I can’t wait anymore! Earlier this month, two teams from Pop Labs competed in the 4th Annual AIR Houston Competition. The judging has been going on for two weeks, and I still have wait over a week to find out the results at the Awards Banquet next Thursday.

This might not seem that important, especially at this time of year when everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving and the holidays. However, we spend a lot of time preparing and working together in order to provide non-profits in the Houston community with fully-accessible sites We attend trainings, meet with our non-profits, custom design a site, and then on Rally Day, have eight hours to build a fully-functional, fully-accessible site. While that does not sound that hard, Rally Day (the day of the coding competition) is always intense.

Personally, I am also excited to see the outcome and go to the banquet because I helped conduct the Accessibility 101 training courses for the teams that were competing as well as conducting the Non-Profit Orientation Trainings for the NPOs participating this year. So no matter who wins, I helped them get there ^_^.

Of course, I also want to find out how my team did.

Oh well, time to focus on Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season. Focus… focus… nope. Didn’t work. Still thinking about AIR. ^_^

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This is it! The Third Annual Cyber Monday. Since 2005, more and more shoppers have been going online, looking for the best deals; on the same token, more and more stores are prepared to offer them savings and discounts for this joyous time of year.

USA Today Reports:

A survey of 116 retailers found 72% plan special offers for this time of year. Only 43% of these retailers featured similar offers two years ago, when the Monday after Thanksgiving was dubbed Cyber Monday.

The Financial Post Reports that:

Holiday sales are expected to rise 21% to $33-billion this year, it should prove be a joyous time, regardless of whether or not Cyber Monday kicks the season off on a strong note. Last year, online holiday sales were $608-million for the day and E-tailers could bring in $700-million or more in sales on Monday alone if last year is any indication, according to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

And it makes sense. I heard on the radio that Wal-Mart will be opening at 6:00 a.m. on Black Friday and Kohl’s will be opening at 4:00 a.m. While saving 20% sounds enticing, so does sleeping in on a day off. And since I live in Texas, I even considered it for more than a minute—I mean, it is doable. It is not like getting up at 4:00 a.m. in Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, or Washington. Up north, you face cold, snow, etc. and there is no way I would wake up early on a day off to face that.

And fortunately, you do not have to! With the internet, you can buy online in the comfort of your home without having to face the weather or the crowds. The online stores are offering up deals and incentives—such as free shipping—to entice you to buy this holiday season. So don’t worry about missing out on a great deal—you may be able to find an even better one online. Companies in retail, including the ones I work with, already have their promotions, discounts, and free shipping offers planned.  They want to be the place you choose when are looking for holiday gifts this year.

So happy and safe shopping, and happy and safe holidays.

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I always love when I get a chance to talk about social media and education because those topics are so important to me. A few weeks back when I was presenting a social media camp at ITEC Chicago I got a chance to meet Leslie Minkus. Leslie is the CEO and founder of Kid Dads Moms a company that specializes in providing parents, students and teachers with tools designed to help kids learn by emphasizing their natural strengths or what KDM calls “Edudevelopment factors”. Naturally this intrigued me since it’s exactly what I teach in my Creative and Visual Thinking classes. (more…)

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