Doing Good: Socialbrite.org

December can be a month where we feel more compelled to “do good”. Perhaps it’s residual concerns about Santa’s naughty-or-nice list or more likely it’s a natural extension of the positive feelings that emerge as we take stock of our good fortunes during this holiday season. Whatever motivates us, sometimes simply doing good isn’t so simple.

One web-based resource that is attempting to support our desire to make a difference is Socialbrite.org:

“Socialbrite is a learning hub & sharing community that brings together top experts in social media, causes and online philanthropy. We're here to share insights about tools and best practices that advance the social good. This is an ad-free community learning center.” [ www.socialbrite.org ]

If you use Twitter, follow @socialbrite or check out www.facebook.com/socialbrite in addition to their own website. There’s a wealth of resources and information that channels through Socialbrite, most of which is in support of non-profit organizations’ endeavors to create positive change. Some of the material is also ideal for Student Councils that are interested in increasing their civic engagement and social responsibility. Along the way, students will learn about how technology is changing the landscape of awareness and activism.

Sample of resources available on Socialbrite.org:

12 Steps to Mobilize Your Cause [printable PDF]
http://bit.ly/12steps-flyer

10 Mobile Apps for Social Good [printable PDF]
http://bit.ly/10mobileapps

40 Hashtags for Social Good [printable PDF]
http://bit.ly/40hashtags

9 Web Platforms to Help You Change the World
http://bit.ly/c7utbo

15 Social Tools for Local Impact
http://bit.ly/baiQts

So check out some of the resources listed above and give one or two a spin. If you find something that works particularly well, post a comment.

curiosity-driven science

This talk is just connecting with me right now...

"Brian Cox explains how curiosity-driven science pays for itself, powering innovation and a profound appreciation of our existence."

------------------------ Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994 -------------------------

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

------------------------ Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994 -------------------------

Efficiency Tip - "When is Good"

Need to know the best time for a meeting so you get the highest attendance possible? Then check out “When is Good” at http://whenisgood.net.

Whenisgood.net is a powerful yet simple to use online tool to send out a calendar of dates to your group, have them indicate on a website when is good for them to meet, and then you can quickly analyze the results to pick the best date. There really isn’t a more efficient way to schedule a meeting and maximize attendance. Plus, it’s free!
The best way to get started is to watch the short video on their website http://whenisgood.net/Videos

There are two free ways to use the website. The first is to just simply create an event, color in the days or times that work for you, send out a link via email and copy down a secret code so you can access your event later. People respond, you type in your code and there you are – a visual calendar of “when is good”. The second way is to create an account where you can store multiple events and access them all at one time (rather than needing a separate code for each like the first method). This is the best option if you plan on using the service frequently. The power is in the analysis: click on a respondent’s name to see which days are good just for him or her, click on a day and see the names of the respondents who can make it, or you can simply choose the day with the most respondents.

However you use WhenisGood.net, you’ll be more efficient at scheduling meetings and events.

Art of Choosing - Sheena Lyengar

The concept of choice is a core component of what defines my approach to life. If I have a life motto, it is that life is a series of choices and consequences - that we are in control of our choices alone, nothing else. There have been a number of books (like Blink) that examine our ability to make choices and the subtle factors that influence our decision making. Recently someone reminded me of some psychological research done on how authority can influence, even control, the hardest choices we would have to make.

But something I hadn't thought about much was the idea that sometimes it might be better to have fewer choices or to have things decided for us in order to produce a more harmonious experience. The American view of choice is a culturally entrenched idea that almost defines America itself. In America, we believe that having more choices is better than having fewer choices and that the power to choose should be primarily in the hands of the individual (provided those choices don't impinge on the rights of others to choose).

This TED talk questions some of the assumptions we make about choice and considers some ideas when limited choice or no choice at all, might result in better outcomes.

Sheena Iyengar on the art of choosing | Video on TED.com

Google Apps & Online Voting

Use Google Apps for Education to conduct online voting for school groups and events.

Our school has Google Apps for Education. With that, each student has an email account that they can use along with Google Docs, Calendar, and Sites. Most of this works the same as a regular private Google Account - except for something I came across today.

We want to run elections "online" for Student Council & Class Officer, Homecoming Queen & Prom Court, etc. Google Forms has the potential to make this happen for free, especially the Google Forms within Google Apps for Education.

When you create a form in Google Docs using your Google Apps account, there is an options to require respondents to sign in with their personalize Google Apps account login:


By having each student log in, you can be sure that only HS students are completing the form and that each student only votes one time. And as with regular Google Forms, you can turn forms on and off at specific times, require specific questions to be completed, and view all of the results in a nice spreadsheet.

I haven't used this approach with Google Apps yet (I did with my personal Google Account). Once I get it up and running, I'll share more insight.

baiting the hook

From Dan Meyer's TEDxNY talk:

Indicators that you're teaching problem solving wrong:
1. Lack of initiative
2. Lack of perseverance
3. Lack of retention
4. Aversion to word problems
5. Eagerness for formula

TED talk: http://youtu.be/BlvKWEvKSi8



http://blog.mrmeyer.com/