#RuralEdChat Archive
#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Tuesday October 11, 2016
Tonight on we will be discussing Funding Innovation. We will also be using Q# and A# to track questions and answers
Let's get started with the introductions. What's the 411?
Hi, ! We're so happy to be co-moderating tonight! We're an online platform for ANY edu ca… https://t.co/F5ixk1LJ35
Let's get started with the introductions. What's the 411?
Hey, I'm Tammy. So glad you are joining us tonight.
Hi, ! I may be a little in and out tonight. Always good to be here when I can!
We're honored that we were asked to be here :-) Thanks, Tammy!
Good Evening, ! Natalee, HS Humanities, Maine. TweetDeck is lagging for me tonight. Maybe my internet?
Hi Rita from Wisconsin here.
Hi, Natalee! Thanks for joining us tonight!! Sometimes tech can have its quirks.... :-)
Good Evening, Rita! So happy you're able to join us!
Especially in my rural area! At least it's not raining or windy. Then it's really iffy!
Welcome, Rita! So glad you are here.
Don't forget to add to your tweets so we can all see your brilliance.
We are super excited to have with us tonight. will be dropping the questions, but PC will be moderating the convo.
Oh my! Hope you weren't in that horrible hurricane! :(
Well we will be glad when you are here :-) Thanks for taking the time to join us!
Nope. It didn't make it up to Maine!
Hey, Valerie! So glad to have another Floridian in the chat tonight.
Thank GOODNESS! It was not a nice storm :( Feeling so heartbroken for all the damage...
No it wasn't. Many friends along our coast were hit hard.
We know many people who were hit and suffered much damage :( Glad you are ok!
Definitely heartbreaking.
Good evening . Kim Pond from Plant City, FL; Excited about this one since I am trying DonorsChoose for the first time this year
My brothers home at Jax Beach was flooded. 😩
Welcome, Kim! Glad 2 hear ur trying some ! We'd love 2 talk about how WE can help, too :-)
Q1: What is at the top of your classroom wish list?
I got 3 projects funded on Donor's Choose this year! YAY!
Oh no :( That's so awful. Is he ok, at least?
Happy 2 hear u had success w/ !We'd love 2 share how we are a little different,& can help as well :-)
A1: Right now, a projector. We have 1 for the whole HS.
A1: I have been sooooo lucky w/ grants! I don't have much of a wish list anymore. It is CRAZY! Would like $$ to pay for subs
It seems daunting but I had to go for it...funding is slow and the students seems to not want to spread the word...?
A2: Classroom libraries!📖
Only ONE?! Oh gosh. Please get in touch! We'd love to help!!
A1: I want 15 units and screens for them.
Glad to hear you've been blessed w/ extra $$$ at school! So many aren't so fortunate :(
I spread the word myself & asked friends to share on FB. Also a Wisco Edu Foundation matched grants last month.
Let us know if you'd like to check out how we can help make this process even easier :-)
SOOO Important!!! We have lots of Ts who fund for them w/ :-)
A1 Literally at the top is that my kids are happy, respectful, self-aware, steadily progressing, authentically themselves. :-)
That is a big one for sure! Would love to see all classrooms 1:1!
Grants, grants, and more grants. It takes time to write them but it's worth it in the end.
Let's connect w/ a DM after the chat!
we're a small school: 17 Ss, 3 full-time Ts, 4 part-time Ts. But 2 of us that use it the most teach @ same time!
Those are new to us! Will check them out! Would love to chat more about this, Tammy! :)
I know, I also want up to date maps
:-) Now that is a great topper for a wish list. https://t.co/fpiUK8DKKt
A1 Literally at the top is that my kids are happy, respectful, self-aware, steadily progressing, authentically themselves. :-)
A1: 1:1 Laptops and Tablets for writing, researching, creating, and exploring... would be convenient to stay in our classroom.
Absolutely! They can totally be worth it! That's another good way to get some $$$!
A1 Funding-wise, with student-designed units, it's hard to anticipate. Maybe a discretionary field trip fund.
wow, that is pretty small! Makes some more sense now... :-)
Oh goodness.... yes, that would be helpful!
We get so many causes for these on our website! So much potential with this !
:) I'm in a private, faith-based school. Very different situation from public schools!
Field trips are so valuable!
What do you feel are the pros to teaching in an environment like that? Definitely different! :)
A1+:Would also love to have VR viewers like Google cardboard...I am starting to explore VR studios like Aurasma and CoSpaces.io
Let's chat after the "chat"!
Ahhh, yes . It's so amazing what Ss can experience w/ the new available!
I believe more teachers are realizing that we have to be proactive if we want to bring the tech into our schools...
I have a lot more freedom to teach. But all $ comes from tuition. Ours is low to keep affordable for families.
Field trips are critical- taking students to areas beyond the local
Q2: What types of classroom funding have you used in the past? How was the experience?
That's wonderful because U know what's best 4 ur kiddos! That is the flip, though with $$$. We would <3 2 help u!
Can be hard in rural areas- greater distance to travel. Do you do much with virtual field trips?
A2: grants, projects, grant, local STAR Foundation grants grants,
A2 I share a "MS Curriculum" line item with all other MS courses except art and theatre. So "personal funding" might happen.
Would love to know when the next chat is. 😊 Please share!!!!!!
A2: Fundraisers and Donors Choose. Some were more successful than others. Recvd 3 Chromebooks through DC! 😀
A2: 100% of my experiences with grants have been WONDERFUL! Teacher-friendly & straight forward
You've done a lot! Which was the best experience?
Not as much as I could. I'm doing better about going to videos as a resource though.
Would love to get some ideas. Many needs are small ticket, but we don't have extra $$.
Well, if you must do so... we are absolutely here to help you every step of the way!
A2: I've done one Donors Choose. I have some funding but it's got specific rules. Not flexible.
That's awesome! Glad 2 hear u had success!We had a kdg T raise $$$ 4 a whole set of chromebooks 4 HER kiddos! :-)
I just followed . Thank you!
That's the most important! Glad to hear you've had positive experiences!
A2: is my 1st attempt at fundraising; daunting task but I have faith it will work. Ppl seem hesitant to donate...
I will have to check them out! Thanks!
We'd love to DM & can set up a time 4 u to chat w/ one of our co-founders! They love chatting w/ Ts 4 1:1 help!
A2: We have big, all school fundraisers to try to help meet budget: christmas wreath sales is our biggest.
They're awesome!! (& we can help fund them if you need... :) )
We offer some opportunities 4 u to earn $$$ w/o asking 4 donations! Ex: Facebook share $1 matching :-)
Sure! I've just followed you & I'll take a look at your website so I know more & can ask better questions! Thanks!
I keep a list on Amazon, too, more as a reminder to myself.
Definitely remember those from school! Do u feel they have an advantage over online ?
Q3: Have you had experience using any online crowdfunding options?
I have your site open in a new tab and will sign up after the chat. Thank you or giving your voice tonight!
you can add these links to a PC cause & make a goal based off of them... & fund that way! Worth a shot!
A3: Just (3 times) & it was great each time!
We'd be MORE than happy to answer any Qs! Also just launched our new preferred partner program... :)
A3: I have not done any crowdfunding...GoFundMe is the one I hear about most but it seems open to everything, not just Edu.
Then I definitely want to learn more.
Awesome! Let us know if you need help, & we are SO happy to be here! Check out the preferred partners,too :)
1 advantage is the Face2Face relationship. Ss/Ps sell to local businesses, repeat customers. Builds community.
Some ppl really have great outcomes w/ it! Sometimes its nice 2 chose ur own supplies,though.Depends on the cause!
We can set up a 1:1 call :-)
For sure! & Ss get the experience of doing so! More than one pro here. https://t.co/MdPVyb9XTY
1 advantage is the Face2Face relationship. Ss/Ps sell to local businesses, repeat customers. Builds community.
I have a vague recollection reading something criticizing Ts use of Donor's Choose. Can't remember gist though.
That sounds great. Looking forward to it.
well, that's tough for us to comment on because we have a bias... ;)
Some people criticize any outside funding as giving a free pass to districts to keep underfunding.
Interesting viewpoint... it's such a catch 22... Ts need the funding, but don't get it, so they look 4 other sources
I think that may have been it. Wish I could remember the article/blog post! It's bugging me now.
Love that gif of pusheen! So cute :-) Thanks for joining us!
I wonder why because I get that feeling also. It is definitely an intangible but present feeling...
It wasn't so much critical of the platform rather of crowdfunding...I think. Can't remember!
Right. I think, with this question, one has to respect any teacher doing what they think is right for the kids.
I think it's a philosophical issue for some? I don't know. Wish I could remember the post I read re: it!
Please share if you find!
Q4: What do you dislike most about online crowdfunding?
I guess I see and as ways for Ss and Ts to work together with the community in a positive manner...
100%. Ts need that power back where they are trusted for knowing what is best for their Ss. https://t.co/4oiE8goXNv
Right. I think, with this question, one has to respect any teacher doing what they think is right for the kids.
A4 I find there are so many genuinely worthy crowdfunding projects out there that it becomes overwhelming.
A4: Most of the time it feels like I'm begging my friends & family. Not reaching beyond a small circle.
And that's one reason why I haven't taken to it yet. Granted, I'm lucky to feel I have the choice.
Why not try them all? Not at once... but you can start w/ what's most important. https://t.co/BTaYL8SI8X
A4 I find there are so many genuinely worthy crowdfunding projects out there that it becomes overwhelming.
A4: ...the feeling of competition; when you have more than one project in a school that are all equally worthy.
Will read after the chat! Have it open now. Thanks for sharing this.
Interesting idea, but yes! So you mean competition among people to invest in the school community
Ah! For my own, were I to do one, absolutely. I meant overwhelming numbers to which I might contribute.
We do offer facebook share matches.. where all u do is get ppl 2 share ur cause on fb, each share = $1 we invest. :-)
That's the struggle we have with our fundraisers in Christian school- always asking same people.
Can definitely see how that could get tough!
I'll definitely investigate this soon, when I'm not procrastinating feedback-giving by blogging. :-) Thank you.
Ss always ask relatives. Some are already helping with tuition!
Q5: What types of improvements could classroom funding companies make to better serve teachers?
Seems you could benefit from a fb share $1 match!
Let us know when and we can chat :-)
That is an intriguing idea! Was just reading your tweet to explaining the fb share match!
We give them to different causes from time to time :-)
Ha! Just followed by a music stock exchange. What did I tweet to catch their attention?
A5: ...help us connect to local businesse...a database of the local giving community can be offered...teachers can add/invite.
Very Cool! I'm going to pass your website on to our person on staff overseeing Fundraising.
A5: Not really sure what can be done.
Awesome! Please let me know we would chat with them at ANY time to answer questions!
I want to thank for Guest Moderating tonight. Great job!
That's ok! Maybe after trying out some other avenues you'll find some things that u would like 2 see improved!
Wow, That hour went by fast! Thanks, PC for guest moderating! Great info & chat tonight.
:-) So glad we could be a part of it! Thanks for being here!
