Good morning all,
Yesterday I built a desktop with my stepson. It was the first time in a long time I'd done so, and it was pretty fun seeing how far technology has come, and installing hardware in the age of youtube. Every time we got stuck, he pulled up a video on how to do whatever part we were doing. It was a stark contrast to the first time I built a machine in 1999 or 2000, where I felt very alone and wondered at every step whether I was doing things right. It was very nerve wracking for me not to have support, so I'm glad I was able to support his build, and that youtube was there too. He said that even with the support, he felt nervous because he'd spent so much money on parts and he wanted it to work right and not screw it up.
Anyway, the upshot of all of this is that we now have his old laptop to donate to @gr8fullyfeclub. So we have a few machines ready to donate (or will after today). My question is always what is worth fixing. It's an i7 laptop with a broken screen, and my stepson has been using it with an external monitor. It needs a new fan too. But with a system reset or Linux, it should be fast and functional for a while for somebody. If @gr8fullyfeclub was a fully funded nonprofit and I wasn't spending my own money, I think the 50 or 60 it would cost for a new fan and screen would be a no-brainer. This happens frequently, because the donated machines we get are usually donated for a reason. Someone upgraded, or something little is wrong and it finally got too annoying to the person. A dead battery, a cracked screen, windows was too bloated . . . . each of these little problems is worth fixing, but I shouldn't afford to fix them out of pocket. I could start a donorschoose if I was doing this at a school, but right now I'm not. So maybe a facebook fundraiser or a gofundme.
I think I'd like to do this full time, at least for now. But that means making a 501c3 nonprofit or an LLC and filing separate taxes, as well as finding people to fund the nonprofit or writing grants. I'd like to take a modest salary and pay my stepson for all the help he's been giving me. Covid-19 has given me an emergency and a problem to solve. Everyone now needs connectivity, and for that they need a working device. I always thought that was an equity issue, but now it's come to the forefront because without tech, people are uninformed and unable to connect in a basic human way to their families and friends. This leads to poor choices in the face of this pandemic, which may account for the inequities we're seeing in terms of income and race and the pandemic's deadliness.
This idea for @gr8fullyfeclub started as a "ripple effect" for my students. Parents, Teachers, and my family and friends would give me computers to repair, and I would fix those I could, put linux on those too slow to run windows, train my students in their repair and use, and send them home with a needy student. At first, the needy students were identified by me, using their interest in Linux and their willingness to help me as a screen. I'd ask them basic questions without prying, such as, "what kind of computer do you have at home, " and "how many people share it, " to figure out whether the student needed it or just wanted it. I eventually got more sophisticated, using school social workers and counselors to identify need. I suppose I'm at my third iteration now, as Covid-19 and my new facebook friends, Winsted Neighbors Helping Neighbors is helping me identify need and put computers and tablets in the hands of those who otherwise wouldn't have connectivity. My friend Sarah, who does an incredible amount of good around town, will start by giving them to her clients who need them to have telehealth meetings on zoom. Her statement below:
I work for Greenwood’s Counseling Referrals. A non-profit that offers counseling and addictions services regardless of the persons ability to pay. The technology would be going to people in Litchfield County to be able to continue their mental health and addiction recovery programs through tele health services. We work with youth to adults and we are finding our clients' technology is not adequate the the tele health service.
I think this idea, that people should give their 2nd and 3rd best pieces of technology to others in need, and thereby help them connect and appreciate, so that they can then someday give to people less fortunate, is infinitely scale-able. It could be used, for instance, to solve the connectivity problems for students in Winsted and Hartford. Distance learning has put tech inequity at the forefront of education, because if a student has no internet connection or no reliable computer to access it, or shares their computer with a whole family, they will have a hard time doing their schoolwork and passing for the year. In Hartford, I know they gave out some Chromebooks, but not everyone was covered. Even if they were, they might not have good internet connectivity unless they go to McDonalds or a library, where they might spread Corona. In Winsted, I know Gilbert gave out Chromebooks, but again, without reliable internet service they aren't fully effective.
I am grateful that I have the technology that I have, and it's a privilege I try not to take for granted. I have two laptops, a shared iPad, and two fast smartphones, which is a silly amount of tech for one person. I also have fast internet, a good router, and a working printer and scanner. I have enough tech that my 8 year old and 18 year old, and my wife, can all work on schoolwork or stream videos or play video games at the same time. My contention is that my 3rd best of everything should be donated to people who don't have that privilege. I have personally given away at least 5 laptops in the last 10 years, as well as several phones and tablets. This keeps me from hoarding them, but it also helped innumerable people connect. These people in turn gave away their old tech to people in their lives, thus creating the ripple of gratitude and connectivity that I'm striving for.
I think I learned this idea from my cooperating teacher, Mark Flaherty. Whenever he did something nice for me, I'd try to pay him back even though I couldn't afford it at the time. He always brushed off my attempt, saying that I would someday do something nice for someone else. It was one of my first encounters with paying it forward from a non-family member. It left an impression on me, and I hope that what I do with technology and Linux is in some small way paying it forward from the kindness he showed me when I needed it. I also was primed in this sort of thinking by my family. We always did for others in our family, especially the elderly and the infirm, without asking for anything in return. We'd have Prelli work parties to help people move, or shovel my grandma's snow, or do yard or garden work. I think this ethic growing up prepared me for the "Pay it Forward" mindset I received from Mr. Flaherty, and eventually led to the genesis of my fledgling charity.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Friday, April 3, 2020
Mea Culpa, and Covid-19
Hi all,
I owe you, and myself, an apology. I've stopped doing one of the things that made me who I am, and that helped so many students along the way. I used to take in donated computers at my old job, refurbish them and give them out to students in need. Now, due to Covid-19, this is being done by wireless stores, community colleges and I'm sure many that I don't know about. I want to see this movement to give everyone tech grow and thrive, and I'm not sure my place in all of that, but I've reached out to the community college to see if I can help.
To reiterate my beliefs about this, I believe everyone should have working technology and the ability to get on the internet. I believe this can be achieved through a sort of trickle down, where everyone gives their old devices to someone who needs them. If everyone could do this, and knew how to erase their data or make old machines young again (using linux, ubuntu or debian or just a factory reset) I think that at least in places like the US where we have so much, we could give our old tech to people who would need it and appreciate it. In this way, we could give places like Hartford, Waterbury and Bridgeport what they need during this pandemic. Instead of trying to stretch our supplies of beat up, donated chromebooks so that everyone has technology, we could depend on the goodwill of others.
Along with the actual hardware, places like Hartford also need electricity and internet for each household. I'm not sure how to guarantee that during this pandemic, and it's a larger problem than I can solve alone. But I can try to help by soliciting donations, refurbishing machines and giving them to people in need. I'd like to do this on a larger scale, but the barriers are:
a) Money (This takes some infrastructure, and income for me to support my family)
b) Donations (I've never been able to get more than my own personal friends, family and coworkers to donate)
c) Finding people in need (This has traditionally been my students in Hartford, but that's not enough - it can't just be the people who happened to have need and happened to be in my class)
Anyway, I hope you all find some way to be gr8ful today,
~Mark
I owe you, and myself, an apology. I've stopped doing one of the things that made me who I am, and that helped so many students along the way. I used to take in donated computers at my old job, refurbish them and give them out to students in need. Now, due to Covid-19, this is being done by wireless stores, community colleges and I'm sure many that I don't know about. I want to see this movement to give everyone tech grow and thrive, and I'm not sure my place in all of that, but I've reached out to the community college to see if I can help.
To reiterate my beliefs about this, I believe everyone should have working technology and the ability to get on the internet. I believe this can be achieved through a sort of trickle down, where everyone gives their old devices to someone who needs them. If everyone could do this, and knew how to erase their data or make old machines young again (using linux, ubuntu or debian or just a factory reset) I think that at least in places like the US where we have so much, we could give our old tech to people who would need it and appreciate it. In this way, we could give places like Hartford, Waterbury and Bridgeport what they need during this pandemic. Instead of trying to stretch our supplies of beat up, donated chromebooks so that everyone has technology, we could depend on the goodwill of others.
Along with the actual hardware, places like Hartford also need electricity and internet for each household. I'm not sure how to guarantee that during this pandemic, and it's a larger problem than I can solve alone. But I can try to help by soliciting donations, refurbishing machines and giving them to people in need. I'd like to do this on a larger scale, but the barriers are:
a) Money (This takes some infrastructure, and income for me to support my family)
b) Donations (I've never been able to get more than my own personal friends, family and coworkers to donate)
c) Finding people in need (This has traditionally been my students in Hartford, but that's not enough - it can't just be the people who happened to have need and happened to be in my class)
Anyway, I hope you all find some way to be gr8ful today,
~Mark
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Donations?
Hi all, and happy Wednesday!
I'm once again asking for your donations. I don't want anything new, just your old, broken computers and phones. I am expecting 3 more today from a UConn alumni friend of mine, which will bring my total to 16 for the year! I'm very excited about helping more students this way, and I will match the donation with 3 of my own older machines! I'm hoping to make a linux lab at my school, if they will permit me to, out of old machines. Anyway, laptops are especially good, even old ones that are slow (they will get debian linux or DSL - damn small linux) and still be functional.
Faster ones are even better, as they can support a more full featured operating system like Ubuntu, Edbuntu, or Mint. I can commit to fully wiping them with Darik's Boot and Nuke, then installing one of those linux operating systems on them and showing a student how to use it, then sending it home with the student.
If you have anything at home that you could part with, or at your business and need a charitable donation receipt, please let me know and I'd be glad to write you one.
Have a great day, and thanks for considering!
In Gratitude,
~Mark and the @gr8fullyfeclub
I'm once again asking for your donations. I don't want anything new, just your old, broken computers and phones. I am expecting 3 more today from a UConn alumni friend of mine, which will bring my total to 16 for the year! I'm very excited about helping more students this way, and I will match the donation with 3 of my own older machines! I'm hoping to make a linux lab at my school, if they will permit me to, out of old machines. Anyway, laptops are especially good, even old ones that are slow (they will get debian linux or DSL - damn small linux) and still be functional.
Faster ones are even better, as they can support a more full featured operating system like Ubuntu, Edbuntu, or Mint. I can commit to fully wiping them with Darik's Boot and Nuke, then installing one of those linux operating systems on them and showing a student how to use it, then sending it home with the student.
If you have anything at home that you could part with, or at your business and need a charitable donation receipt, please let me know and I'd be glad to write you one.
Have a great day, and thanks for considering!
In Gratitude,
~Mark and the @gr8fullyfeclub
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Big Dreams
Good morning all,
I hope you're all warm, safe and happy. If that's not true yet (growth mindset - just add yet to a negative thought), I hope it will become true for you soon. My business finance teacher in high school encouraged big dreams. He defined dreams as what you'd do with unlimited time and unlimited money. Here's mine - hope you enjoy. I model this for my students when discussing a SMART goal with them, so it has been edited at least yearly for several years now.
I have a charity, which is going through the process of becoming a 501c3 now. It's called @gr8fullyfeclub, and I keep trying to think of ways to make it more widespread. I'd like to do that full time, once it is big enough, and be a professional "technology integration specialist." To do so, I'd need a big donor or nearly unlimited money. So, onward to the dream.
I want to bring a big truck/trailer full of laptops to underprivileged schools, and leave them with the students and teachers. I think chromebooks would be enough horsepower, but I'd love off-lease i3s or i5s with ubuntu, mint, or debian. To make this sustainable, I'd need agreements with big companies to take their off lease computers when they upgrade. I'd also need at least a few expert students or former students to help me install operating systems or fix hardware before sending it into schools.
Ideally, the truck/trailer would be powered by a fuel cell engine or electric motor, and covered in solar panels so that it can charge everything inside on the way to the destination. I'd love to deck it out with @goalzero solar, and charge controllers that could power at least 100 laptops at a time as well as the lights/AC/etc in the trailer/van. I'd have a google jamboard and a SMART board in the van, at front and back, and sideways seating for students along the walls, so I could do mini classes in the van for about 10, with two screens running simultaneously.
When I arrive at a school, I'd have a quick assembly with the whole student body, if possible, or several mini lessons for a few grade levels at a time, explaining open source, linux, some internet resources and how to access them, and best practice for students with our technology. I'd also like to present quickly at staff meetings, hopefully the same day, on best practice for teachers with the tech I'd be giving out to the school. This initial visit would be followed up, monthly, with an update visit, which would be mostly Q&A and support for students and teachers who need it. I'd hopefully train a tech integration specialist or two at each school, maybe 5 teachers and 5 students, who'd be responsible for tackling the easy questions, helping users with their computer problems, and reaching out to me and my team if they get overwhelmed.
The overarching goal: EVERY student, in EVERY school in America, should be able to access the internet, do basic word processing, watch Khan Academy videos, and find out how to do things on the internet. The gauge for whether a student would be successful used to be whether or not there were books in the home, but as technology and the gutenberg project get going, the books they need are likely digitized. Motivated students can access anything they want to learn on the internet. Parents and Teachers still need to curate this content, but with enough guidance, students can learn anything. I'd love to have these computers come with internet - even if it was slow - 3g would suffice - because the students at the lowest income schools and cities won't have internet at home.
Anyway, that's the big dream. I think it's helpful to dream big, even if it won't fully come to fruition, since I can continue to work towards it in my small way at my school. Since 2005, I've rehabilitated as many computers as I could for my students. I'm up to about 25 a year now, with the help of a few intrepid students, my uncle Brian (the linux and open source expert/guru) and the donations of parents, staff members, and students at my school. There's no real way to measure the effects of these computers on the lives of my students, but anecdotally I can say that they help my students immeasurably. It removes the excuse that students can't do Khan Academy at home, or flipped classrooms where they watch videos about a topic for homework and get further explanation/coaching while they apply the skills at school.
So, to make my goal SMART: Specific: I will rehab and distribute at least 25 computers by the end of this school year. I will do it by June 15th, and collect pictures of students with their new computers to share with donors (like donorschoose). Measurable? Of course, if we don't get 25 it wasn't successful. Achievable? Yes, just need more donors. Realistic? I've already done 12, so I think it's doable. Timely? Yes, we set a time limit of June 15th. To make this goal happen, I think there needs to be social media presence - perhaps hootsuite, so it posts to all the accounts simultaneously. I also think there needs to be a good website, a way to easily donate, which requires 501c3 status and an amazon smile account, and somebody less busy than me to push it forward.
Anyway, I like the idea that we could push for technological equity with our students. Many of them have devices at school but not at home, or they have broken computers at home, or computers so slow that they are maddening to use. If we could at least level that playing field, I believe we could help close the achievement gap between the economically disadvantaged students we teach and the more financially advantaged.
Have a great day all,
Mark
I hope you're all warm, safe and happy. If that's not true yet (growth mindset - just add yet to a negative thought), I hope it will become true for you soon. My business finance teacher in high school encouraged big dreams. He defined dreams as what you'd do with unlimited time and unlimited money. Here's mine - hope you enjoy. I model this for my students when discussing a SMART goal with them, so it has been edited at least yearly for several years now.
I have a charity, which is going through the process of becoming a 501c3 now. It's called @gr8fullyfeclub, and I keep trying to think of ways to make it more widespread. I'd like to do that full time, once it is big enough, and be a professional "technology integration specialist." To do so, I'd need a big donor or nearly unlimited money. So, onward to the dream.
I want to bring a big truck/trailer full of laptops to underprivileged schools, and leave them with the students and teachers. I think chromebooks would be enough horsepower, but I'd love off-lease i3s or i5s with ubuntu, mint, or debian. To make this sustainable, I'd need agreements with big companies to take their off lease computers when they upgrade. I'd also need at least a few expert students or former students to help me install operating systems or fix hardware before sending it into schools.
Ideally, the truck/trailer would be powered by a fuel cell engine or electric motor, and covered in solar panels so that it can charge everything inside on the way to the destination. I'd love to deck it out with @goalzero solar, and charge controllers that could power at least 100 laptops at a time as well as the lights/AC/etc in the trailer/van. I'd have a google jamboard and a SMART board in the van, at front and back, and sideways seating for students along the walls, so I could do mini classes in the van for about 10, with two screens running simultaneously.
When I arrive at a school, I'd have a quick assembly with the whole student body, if possible, or several mini lessons for a few grade levels at a time, explaining open source, linux, some internet resources and how to access them, and best practice for students with our technology. I'd also like to present quickly at staff meetings, hopefully the same day, on best practice for teachers with the tech I'd be giving out to the school. This initial visit would be followed up, monthly, with an update visit, which would be mostly Q&A and support for students and teachers who need it. I'd hopefully train a tech integration specialist or two at each school, maybe 5 teachers and 5 students, who'd be responsible for tackling the easy questions, helping users with their computer problems, and reaching out to me and my team if they get overwhelmed.
The overarching goal: EVERY student, in EVERY school in America, should be able to access the internet, do basic word processing, watch Khan Academy videos, and find out how to do things on the internet. The gauge for whether a student would be successful used to be whether or not there were books in the home, but as technology and the gutenberg project get going, the books they need are likely digitized. Motivated students can access anything they want to learn on the internet. Parents and Teachers still need to curate this content, but with enough guidance, students can learn anything. I'd love to have these computers come with internet - even if it was slow - 3g would suffice - because the students at the lowest income schools and cities won't have internet at home.
Anyway, that's the big dream. I think it's helpful to dream big, even if it won't fully come to fruition, since I can continue to work towards it in my small way at my school. Since 2005, I've rehabilitated as many computers as I could for my students. I'm up to about 25 a year now, with the help of a few intrepid students, my uncle Brian (the linux and open source expert/guru) and the donations of parents, staff members, and students at my school. There's no real way to measure the effects of these computers on the lives of my students, but anecdotally I can say that they help my students immeasurably. It removes the excuse that students can't do Khan Academy at home, or flipped classrooms where they watch videos about a topic for homework and get further explanation/coaching while they apply the skills at school.
So, to make my goal SMART: Specific: I will rehab and distribute at least 25 computers by the end of this school year. I will do it by June 15th, and collect pictures of students with their new computers to share with donors (like donorschoose). Measurable? Of course, if we don't get 25 it wasn't successful. Achievable? Yes, just need more donors. Realistic? I've already done 12, so I think it's doable. Timely? Yes, we set a time limit of June 15th. To make this goal happen, I think there needs to be social media presence - perhaps hootsuite, so it posts to all the accounts simultaneously. I also think there needs to be a good website, a way to easily donate, which requires 501c3 status and an amazon smile account, and somebody less busy than me to push it forward.
Anyway, I like the idea that we could push for technological equity with our students. Many of them have devices at school but not at home, or they have broken computers at home, or computers so slow that they are maddening to use. If we could at least level that playing field, I believe we could help close the achievement gap between the economically disadvantaged students we teach and the more financially advantaged.
Have a great day all,
Mark
Saturday, January 19, 2019
gratitude
Hi all,
I woke up, far too early, after falling asleep at 6 pm last night after a week of 14 hour days. I'm not really wanting to be awake, but I can't really control that either. This makes for a lonely morning, but I've learned to deal with the solitude of the mornings. I sip my coffee, sometimes write on my blog, watch some youtube videos, and wait for everybody else to get up. I used to work with a guy that, whenever asked how he was, replied, "vertical and ventilating." I suppose that implies a general gratefulness for being alive. At the least, every day we're alive, we're able to do something.
So, instead of being mad about being up so early, I'm going to use my day in the best way I can think of. There are things I have to do, and things I want to do, and I'm hoping to strike a balance. I suppose we'll see. But I can always, at the very least, be grateful to be alive. I'm sick, I'm tired, and I barely made it through the week. But I'm alive, and that leaves me so much possibility. . . for the day, for the future, and for the ways in which I can affect the world.
Have a great day all!
~Mark
I woke up, far too early, after falling asleep at 6 pm last night after a week of 14 hour days. I'm not really wanting to be awake, but I can't really control that either. This makes for a lonely morning, but I've learned to deal with the solitude of the mornings. I sip my coffee, sometimes write on my blog, watch some youtube videos, and wait for everybody else to get up. I used to work with a guy that, whenever asked how he was, replied, "vertical and ventilating." I suppose that implies a general gratefulness for being alive. At the least, every day we're alive, we're able to do something.
So, instead of being mad about being up so early, I'm going to use my day in the best way I can think of. There are things I have to do, and things I want to do, and I'm hoping to strike a balance. I suppose we'll see. But I can always, at the very least, be grateful to be alive. I'm sick, I'm tired, and I barely made it through the week. But I'm alive, and that leaves me so much possibility. . . for the day, for the future, and for the ways in which I can affect the world.
Have a great day all!
~Mark
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Post Holiday excess computers?
Hi all,
I know in my household there are too many computers now - 2 extras, to be exact. The excess machines will be brought to school, wiped using Darik's Boot and Nuke, then linux will be installed. After students have helped me do all that, we will find out from the counselors and social workers which students really need new machines, and give them to them.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, or your company does, please consider donating to my students in Hartford. The adage used to be that books on the shelf in the home was the biggest predictor of student success. I humbly submit that now it's the internet, a computer fast enough to reach it, and the will to learn from it. I make each student learn enough about software and hardware to be able to maintain their own machine, enough about the operating system (Mint, Ubuntu, Edbuntu or Debian) so that they can install their own programs, and enough about the philosophy of the program that they will eventually turn up with donations of their own when they upgrade.
Even if all you have to give is a few extra flash drives or some mice and keyboards, it's all helpful.
Hope you all had a great holiday, spent with family, friends, and loved ones.
Sincerely,
Mark @gr8fullyfeclub
I know in my household there are too many computers now - 2 extras, to be exact. The excess machines will be brought to school, wiped using Darik's Boot and Nuke, then linux will be installed. After students have helped me do all that, we will find out from the counselors and social workers which students really need new machines, and give them to them.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, or your company does, please consider donating to my students in Hartford. The adage used to be that books on the shelf in the home was the biggest predictor of student success. I humbly submit that now it's the internet, a computer fast enough to reach it, and the will to learn from it. I make each student learn enough about software and hardware to be able to maintain their own machine, enough about the operating system (Mint, Ubuntu, Edbuntu or Debian) so that they can install their own programs, and enough about the philosophy of the program that they will eventually turn up with donations of their own when they upgrade.
Even if all you have to give is a few extra flash drives or some mice and keyboards, it's all helpful.
Hope you all had a great holiday, spent with family, friends, and loved ones.
Sincerely,
Mark @gr8fullyfeclub
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
flash drives, hard drives and parts?
Hi all,
I'm looking for parts for my charity. I need flash drives so I can put Darik's Boot and Nuke on a drive, then linux. Many donated machines come without hard drives, or broken hard drives, so some SSDs would also be great so that the machines could be much faster.
Please let me know if you have any, or have any ideas on how to get some!
Mark
I'm looking for parts for my charity. I need flash drives so I can put Darik's Boot and Nuke on a drive, then linux. Many donated machines come without hard drives, or broken hard drives, so some SSDs would also be great so that the machines could be much faster.
Please let me know if you have any, or have any ideas on how to get some!
Mark
Sunday, November 18, 2018
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
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
Saturday, November 3, 2018
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
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
Thursday, October 25, 2018
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
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
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
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
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
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