Enter First Gift to USA Video Contest - Win iPad 2

The First Gift USA Video Contest
EDM310, in cooperation with the University of South Alabama Office of Development, is looking for an original video to let your fellow students know how they can and why they should contribute to the University of South Alabama.
For the last ten years or so the University of South Alabama has conducted a Faculty/Staff Campaign in which USA faculty and staff are asked to give back to the University to create scholarship funds for students and to support other activities of the University. Often these gifts have been matched by the University and/or individual members of the faculty or staff. Last year The William Chamberlain Fund was established to provide annual prizes to EDM310 students who exhibit an unusual ability and interest in using technology effectively in teaching.
We would like to expand this annual effort to students as well as faculty and staff. Can you (or a group of you) create a short (no more than 2 minutes) video to encourage USA students to participate in a student fund raising drive through a “First Gift to USA”? These gifts can be designated to support any of the initiatives currently supported by gifts to the Annual Fund, including the William Chamberlain Fund. Or new initiatives can be started.
This effort is modeled after a very successful effort at LSU which ultimately raised over $750 million dollars for LSU. Our goal is not as grand, at least not yet. We want to experiment with a First Gift campaign and, if successful, expand it beyond EDM310 to the rest of the students at USA. Will you help by creating a short video encouraging USA students to make a “First Gift to USA”?

The Contest
You can help by creating video of no more than 2 minutes in length using an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, iPod Nano with video, Flip camera, etc. that lets your fellow students know the ways they can contribute to “First Gift to USA”. All submissions that meet requirements (see “Rules”) will be judged by a panel consisting of students, faculty, and staff members. The submissions will also be featured on the EDM310 Class Blog.


Prizes
Grand Prize – A 32 gig Wi/Fi 3g iPad 2 (or iPod Touches for up to 3 people). NOTE: Efforts are underway to increase the prize to an iPad 2 per team member. We will keep you posted about whether we secure these prizes or not.

Rules
Click Rules and read them. Or, if you are currently enrolled in EDM310, the Rules have been shared with you and you will find them in your Google Docs. Then enter the contest. Entries will be accepted through midnight Sunday April 17, 2011.

If you have an entry which you want to submit, contact Dr. John Strange to how to deliver your video to the judges. DO NOT submit your video to YouTube or any other "cloud storage" that can be accessed by the public until all judging has been completed.

You should take a look at the LSU Contest winner and the top two runner-ups.

A Few Points that Need Clarifying...

A video for all teachers everywhere. Thanks do Dr. K in Reading Education for sharing with us.

A Few Resources to Share

As I was writing my history lesson plan, I came across a few websites I wanted to share with you. Hope you find these helpful.

This website will create a rubric for you based on what assessment you are using. Very time efficient!
Rubistar

This is a great website for everything Alabama. Great for 4th grade history!
Encyclopedia of Alabama

A great technology blog from Collier Elementary technology teacher, Amber Coggin.She shares so many great Smartboard activities.
Collier Elementary is located in West Mobile, a part of the Mobile County Public School Sysytem.
Smartboard Goodies

It's a Book

This made me laugh.

iPad 2 - Try It out!

I have a 32 gig Wi-Fi only iPad which I will have in the Lab this Wednesday between 1 and 3. Yes, it is Spring Break but can you wait another week to see it? And you can use it Wednesday.

Cone join me!

Sharing - Let's See What EDM310 Alumni Can Do!

Two years ago as this version of EDM310 was nearing completion, I was intrigued by the efforts of @wmchamberlain, @jarrodlamshed and @joemcclung to introduce sharing into their class curricula. Mr. Chamberlain devised a way for his class to contribute to Daraja Academy in Kenya. Mr. Lamshed created an event in which he and others sacrificed their hair for the Australian equivalent of the American Cancer Society. Mr. McClung and his class raised money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

I have wanted to add a component to EDM310 for Sharing. We will inaugurate it this semester for the first time. The University of South Alabama has an excellent program of giving for faculty and staff, but none for students. In fact, the William Chamberlain Fund which awards $500 each year to a student or students in EDM310 for outstanding commitment to and ability in using technology in teaching is a beneficiary of the faculty/staff campaign. I want to support that effort and also to create the possibility of extending the faculty/staff effort to students and parents in all parts of the University of South Alabama.

So.... here is what we are going to do.

I am asking all EDM310 Alumni to make a contribution to the William Chamberlain Fund. To contribute, just click on the link. This is purely voluntary, but we hope you will join us in supporting the fund.

In addition, a number of the EDM310 community (alumni, current students, staff and I) have watched three short videos of LSU students which resulted in a campaign for LSU that raised $750 million dollars. Yes, $750 million dollars.

So another way you can support our EDM 310 Sharing Effort is to participate with a team of 2 or 3 other EDM 310 students in creating a USA fund raising campaign video. The LSU examples will be posted on the Class Blog by Sunday night 3/6. A link will be added here. Videos will be due April 18 at noon.

Now here are the incentives:

We want to encourage participation in these efforts. So if 60 EDM310 students and alumni participate this year, I will match any cash donations. If at least 100 EDM310 students and alumni participate, I will double match any cash gifts to the William Chamberlain Fund up to a total of $2,000. In addition will match the total on top of that!

The videos created as a part of this effort will be judged a team appointed by the USA Office of Development and Alumni Relations. The members of the winning team will receive a special prize which we will announce soon.

What do we mean by "participate" as far as EDM310 Alumni are concerned?
Any person that gives at least $5 to the William Chamberlain Fund.
Any person that participates on a team that produces a video for the Office of Development will count as a participant.

The more participants we get, the more matching money there will be.
If there are 60 or more alumni and student participants, I will match the William Chamberlain EDM310 Fund donation so a $10 gift becomes $20. AND the University will match that so a $10 gift becomes $40!

If there are 100 or more alumni and student participants, I will double match the William Chamberlain EDM310 Fund donation so a $10 gift becomes $30. AND the University will match that so a $10 gift becomes $60! My total is limited to $2,000.

Contributions will be accepted until April 18 at noon. Videos will be due April 18 at noon.

Let's see what EDM310 Alumni and Students can do!