Intelligence with ethics (T.R.C.C Conference)

Written by nathalie, No comments

Last Thursday I went along to the conference dinner for TRCC at the Quality Hotel on Cuba Street and gave a talk about websites and online tools that I believe should be part of the daily diet of primary and secondary school students in New Zealand.  What a great bunch of fabulous folk!

As promised here are the links to the websites we discussed:

Celsias.com

This Wellington based international site is jam packed with green inspiration for the classroom – from projects to individual actions that promote awareness and practical application of greener ways to live, work and play.

Kiva.org

One of the greatest web innovations of our time (me thinks), Kiva is a micro-lending website connecting small loans to third world entrepreneurs. There are just so many gems in this site for the classroom that I couldn’t do it justice here. Kickstart a classroom fund to lend on Kiva and the results will be beautiful. The earlier we introduce kids to a matrix of generosity, concern for third world poverty, entrepreneurship and financial responsibility, the greater chance we have of seeing all of those elements in their post education aspirations.

Donorschoose.org

A website showcasing the needs of US schools – where teachers load up requests to empower their teaching and give opportunities to their students. I would love to see Givealittle.co.nz used by NZ based teachers in the same fashion. Why not find a sister classroom in the US and see if young Kiwis can help their US pals in low decile schools?

Donatenz.com

Another Kiwi website run by friend Claire Sawyers, DonateNZ is a place where schools (and any community organisation) can register to receive donated goods and time from the New Zealand public & business sector. Put a twist on the sites traditional use and DonateNZ is a great tool to teach kids about the need to be generous with material goods, to recycle and reuse. “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure” is a really kid friendly concept which links in greater issues of waste, consumerism, recycling and individual sustainability. Why not have a day where each child brings in something they would like to donate and then load it up on the DonateNZ website.

Givealittle.co.nz

Obviously I see huge application for Givealittle within the school environment. We already have a number of projects to benefit the schools, their communities and also the students themselves. The Givealittle team has loads of plans to get the Givealittle tool into classrooms but why wait for us – generosity and giving is important now!

For all the teachers I met on Thursday night…

you will remember that I issued a wee challenge exclusively for everyone that attended the conference – watch for the reminder email from TRCC for details of how you can get involved.

Any follow-up questions or comments email me.

Tags: Celsias, classroom projects, DonateNZ, Donorschoose, education, givealittle, Kiva, nathalie hofsteede, TRCC