Postcard Pals 2016-2017 Update

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I hope that everyone is having a great September so far! Still warm and beautiful in these parts, and the leaves will soon be changing color soon.

Here's a quick update on Postcard Pals 2016-2017 that I wanted to share. I sent out mailing addresses and instructions to all participants on August 26 via e-mail. The e-mail is from my blog e-mail address, which is info@aspiretoinspireblog.com. 

MailChimp is the program I use to manage my e-mails, and I'm able to check who has opened and clicked on my e-mails. It also lets me know if any of my e-mails bounced back because of invalid e-mail addresses, and none did that. Based on the reports I've been running, I know that there are some participants who have not opened their Postcard Pals e-mails for whatever reason. If you have not seen an e-mail from me in your inbox, please check your spam/junk folders as it may have been filtered there. It is possible that if you are using a school or business address, the firewall has blocked the e-mail altogether. This has been a problem in the past. If you check and do not find an e-mail in any of your mailboxes or folders, please send me an e-mail at info@aspiretoinspireblog.com and include an alternative e-mail address that you can receive e-mails at, such as a Gmail, Yahoo, etc. account. I will then resend the information.

Another thing I've noticed is that the check off documents are not being updated by participants when they send their postcards. Please do this so that I know who has sent postcards and when. Directions for how to do this are included in my August 26 e-mail. Thanks!

The deadline for sending postcards is October 31 so hopefully you've been starting to receive them and to send them. Please send me your updates and photos! I'd love to see what's happening. 

The Official Postcard Pals 2016-2017 Sign-Up is LIVE!

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Wow! I'm thrilled with the response to bringing back the classroom postcard exchange. With more than 100 classrooms expressing interest, that means that the 2016-2017 Postcard Pals Classroom Postcard Exchange is ON!

So now what?

The next step is for teachers to officially sign up. Here is the 2016-2017 Postcard Pals sign up form. The form will be open until AUGUST 20, 2016. At that point, I'll begin working on mailing group assignments.

By completing this form, YOU ARE COMMITTING to participating in the exchange. Participating means that you agree to do the following:

1. Use or create an e-mail address that accepts e-mail messages from my blog e-mail address. Some school addresses have very fortified firewalls so if you use your school e-mail, please make sure that it accepts e-mails from info@aspiretoinspireblog.com. If it doesn't, I recommend setting up an e-mail address specifically for this exchange at a free e-mail provider such as Gmail or Yahoo.

2. Send a one-time paper postcard to every class in your group (est. 30-40 cards) by the mailing deadline.

3. Update a Google spreadsheet to indicate that you have sent your postcards (simply entering a date--easy!).

4. Complete a short feedback survey about your experience after the exchange.

5. (Optional but appreciated!) Send a few photos of any postcard displays or your class in action as they participate. (I will protect student privacy and cover faces, etc. if I use your photos on a blog post.)
 

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Here is some important info to keep in mind:

By overwhelming preference, the postcard exchange will involve traditional paper postcards. Each class is responsible for supplying its own postcards and postage. I will provide you with some ideas for inexpensive or free postcards as well as funding options when I send out the instructions and mailing lists.  

You will receive your mailing list and instructions in early September, and postcards will need to be mailed by the end of October. Please make sure that you are able to work on this project within that timeframe before you commit to the exchange. 

The only information that will be shared with others on your mailing list is your name, school name, and address. All other information that I request from you will be seen and used by me to communicate updates about the exchange only.

Okay, I'm off to check the growing list of official participants. Hope to see your name on that list!

It's Back! Postcard Pals Classroom Postcard Exchange 2016-2017

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So continuing with the theme of my last two posts about making the most of the summer by getting in on some unique learning experiences for students before the next school year starts, I'm going to offer one to you myself! 

Postcard Pals is making its triumphant return after a year hiatus with what I hope will be the best exchange yet. I have coordinated Postcard Pals since 2013, and I'm really happy with the results of both exchanges I've done. (Some of the participants must have been happy, too, because they signed up for another year!)  You can read more about past exchanges here. 

So here's a little description of what has happened in past exchanges:

1. Teachers (public, private, and home school are welcome) sign up, and depending on the number of classes, I divide up classrooms into groups of 20-30 classes. I do this to keep costs low for participating classrooms as opposed to asking them to send 100+ postcards. I also--as best as I can--divide by grade band, usually PK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. 

Each teacher is then responsible for sending one postcard from his or her class to each of the other classes in his or her group. Postcards include information about the geography, economy, history, and other interesting facts about the state in which the class lives. Signing up commits teachers to sending one postcard to each class on their mailing list. If teachers want to establish a pen pal program beyond the one postcard, they are welcome to do that; however, I don't facilitate that. It would be up to the classes involved to work that out.

2. At the beginning of the year (September, usually), I provide teachers in each group with detailed instructions about what should be included on the postcards along with a mailing list of classrooms in their groups. I give a deadline by which postcards should be sent so that everyone knows by when they should expect to receive their postcards (usually October or November). I ask teachers to indicate that they have sent postcards by updating a Google spreadsheet (very easy to do) with the date that they sent them. I use this spreadsheet to follow up with teachers who have not sent postcards.

3. Let the postcards roll in! I love to receive photos and comments about how the exchange is going, and I encourage participants to stay in touch. Many of the photos I receive show bulletin boards prepared especially for the exchange, which is so fun to see. 

In year one, I had 130 classrooms signed up, and in year two 43. Now, that's a big difference, I know. However, year two actually had a higher success rate of follow through on those who committed to participate so that's a good thing! While this an intermediate blog, I do open this exchange up to K-12 students. I've had all grade levels from across the USA participate--and even a few outside of the country--which is quite exciting. 

For 2016-2017...

Step #1 is determining interest, which is what I'm doing in this post. If you're interested in learning more about this exchange, please complete this Google form. Completing the form in no way locks you into a commitment to join. Once I finalize details, I'll set up another form to officially sign up. Please share this with colleagues and teacher friends! Pin it, tweet it, post it, sky write it with an airplane...just please help me get the word out.

Step #2 is thinking about how to improve Postcard Pals. This year, I'm looking into some different options, including possibly making it a virtual postcard exchange to defray the cost of sending postcards via snail mail. Nothing is set in stone, but it's an idea rattling around in my head. I will also be incorporating feedback from past participants into this and any future exchanges as I know we ran into some issues with people not following through on their commitment to take part.

Click HERE to complete the Google form for more information.

I think that's it for now. Hope to see many of you joining the fun! 

Have you ever done a postcard exchange? Tell us about it in a comment!

Final Call for Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange Sign Ups!

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If you're looking to join a postcard exchange this year, I invite you to take part in my Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange!

We're looking for the following to participate:

*PK-12 classrooms (homeschoolers, too!)

*Classrooms from any and all US states

This is the last call for participants so please complete the form at this link if you are interested & committed to participating. The link will be open through 9/21.

Instructional time is so precious so I want to make this project worth your time as well as your students'. I'll create mailing lists based on the final participation count and will do my best to group classes by grade range. I'll also do my best to provide as much diversity in geography within each mailing list. I'm looking to send mailing lists to participating classrooms sometime in October.

Want to know more about how the Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange works? See some photos and read thoughts about last year's exchange? Check out my previous blog posts here and here!

Postcard Pals Recap, Wrap-Up, and Round Two

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It's time for a recap and wrap-up of my first-ever "Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange," which I decided to coordinate as a little side project during this past school year. Turns out it wasn't such a little project, but I still consider it a success even with its hiccups! Here's a little summary of what happened, including the major hiccups (as noted by myself & participants) and the helpful feedback I received from participants. Plus, I've got a link for those who might be interested in Postcard Pals II.

Here's a timeline of the exchange:

JULY 2013: I first blogged about the idea behind the exchange last July. Here's the original post detailing my experience with a past exchange and my plan for the one I was coordinating. To track interest in the project, I created a Google document and linked to it in the post. I then sent out an e-mail to those interested teachers asking for a final commitment to the project and asked them to complete another Google Doc to make them "official." I was thrilled with the number of teachers who committed to the project--about 135 spanning PK-High School, including a couple of international and homeschooling teachers!

My plan was to organize classrooms into groups of 20-30 based on grade band and location, then coordinate a one-time exchange of postcards among the classrooms in each group. Each classroom would send one postcard to each of the other classrooms in its group. I left it up to each classroom to decide if they wanted to continue a pen pal-type relationship on their own. I wanted to promote a social studies theme so I requested that the postcards include the state in which the classroom was located; its capital; its geography; important industries; famous citizens, and important historical and cultural sites. My hope was that each class could create a bulletin board to document their experiences.

EARLY SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013: I sent out detailed instructions and mailing lists to each classroom. I included a deadline for mailing (end of October) as well as ideas for where to get postcards and postage. I also followed up with a blog post that included the same information. I asked that participants keep in touch with me with feedback and photos to let me know how things were going. It was about this time that hiccups in the project began. For example, because of firewall issues and delayed communication, some of the participants did not receive their instructions and mailing lists until October. You'll read more about these challenges later.

DECEMBER 2013: I sent an e-mail to participants to remind them to finish up sending postcards and to give feedback on the cards they'd received so far.

JUNE 2014: I sent out one last e-mail with a link to a Google Doc survey in which participants could provide feedback about their experiences. I received 22 responses, which I consider to be a good number in light of the length of the project and its challenges.

The positive feedback...

I received some valuable feedback from teachers throughout the school year as well as from the final survey. Here's what I heard:

• Students were excited to receive postcards. (Who doesn't like to get something in the mail?)
• This was a fun way to practice research & cooperative learning skills.
• Students enjoyed learning about states that they might not otherwise learn about. 

All of these comments show me that the project was a success because these were precisely the hopes I had for students when coordinating the project.

And the hiccups...

HICCUP #1: Firewall Issues

When I sent out the instructions and mailing lists as .zip files, I had A LOT of electronic "return to sender" failure messages. Many school districts have surrounded themselves with major firewall protection. To try to get around these firewall fortresses, instead of a .zip file, I created a link to the information in Google Docs and included it in a second e-mail with no attachments. No luck.

All of my e-mails came from a Gmail account. It's likely that personal-type mail servers might be on districts' "personae non grata" lists to protect from spam; however, it also makes me wonder how parents are supposed to e-mail teachers from personal e-mail accounts. But I digress.... My solution was to send the information snail mail, which was a pricey because it came from my own pocket. However, I felt like I did my due diligence and didn't exclude anyone who signed up to participate. I did hear from most of the teachers to whom I sent hard copies, and they were grateful to still be included.

For future exchanges, I would require all participating teachers to provide an e-mail address that can be used to send and receive e-mails without the hassle of a firewall. It's very easy to set up a personal e-mail account that can be used specifically for the exchange through Gmail or other similar Web-based mail servers. I hope that isn't an issue that would prevent teachers from participating. I would definitely test all e-mail addresses before sending any of the instructions and mailing addresses!

HICCUP #2: Lack of Commitment

After I sent out the instructions and mailing lists, I started to receive a few "I don't remember signing up for this" or "I can't do it" e-mails. From some classes that committed to participate and decided not to, I didn't receive any communication or explanation.

The lack of follow-through affected this exchange more so than anything. One of the most common feedback messages I received throughout the year and in the final survey was that classrooms only received 5-10 postcards throughout the year when they should have received 20-30. I am thankful that many of the teachers, although frustrated, remained positive in their comments about the postcards that they did receive. I completely empathize with their frustrations in light of the time, effort, and cost associated with the project.

HICCUP #3: Communication

I used e-mail, blog posts, and even snail mail to get out information to participants. Despite my using several modes of communication, it was difficult for me to tell who had received the information unless I heard from the participants themselves. (And I never requested that they contact me unless they had comments or questions.)  If I were to coordinate another exchange, I'd figure out some sort of "check in" procedure for teachers, something that's not seen as a hassle but can still let me know that they're getting what they need and doing what they agreed to do.

I want to say "THANK YOU" to the many teachers whose hard work and commitment made this project a success. Here's a sample of some of the photos I received from them:

From Julie's classroom in WI

From Martha's classroom in CA (Here's a link to her blog.) 

From Lauren's classroom in TN

From Marna's classroom in CA

Postcard Pals Exchange II

So after all of this, I think I'm up for the challenge of coordinating a future exchange. Right now, I'm posting this link to a Google Doc to see who's up for another round or is willing to give it a try for the first time. I'm thinking it will open to grades PK-12 and classrooms within the US. Remember that this is just to see who's interested. I won't share any information, and there's no commitment at this time! I'm taking a maternity leave in the next few days so I anticipate getting things up and rolling closer to September. If you sign up, you'll hear from me then about the next step. I'm looking forward to another successful exchange and "meeting" more of you!

Celebrating Teaching and Teachers Pay Teachers: What Happens in Vegas...Shouldn't Stay in Vegas!

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I have 3 or 4 index cards with notes of stuff I wanted to blog about, and with less than a week to go until my due date, I figure I better just tie it all together into one post!

First off is all the fun happening in Vegas this week. There are several SDE (Staff Development for Educators) conferences going on as well as the first ever Teachers Pay Teachers Supercharge Sellers Success conference. I wish I was there. However, I have a very happy reason to be at home so maybe next year! Even though I'm living vicariously through the photos and Facebook postings about the conferences, I'm excited that I can still be a part of all the action as a participant on Michele Luck's Teachers Pay Teachers exhibitors' table. In addition to providing a little teaching treat for the elementary & secondary TPT goodie bags, the display book for my Aspire to Inspire store is sitting proudly among many others from hardworking TPT sellers. So far, the table has been a hit with 2500 goodie bags given away yesterday, and there are still 3 days to go! Here are some photos courtesy of Michele Luck.

Just a few of the display books at the table (Mine is in the top right corner with the owl reading the book!)

There's an amazing giveaway for whomever wins the drawing!

Who doesn't love the FREE stuff goodie bags? 

To celebrate all the happenings in Vegas, I'm running a sale at Aspire to Inspire. Everything is an additional 10% off through July 11. Let's hope that whatever happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, and teachers find some great resources and information at these conferences!

Next up, I hope to get a wrap-up done of my first-ever "Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange" project, which I coordinated this past school year. I received some very helpful feedback from some of the participants as well as a few photos of their experiences. Then, it's time for a break to spend some time with my newest little "student"! 

Hope you're having a great summer so far! 

UPDATE: Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange

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The Postcard Pals Postcard Exchange is underway! Almost 135 classrooms are participating in this year's exchange, and I'm so happy about the diversity of age and geographic location of all the participating classes.

I've asked classes to include the following information in their postcards to help other students learn more about the country and world around them:

•School name

•Grade level of the class

•City and state of the school

•The location and geography of your city

•The capital of your state

•Geographic features of your state

•Facts about the history of your state (ex. Who founded it? When? Why?)

•Famous natural and/or historical sites in your state

•Major industries in the state

The goal is to have all postcards mailed by the end of October. I hope to do a follow-up blog post documenting some of the experiences of the participants so stay tuned for that and, hopefully, some photos of the different postcards making their way across the country.

Here are some fun facts about this year's exchange:

• 29 states represented
• 2 international classrooms represented
• 29 PK-2 classrooms
• 81 3-5 classrooms
• 24 6-12 classrooms
• Classes represent students in traditional public & private schools; home schools; and schools for international students and children of US servicemen & women abroad.

Thank you to everyone who signed up to participate. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO PARTICIPANTS: If you signed up to participate, you should have received your instructions and mailing lists as I sent them on Tuesday, September 4 via e-mail. Please check your spam folder if you have not received these. A handful of the e-mails were returned as "undeliverable" due to firewall issues. I tried to resend in several different ways, but most did not work. If you haven't received your mailing list and instructions, you're probably one of those e-mail addresses. Contact me to let me know that the firewall issue has been resolved or to give me another e-mail address to send the information to.

Anyone Up for a Classroom Postcard Exchange?

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**UPDATE 8/19/13**Thanks so much for your interest in the Postcard Pals 2013 Classroom Postcard Exchange! The sign up for this year's exchange is now closed. For those who signed up using the Google Doc form, I'll be in touch with instructions and mailing addresses sometime in September. 

The next step I'd like to take is to organize participating classrooms into groups with as many different states as possible in each. At this point, I think that I'm looking at between 30-40 classrooms per group, depending on how many states are represented. I am also working on instructions and a sample postcard message that I will send to each participating teacher in addition to the classroom mailing addresses for each group.

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One of the activities my social studies classes really got into was participating in a classroom postcard exchange with classrooms around the USA and its territories. We received such a variety from around the country (and world). Many of my students had never traveled more than a state or two away; some had never left Ohio. I loved to watch students who were heading down the hall--mine as well as those from other grade levels--stop and read the postcards that were pinned to our USA map on the bulletin board outside of my classroom.

My students felt a real sense of accomplishment doing the hard work of preparing to send our own cards, then enjoying the postcards they received as a result of the efforts. I mean, with all the junk mail out there, who doesn't love to get genuine correspondence from another human being? We had a lot of good conversation, too. Some students shared their own experiences visiting the places on the postcards or the states from which they came. Others had reactions like, "I didn't know that was there!"

Within the first few weeks, the postcards started rolling in!

The basic set-up for this exchange was that classrooms were assigned to groups with different states in them. Each group had a mix of grade levels, as well. There were about 35 classrooms in our group. Not all states had representation. We sent one postcard with the same information to each of the other classrooms on the group list. The expenses involved were purchasing postcards and postage. (By the way, this would be a really great idea for a grant proposal!) Super simple.

The prep work for this activity was really easy, too. The sponsor of the exchange sent an Excel file of the teachers' names, schools, and addresses. She also gave us some possible ideas for what to include on our postcards. I prepared a research document for my social studies students to complete with information about our state, including its capital; geography; and cultural, historical, and natural sites. I asked and got a donation of postcards from a company who printed the state postcards you find in Cracker Barrel restaurants and the like. I typed up a little paragraph based on the students' research, printed the address labels, slapped 'em on, and sent them out. Within a few weeks, we started to receive postcards from other classrooms.

So my question to you is...anyone up for a classroom postcard exchange? Since I'm out of the classroom presently, I'm happy to coordinate it. I can collect all the names and addresses, then send out a document with what to include in the postcards as well as to whom to send them.

Right now, I want to get an idea of who has interest, so I created a form to fill out for those who want more information. No commitment! All information will be used only for the purposes of the exchange. If this is something you might want your class to participate in, please fill out the form in the beginning of the post, and I'll get in touch with you.

I envision this exchange being open to all grades PK-12. Depending on who is interested, it could just be only USA or it could be worldwide. I anticipate having the exchange in place by the end of September. What a great way to connect with other classrooms, learn some new information, and maybe even make some new friends.

Looking forward to hearing from you!