Educators + Web 2.0 = Classroom 2.0

This is the letter I just sent to all of my Web 2.0 company contacts.  Feel free to pass it along to anyone you think might be interested in sponsoring the Classroom 2.0 free workshops.

Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com) is a social network I started for educators who are using--or are interested in using--Web 2.0 in education.  This past weekend our membership reached 15,000.  It's an amazing network.

As part of the Classroom 2.0 project I hold a series of free two-day workshops for teachers about the use of Web 2.0 (http://workshops.classroom20.com).  I am hoping you will consider being a sponsor.  Sponsorship is not expensive, and the goal is to strengthen our current team of sponsors with additional organizations that have a passion and interest around the historic changes taking place in education because of the read/write Web.  I recently blogged for a Britannica forum on this topic, and links to that blog post and other pertinent ones are at the end of this note.  Web 2.0, I argue, is the future of education. 

This past year we held free workshops in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, Palm Springs, and Phoenix.  They have been super-well received, and are unique, dynamic, and fun events.  Each workshop is planned by local participants, using a wiki, and drawing on the expertise of teachers in their area.  This coming year we have plans for workshops in Hawaii, Sacramento, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Vermont, and San Diego.  

The cost of regular sponsorship is $250 per workshop.  You can sponsor just one workshop, or the whole series.  Sponsors are listed on the sponsor page of the workshop website and are given both recognition and thanks at the workshops, but there is no booth or commercial presence like you might find at a traditional conference.  That having been said, sponsors are encouraged to attend and participate in any of the workshops.  The cost is low because the workshop venues are provided by the local organizers, and there are no paid speakers.  Sponsor money is used to pay for my travel expenses and time.  A larger sponsorship offer might allow for an even broader expansion of this program, as we have requests for workshops at many more cities than is possible currently (you can see that list at the website).

I hope you'll consider being a part of this great endeavor.  If it's not your cup of tea, please consider passing this note along to someone you think might be more interested.  In either case, I hope you will join the Classroom 2.0 network.  You can learn more about me at my blog link below.

Steve

Steve Hargadon
Founder, Classroom 2.0
www.stevehargadon.com
steve@hargadon.com
916-899-1400 

Links:
www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/moving-toward-web-20-in-k-12-education/
www.stevehargadon.com/2008/03/web-20-is-future-of-education.html/
www.slideshare.net/SteveHargadon/web-20-is-the-future-of-education/