We did it! What else can I say?

We are now thirteen days into the Send a Newbie to NECC project. I am pleased to announce that thanks the amazing generosity of several dozen amazing educators on Twitter, we have raised enough money to get Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) to NECC and pay for his registration to attend the conference. We have reached the half way mark, but we still need to get donations to offset Richard’s housing and meal expenses. This will be my last call for help on this blog. I am asking one last time for you to donate just one dollar to help with this project. Over the last two weeks thousands of people have read about this project, but relatively few have stepped up to the plate. As a government teacher I cannot help but compare this to the low voter turnout that we see in this country. People have gotten excited about this project much like they do about elections, but when the time comes to cast their vote, they fail to show up. Lots of people think to themselves, “It is only one vote. What difference can it possibly make?” I am speculating here, but I think people are not donating $1 at a time because it seems like such an insignificant amount of money. The ultimate goal of this project is to show how powerful we can be when we work together as a group by raising $1 dollar at a time.

According to the spreadsheet approximately 36 people have dontated to this project which makes the average donation $21. I would like to see hundreds of people donate $1 to knock that average way down. This should not be a burden to any one person. The intent behind this project was to come together as a collective group and unite to reach a common goal. We CAN do this if we work together. Not only do we need your pledge of $1, but we need you to tell everyone you know about this project. Use to power of your PLN to spread the word. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Do whatever you can to help get the word out. I would like to be able to announce no later than April 22 that we have reached the goal, but I have to have your help to do that!

Donations for the Send a Newbie to NECC project have been steadily coming in.  As of late last night we were closing in on $600. In order for this project to work we need help from as many people as we can reach. Only you have the power to make this project successful.

Many people have expressed concern about donating money online through PayPal. We completely understand this concern. If you want to participate, but do not want to share your information online please mail your donations directly to:

Richard Byrne
54 Top Hill Road
Naples, ME 04055

Remember that your contribution will not only help send Richard to NECC, it is helping show everyone how powerful our network can be if we all work together to reach a common goal. Together we can send a very strong message to those who continue to question the value of networking and wonder if our ties are truly valuable. I hope you will join us!

I want to thank everyone who has donated the the Send a Newbie to NECC project. With your help we are nearly 1/3 of the way to our goal. However, we still have a very long way to go. It is evident that people have supported this project due to the enormous number of times it has been retweeted on Twitter. The average donation has been $20! While it is fantastic to see that kinds of generosity that is not the intent of this experiment. The idea behind this project was to get 1500 people to donate $1. This would show the power of our PLN to pull together and work toward a common goal. I have watched the live feed on my blog as people take a look at the project, but then move on. My guess is that they don’t think that by donating $1 they are doing any good. One dollar seems so incredibly insignificant, but when it is added to a pool of money from hundreds of other people it does amount to something. The purpose of this experiment is to see if people think that they they can make a difference by contributing something small. By donating to this project you are telling the world that you believe you play an important role in your PLN. Each item and thought you share with your network is what makes it so strong.

Here is my challenge to you. Check your pockets, your sofa, and your car for loose change. Whatever you come up with round it up to the nearest dollar and donate it to this project. If you are apprehensive about using PayPal I will email or DM you instructions on where to send your donation.

I also need your help to spread the word about this project. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Join the cause on Facebook called Send a Newbie to NECC. If this message reaches enough people who are willing to invest $1 and 3 minutes then we will meet our goal. I know if we all come together we can do it!

Thank you again for believing enough in the power of your PLN to make this happen! By pulling together to work toward a common goal we are proving that we truly are a community.

Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to attend NECC for the first time. I barely had a half dozen people in my professional learning learning network (PLN) at the time, but by the end of the conference that number had grown to include a variety of people from around the country. Over the last nine months, I have created an amazing network that has taught me so much. In December I learned that my proposal to present a poster at NECC had been accepted. I started asking around to see who from my PLN was attending. The responses were disappointing. It soon became evident that many people were not going to be able to attend this year due to both personal and school budget constraints. I started feeling guilty because I was going to get to experience this amazing conference again. It hardly seemed fair that I was able to attend twice when there are so many people who have not ever attended once.

An idea for a project started to come together in my mind. I started wondering how much a PLN could accomplish if it came together to work toward a common goal.  What if we came together to help send one of our own to NECC? Would it be possible to get several hundred people to donate a few dollars each to help send a “newbie” to NECC? My PLN is by far the most powerful tool in my toolbox, but there are some who are still skeptical of the idea of the power of social networks. The purpose of this project is twofold. First, I want to see someone who truly deserves to go to NECC get to go. Second, I want to raise awareness about the benefits of professional networking. I want us to show all of the doubters out there that social networking tools can make a difference in education.

I shared this idea with a teacher in my PLN named Jason Schrage (@oswego98). With his help I decided that Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) was the “newbie” that I wanted to send to NECC. Richard is a Social Studies teacher in Maine who has worked tirelessly to help ensure his students and coworkers are able to work on a network that is as open as possible. He also maintains a blog called Free Tech 4 Teachers that recently won the 2008 Edublog Award for the  Best Resource Sharing Blog. Mr. Byrne is a top notch educator who invests countless hours in compiling resources for teachers in all subject areas. He is truly a selfless educator who deserves the chance to attend NECC. Richard is far from being a “newbie” when it comes to using technology in the classroom, but he has never attended NECC.

Richard has told me that he wants to share his experiences while he is in Washington DC. He will be blogging and updating on Twitter to keep everyone informed about what he is experiencing. I imagine he will probably be open to streaming video once in a while when he is able to do so. If you have any suggestions for how to share this special event with the folks who could not attend please leave a comment on this blog.

So what do you say? Are you willing to donate a few dollars to help one of our own? I also need your help to spread the word about this project. Please tag any tweets associated with this project with the hash tag #neccnewbie so we can track the conversation. The goal is to raise $1500. Please add your information to the spreadsheet. You do not have to add your information, but it would be great to see the names of everyone who helps with this very unique and special project.

Donations are being collected using PayPal which is a fast, easy, and secure way to send funds online. All donations will go directly to Richard’s PayPal account. In the unlikely event that we do not raise enough funds you can elect to have your donation sent back to you or allow Mr. Byrne to put the donations toward improving his classroom. You can mark your option on the spreadsheet.

(Please note that this is a private endeavor which is not associated or endorsed by ISTE or NECC. )