Things got a little crazy last week when Google announced a partnership with DonorsChoose to offer teachers up to 30 Chromebooks for $99 each.
I learned about the deal — thanks, Google Reader! — between coaching meetings, quickly signed up, and emailed the offer to my colleagues and teacher friends.
And then mayhem ensued.
Within a few hours, hundreds of teachers (728 to be exact, according to Google!) requested thousands of Chromebooks. The system was overloaded, and DonorsChoose had to shut the offer down.
In the meantime, however, I was lucky enough to write proposals for two projects:
- 20 Chromebooks for a Math teacher to promote blended learning with Khan Academy,
- 2 Chromebooks to pilot a study on increasing homework completion.
Yep, it took me less than an hour to write these proposals and less than two days for people to fund them. The total amount donated: around $2,800.
The unfortunate news — and the part that makes me a bit frustrated — is that many hardworking teachers did not have the chance to apply for this amazing deal because, well, they were teaching. This is the part that Google and DonorsChoose got wrong.
I mean, I can’t fault them; after all, many teachers received many Chromebooks, and many students will benefit. But it’s too bad that some people got lucky (because they were on a prep that period, or because they were sick that day, or perhaps they were at their desks during a test) while others didn’t.
DonorsChoose emailed me last night to let me know that they were able to get access to more Chromebooks and extended the offer. I wrote my proposal last night for 10.
Hi Megan, thanks for letting me know! You’re right: It seems like this offer is fluid, and DonorsChoose and Google are now letting some teachers (via a waiting list) put up projects for Chromebooks. Also, I’m noticing that many teachers are creating huge projects involving 30 Chromebooks, which I’m afraid won’t be funded. Your request for 10 seems more doable. (My project for 20 had a donor in mind.) I wonder why more teachers didn’t put up multiple projects of, say, 5 Chromebooks at a time. Keep me posted about how your project turns out!