course, my teaching still has to take priority too, and my grading :) 

However, this is real progress, and it's really neat to have some folks believing in what I do, for my school and my students.  I can't tell you how good that feels.  With this momentum, it's easy to forget the trials and tribulations of my day to day existence.  In fact, this morning I'm going to get to the YMCA and have a quick workout before school, then get there early and maybe fix a few computers while I'm getting ready for the district assessment today. 

Anyway, I guess gratitude is the best option.  I'd rather live a life of gratitude than live any other way.  I hope you all can find some in your life today.  It's there if you're looking.

Have a great day all,

Mark

Power of positivity

Hi all,

I want to share a few things that happened to me this weekend, purely because I'm a nice person and I told people about it.  I went to a few restaurants, and reviewed the service and food well on tripadvisor and google maps.  I showed the servers/bartenders/managers at the restaurants the sportive reviews I was giving, and they replied in kind.  At one place, we got free chai tea.  At another, free dessert. 

At any rate, it was easy/free for me to give these positive pieces of feedback.  It's also uncommon.  Most people just get what they need/want and move on.  Because I'm willing to point it out when people do nice things, or are very good at their job, or are just helpful and kind, I generally get free stuff and the best kind of customer service.  In short, when I see people do nice things or do their job well, I say so.  To them, to their manager, to the internet . . . doesn't matter.  I'm shouting it to the void, and maybe people pay attention, and maybe they don't.  Either way, I said it.  Merely appreciating someone is literally free, and doesn't take much time. 

Now, sometimes I get bad service, or crappy food, or they don't remember my order.  Any of these things can also happen at restaurants.  When this happens, I try to be kind and understanding.  I don't always succeed.  However, getting chicken instead of shrimp in my dish because a person who doesn't speak English very well is understandable.  It was great chicken, and I'm not pescetarian, so in the end what does it matter?  I'm grateful that I have food to eat.  If the folks at the restaurant are rude, slow, on their phones, or not nice to me in any way, I might do a negative review.  But it takes a lot.  I believe in spreading mostly joy, but I regard it as a natural consequence/Karma if someone is not a nice person.  The negative review by me is just the universe's way of letting them know that they ought to be nicer to paying customers.

Anyhow, hopefully you all get some free stuff for saying nice things today :)

Mark

TIS Santa/Oprah

Hi All,

It's that time again.  I am going to ask you to help me be Santa Claus to a bunch of kids in Hartford who need your help.  Here are the things you can do to help less fortunate students succeed.

a) Donorschoose.org, and sponsor my project(s) to get chromebook and wacom tablet (which gives my classroom a smartboard without paying smartboard prices)

b) Give me your old broken technology (phones/tablets/computers) so I can put them to use in my building and in my students' lives. 

c) spread the word about this idea to your company/network, so that they might consider corporate giving.  I'm in the process of getting a 501c3 nonprofit going, so that I can provide tax incentives for businesses giving.

When you upgrade, please give me your old stuff.  If your company is upgrading, please ask them to give their old stuff to me, for the same reason.  I'll make sure it gets to a good home, in a classroom or a needy student's house.  All I ask in return from the recipients is that they pass something they have along to someone less fortunate than them.

Have a great day!

Mark

p.s. - TIS is tech integration specialist, and Santa/Oprah is because of the phrase, "you get a laptop, and you get a laptop!" and because I'm bearded and look a bit like Mr. Kringle.

Calling all upgraders . . . labor day weekend sale!

Hi all,

I hope you're having a nice long weekend.  Mine's been pretty good so far.  I just wanted to remind you all that if you upgrade your techy things - laptops, calculators, cell phones, printers etc - that my soon-to-be 501c3 nonprofit would be glad to take your old ones off your hands. 

I'm always amazed at what I have, and what I take for granted.  I'm able to buy what I want, usually, and the old stuff just sits around collecting dust, totally unused.  I need to get rid of the old stuff as soon as I'm sure the new stuff works well.  Sometimes selling it is too much hassle, so I donate.  At any rate, please consider donating your old electronics to me and my students.  I'll wipe it with DBAN and put either ubuntu, mint or debian on it (all flavors of linux), then give it to a student in need or use it in my classroom's linux lab. 

Thanks for considering, and happy Labor Day Weekend shopping!

~Mark

gratitude

Hi all,

I have a pretty good life.  Though some parts can be difficult at times (like nudgy students or bills, or dealing with the cable company), overall my life is really good.  I have people who love me, care about me, and want to make me happy.  My house is warm, despite the blizzard outside, and full of food.  My cars work, and are fun to drive.  I even got a few people from my life to fully fund my donorschoose for my school, so I get 4 new calculators and a charging station, and can make my classroom solar powered.

By practicing gratitude for these things, rather than worrying about the things that are hard or annoying, I can keep myself centered and balanced.  It might also mean I can get past the difficulties with more ease.  I think the hardest thing is patience.  It always takes time to get things accomplished, especially when I want them the most.  I'd like to have my charity funded and giving laptops to every student who needs one in CT.  However, that requires funding and patience, and I don't always have the time to make things happen.  I also need it to be a legit 501c3 charity, with a separate tax return etc.  Then, maybe I can apply for funding with gofundme? 

Anyway, hope you are all safe, warm and happy today.  Have a great and hopefully gr8ful day!

~Mark

p.s. - another shameless plug: If you upgrade your electronics, please consider donating the old ones to my charity.  I'll refurb them with linux and send them out to my students in need.

Want to feel good about your holiday purchases?

Find an end-user that will appreciate your leftovers.  For me, this was my aunt and uncle's old Canon Digital Rebels.  I was lucky enough to play with them for years, when they upgraded.  I became a photographer (amateur, admittedly) because I happened to have good equipment.  I can't tell you how much this has affected my life.  However, not everyone has a niece or nephew to support.  Instead, rather than selling old things on the internet, I'd advocate giving these things to people in your community who will use them well.  That same old digital rebel has been used by countless students, the kids of a few different girlfriends now, and a few others.  I guess this is the heart of my "hoarder communism."   I want to see my things go to places where they are appreciated and used.  I don't want to have people haggle over them at a tag sale, or bid low for them on Ebay or Craigslist.  If you remove the money component, it's easier to get rid of things.  Appreciation is far better currency. 

Not everybody can afford to do this, so I suppose my privilege is showing.  However, since I can afford it, I choose to when I can.  The hard part is connecting people with the things that they need or want badly, so that their appreciation will show.  I suppose if I was truly altruistic I wouldn't need the appreciation, but it seems to help motivate me to give. 

At any rate, I hope you find ways to give, and if you have old tech, I'd love to help you give it to a student in Hartford that could surely use it.  Old cell phones, computers and tablets (especially laptops), even with broken screens and other issues, are usable for kids who don't have any tech.  I just put linux on them, speed them up with #debian or #ubuntu, and the gratitude flows (as well as the performance of those students, who now have a way to word process and do internet research). 

Have a great holiday!

Mark

The leftovers

Hi all,

I suppose it's appropriate that today of all days I'm talking about leftovers.  I'm sure Turkey Sandwiches will abound.  However, this missive isn't about turkey.  I know I'm shopping Black Friday sales to see what I can upgrade in my life, though I don't really NEED anything new.  When I do upgrade, I hope to pass my less needed devices to students in my life that need them.  For instance, I've found a laptop for about $100 that has an i5 processor, and I will use it to replace one of the laptops I have.  The old one will go to a student, with a fresh copy of linux on it (debian or ubuntu, I haven't decided yet).  This is the way I will give back this holiday. 

At any rate, if you are doing anything similar, I would love to donate your old things to my students.  They come from very impoverished backgrounds, and could use any electronic device.  The smaller and newer the better, as many of them are hungry or homeless, and need portability.  However, I still take old digital cameras, TVs, desktops, printers, etc.  As long as they have some life left and you don't need them anymore, I'd be @gr8ful if you could help. 

Have a great Black Friday, and I hope your gratitude extends farther than your belly.  I know I put on a few pounds yesterday lol.

Sincerely,

~Mark

still gr8ful

Hi everybody, and Happy Veteran's Day!

I'm frequently reminded of the sacrifice made by so many to ensure the lives and liberties we are afforded.  I'm a quirky mix of patriotic, liberal, and solemn on days like this.  I am solemn because on this day, we celebrate everyone who has served in our armed forces.  Many have died, and many have given parts of themselves (some literally) to ensure our safety, freedom and security.  I often think I should have enlisted in the Air Force Academy or Coast Guard.  I wonder, given how liberal I've turned out, how that experience might have changed me.  I pledge allegiance to the flag each morning (though I leave out the Under God part because it was added in the 50s and I believe in the separation of church and state).  I use my moment of silence after that to think about those who have gone before me and how they might face the day to come.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm grateful.  I've never given my own service to our military, but I appreciate those that do.  I hope that my life, helping students learn math, can measure up.  At any rate, I'm grateful for those who have served.  I thanked as many of them as I could yesterday because we don't have school today. 

Have a great day, and stay gr8ful!

~Mark

choices, and how they make (or break) your day

Hi all,

Happy Election Day.  I hope all of you are voting, exercising your rights as citizens.  I am still trying to figure out how to vote, since today it will require an extra hour and a half of driving to accomplish.  However, it might be worth it.  Anyhow . . . this morning I arrived early to professional development.  1.5 hours, to be exact.  THEN, the first hour of PD was scheduled to be reading the pre-reading, which was 9 pages long.  An HOUR for 9 pages?  I mean, I know we're math teachers, but . . . seriously?  I could whine and complain about wasted time (and, believe me, I did), but I think I can make better choices than that.  It's ok to be upset by things, but letting that drive my actions isn't a great way to go. 

Anyhow, I took full advantage of being early.  I walked across the street to Trinity, waited until their breakfast opened at 7:30, and got a homemade omelette and a smoothie for 6.25.  I took a funny picture of a squirrel on a cannon, and enjoyed the thought that I might be a professor someday.  A security guard was rude to me when I got here early, so I decided to take a stroll on a crisp New England morning, on a fancy liberal arts school and see what their dining hall had to offer.  I could have stewed, stayed in my car or fumed at the security guard.  I could have wasted time driving around Hartford, trying to do something productive or something fun.  Instead, I got all my steps in, enjoyed a window into early morning college life, and had a nice leisurely breakfast.

In short, I'm grateful for the choices afforded me by my upbringing, my lot in life, my attitude, and most importantly the choices I've made.  I could have squandered my privileged upbringing by letting my choices fade me into obscurity.  In some ways I suppose I have.  I'm not that rich, that famous, or that well respected.  However, in my own corner of the universe, I've affected the lives of at least a thousand students.  Probably more.  I hope the effect has been positive, but in case it isn't, I hope at least that I made them think. 

My life's work, I hope, is still in progress.  If I'm lucky and make good choices, maybe I can get this 501c3 off the ground.  Then I can scale up my charity so I can actually get funding for it, and perhaps increase the scale I'm working at so that more people get access to technology.  Currently, through friends and coworkers, I take about 10 laptops per year and donate them to the neediest students at my school.  I'd love to do this large-scale, and get the neediest students in Hartford access to laptops with linux and a way to access the internet.

Anyhow, hope you're having a great day so far, and that you can find ways to turn things to the positive, or find the best parts in your day.

~Mark