Day 74 - Advertisements & Webinars

The ads these days are changing... This one is from my Duolingo:

This one was on my Instagram:

This one was in a YouTube video, and I actually checked it out... They're $20 for one, and the price goes down as you buy more. I was seriously considering buying the five at $14 a piece (so I could give some away) until I read the reviews.

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I was able to attend two webinars this afternoon!

The first one my mom invited me to - it's for her ICL group - continued learning through Roosevelt University. I probably shouldn't have been able to be in it, but there weren't 100 participants, so it was okay. Plus, it gave me some fodder to help when we argue about that man that we argue about all the time... It was called "Logical Fallacies," and it included some of what (I believe) we teach in eighth grade:

Yup. This one is sooooooo true of DT on a daily basis.

It was also pretty hilarious at the start - the participants being my parents' ages - all talking over each other, making comments about the backgrounds, swearing and then repeating what that person who swore said... I was laughing a ton at the start! Adults - Just like the kids! Finally the man helping with the tech muted everyone so the presenter could start. I did learn a new setting for Zoom while sharing your screen. Here's HOW!

I then was able to attend one from Tom Driscoll at EdTech Teacher - Games, Simulations, and Virtual Field Trips. I did NOT know you can move that little yellow guy in Google Maps to where you want to see the street view! That was my huge take-away for that hour. He also talked about these sites which I want to explore further:
     123apps.com (to help with those with Chromebooks!)
     Games for Change
     Google Arts & Culture
     Mystery Doug
     GeoGuessr
     Wide Open School

Does AdSense Make Sense?

When ads began appearing at the bottom of posts of educators I respect, I got turned off.

When ads began appearing on posts of educators who had just recently begun blogging, I was put off even more.

When teachers ask me to retweet their request for Donors Choose, I have to decline. It's one of my unwritten personal policies for how I use Twitter.

I'm not in it for the income. I'm in it for the outcome.

http://scholarsrm239.weebly.com/about-mrs-kirr.html

These are the thoughts running through my mind this morning. I have not promoted anything on Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, or my blog that I have not read, questioned, or supported. I do not put requests on Donors Choose for my own students, as my district is fairly affluent and I do not want to take away from those who are struggling. I have donated to Donors Choose, and been rewarded knowing that I could help in small ways. These are all personal preferences everyone has to consider in their careers - whatever background we come from or circumstance we're in currently.

So seeing the ads on other blogs, although they turned me off, the message of the educator posting their thoughts was more important to me. I could overlook the ads. I have no clue why they added advertisements (that this world already has so much of) to their posts, but I realize it's a personal preference. Yes, they may lose some readers, but they didn't lose me. I know how to skip over the distraction. I've often wondered if AdSense would ever make sense to me.

Then it came to me today - I've learned how to skip over the distraction pretty well! How many of us who use tech daily have learned this skill?

It also came to me - I don't need the money that might come from having ads, but I could use it to help OTHERS. What if...

So I've decided. I, too, will add to the list of myriad educators who are adding advertisements to their posts. I am going to do this for GOOD. I resolve to donate any earnings generated (I have no clue how little or large they will be) from AdSense back into education. I will use any funds earned to help teachers on Donors Choose, to donate to schools themselves, or other causes for education that I believe in. Perhaps I can use the funds to help classroom libraries grow, or to give backpacks to those without, or to support children with no access to technology at home.

UPDATE: January 1, 2018
I'm done with AdSense. It did NOT make sense for me. After a year and a half, supposedly I'd only generated $8.48 cents. They won't send money until it's over $100. No harm was done, but there were no benefits for those in need, either.