Sunday, August 22, 2010

A reflection on the virtual communities

We are exposed to so much technology in our daily lives. The possibilities to connect, learn, and grow through the different online networking are amazing. It is really our own decision how much we want to be  participate in all the different online communities. Some people resist joining or starting but truth is the learning, growing and helping that goes on in virtual communities are endless. Since I joined the blogging world, over two years ago, I have...
*met (in person) some amazing people that with time, they've become friends.
*met other people that opened other doors for me.
* learned and continue to learn from so many other bloggers in different parts of the world
*took part of projects that involved helping other people, other communities

People have inspired me in so many different ways. I can only hope that through this blog I could give back half of the the things I learn every day. I have joined Facebook and Twitter a while ago, and just like anything else in life, if you "follow" the right people, you would stay on track and not be distracted by the unimportant things in life. 

Today I want to share what I learned from two other bloggers who give so much to the  rest of us. They are Mary Lee and Franki over at A Year of Reading. They don't know about this but a long time ago, they wrote  about Hannah's Socks on their blog. If you're not too sure about the story, you can visit their page and learn about this amazing project was born. 

Anyways, after reading this post, I thought to myself there has to be a way I can integrate this into my teaching, my school. And sure enough, I found the perfect opportunity: at our Annual Cultural Festival. And I'm proud to say that our dear Whitehall Community responded so well! We were able to collect over 400 pairs of socks. You can read the story about Beechwood Elementary's donation in Hannah's Socks webpage.  I'm so proud of my dear school community, our families and our students who are big motivators behind everything we do. And all this was possible through ONE POST that my friends over at A Year of Reading decided to write about. So, as summer comes to an end, and other seasons will appear, keep in mind about Hannah's Socks especially during the season of giving. To all my blogger friends out there,  you never know how your postings can affect (in a positive way) other people's life. Keep up the amazing job, and let's keep our community growing!!



3 comments:

Franki said...

WOW! This is so exciting. 400 pairs of socks is a ton. Great post. You are so right about the impact an online community has. So glad we inspired something so amazing. You too have inspired so much. Have a great first week!

Katie Dicesare said...

This is awesome Stella and so exciting for you and your students. YOu make me want to take action and not just talk about what we can do to help others. Your kids are so blessed to have you!!

Katie Dicesare said...

This is awesome Stella and so exciting for you and your students. YOu make me want to take action and not just talk about what we can do to help others. Your kids are so blessed to have you!!