What did I learn? I think I finally have a basic handle on feeds!
How will I use what I have learned? I intend to follow my students’ blogging through feeds, as well as continue to keep an eye on the feeds I’ve subscribed to.
How did I feel about this tool? Love it, love it!
What do I not want to forget about this tool? I definitely don’t want to forget I need to explore other ways to track my feeds, both through programs and the ways I display them.
How can this be used in the classroom or in my educational role? Not only can I use feeds as I described in 2, above, I could use it should I expand my blogging to directly communicate with parents or colleagues.
Should I use this in the classroom or my educational role? Most definitely in both.
What questions do I still have about this tool?
1. I still have questions about blogging with parents. Would they subscribe to the classroom blog? If I communicated with parents directly, would it be along the lines of a “class newsletter?” Who has experience in this or can point me toward a [Tweb site perhaps?] teacher who has successfully done so? I haven’t even found myself turning toward newsflash on TeacherWeb, so I am not making a connection there.
2. I notice Flakepage is listed as more of a startpage, as is Netvibes. Is there a district policy as to what startpage (am I correct in assuming this is synonymous to a homepage…?) is used on district computers?
3. When I subscribed to Natalie's blog as a follower, it displayed my avatar and information quite differently from the other followers. What have I done wrong, and what do I need to do to correct it, so I can subscribe to the others properly? :-)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
RSS Choices
What RSS reader did I chose and why?
After playing around with the various choices, I went with Google Reader. Flakepage was appealing; however, it seemed to be overkill for my purpose. Also, if I understand it correctly, it becomes my homepage. [This summer I am using a school laptop to set up what will feed my document camera/data projector next year.] On my campus, the homepage by default is our campus homepage. Without a blessing from my local ITS, I’m not willing to change that. J
What “non-classmate” blogs did I subscribe to?
Oh, how do I love this? Let me count the blogs…. As someone commented earlier about being let loose in a candy shop…. So true, so true. But here are my current faves:
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/feed
Jeff Utecht has a thoughtful, attractive blog. It is obvious, through his blogs, that he is deeply connected to many of the “forces” I have become “acquainted” with over these past several weeks. In fact, he is a force himself, not only attending and reporting extensively on, but also presenting at, conferences, such as NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) and EdubloggerCon. Ignorant about these as I have been, Utecht has made me feel comfortable about hanging around and asking questions. As a result, I have a much better idea of what technology is in use in education and what direction I might take.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/edweek/digitaled
The spot that has most appealed to me here is “Tech Topics and Trends in K-12” with Katie Ash and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo. Ash “is a writer and Web producer for Digital Directions and a co-author of Education Week’s "Motivation Matters" blog,” while Manzo “has been covering curriculum and standards for Education Week since 1996, including federal, state, and local policies, instructional materials, and teaching practices.” The blog reflects the authors’ backgrounds along with a considered approach to a variety of topics.
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?feed=rss2
If this were my blog … this would be my voice…. Warlick reports that “I advocate and promote new teaching and learning techniques in three ways. First of all, I am a teacher. I have more than 30 years of experience at working with children and adults and can think of no better 'high' than helping to enrich some one’s life by growing their knowledge, understanding, and skill."
Warlick continues, "I also write. My books include:
Raw Materials for the Mind: 4th Edition (ISBN 1-4116-2795-4) — focuses on integrating technology into the curriculum,
Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century (ISBN 1 58683 130 5) — a succinct model for literacy skills in a world of networked digital information,
Classroom Blogging: 2nd Edition (ISBN: 1-4116-2903-5) — One of the first books for teachers about blogging and other Web 2.0 applications.
I also contribute to a number of magazines and online journals, and publish a blog, 2¢ Worth, and a podcast, Connect Learning.”
BTW, his “third way” is through computer programming.
When I ran across the following blog, ...
as I logged out of Amazon.com the other day, I was reminded of an old song that begins, “Come down, come down from your ivory tower….” http://www.amazon.com/tag/education/forum/. After seeing one thread had 1315 posts in two hours I wondered what I was doing rattling around these other blogs and forums. I do believe the sites, such as I have been reading and recommending, are a crucial place for us to try out and hone our voices; however, the Amazon site made me realize how important it is to be heard out and about in the market place.
As I wrote, in part, in a blog, (http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1783) “…The [Amazon] topic related to the big news of the day, “Obama says longer school days and years will bring the US up to par.” … many [posts], especially the early ones, were fairly reactive. As time passed, more were reflective, including teachers/parents/observers with anecdotal evidence to support their opinions. I found myself wishing for voices that could offer not only anecdotal evidence, but also quantitative, data/research driven background information to help develop understanding and shape the discussion.
“Coincidentally, since I have been following EdBlogCon and NECC, I couldn’t help but wish to hear some of those voices speak in a more public venue; after reading the Amazon forum, I wish it all the more! To do so, I see, would mean a willingness to be knocked around by a certain number of posters. And yet, there were others in the thread who were listening and dialoging. They would have been so open to what those of you [David Warlick and other leaders] with your finely honed knowledge base have to offer.”
Food for thought….
What made me choose those blogs?
I find it very exciting to explore what others are thinking, to be challenged, to learn about new & useful teacher strategies/resources, and to learn more directly about technology; therefore choosing these blogs was a natural decision.
After playing around with the various choices, I went with Google Reader. Flakepage was appealing; however, it seemed to be overkill for my purpose. Also, if I understand it correctly, it becomes my homepage. [This summer I am using a school laptop to set up what will feed my document camera/data projector next year.] On my campus, the homepage by default is our campus homepage. Without a blessing from my local ITS, I’m not willing to change that. J
What “non-classmate” blogs did I subscribe to?
Oh, how do I love this? Let me count the blogs…. As someone commented earlier about being let loose in a candy shop…. So true, so true. But here are my current faves:
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/feed
Jeff Utecht has a thoughtful, attractive blog. It is obvious, through his blogs, that he is deeply connected to many of the “forces” I have become “acquainted” with over these past several weeks. In fact, he is a force himself, not only attending and reporting extensively on, but also presenting at, conferences, such as NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) and EdubloggerCon. Ignorant about these as I have been, Utecht has made me feel comfortable about hanging around and asking questions. As a result, I have a much better idea of what technology is in use in education and what direction I might take.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/edweek/digitaled
The spot that has most appealed to me here is “Tech Topics and Trends in K-12” with Katie Ash and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo. Ash “is a writer and Web producer for Digital Directions and a co-author of Education Week’s "Motivation Matters" blog,” while Manzo “has been covering curriculum and standards for Education Week since 1996, including federal, state, and local policies, instructional materials, and teaching practices.” The blog reflects the authors’ backgrounds along with a considered approach to a variety of topics.
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?feed=rss2
If this were my blog … this would be my voice…. Warlick reports that “I advocate and promote new teaching and learning techniques in three ways. First of all, I am a teacher. I have more than 30 years of experience at working with children and adults and can think of no better 'high' than helping to enrich some one’s life by growing their knowledge, understanding, and skill."
Warlick continues, "I also write. My books include:
Raw Materials for the Mind: 4th Edition (ISBN 1-4116-2795-4) — focuses on integrating technology into the curriculum,
Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century (ISBN 1 58683 130 5) — a succinct model for literacy skills in a world of networked digital information,
Classroom Blogging: 2nd Edition (ISBN: 1-4116-2903-5) — One of the first books for teachers about blogging and other Web 2.0 applications.
I also contribute to a number of magazines and online journals, and publish a blog, 2¢ Worth, and a podcast, Connect Learning.”
BTW, his “third way” is through computer programming.
When I ran across the following blog, ...
as I logged out of Amazon.com the other day, I was reminded of an old song that begins, “Come down, come down from your ivory tower….” http://www.amazon.com/tag/education/forum/. After seeing one thread had 1315 posts in two hours I wondered what I was doing rattling around these other blogs and forums. I do believe the sites, such as I have been reading and recommending, are a crucial place for us to try out and hone our voices; however, the Amazon site made me realize how important it is to be heard out and about in the market place.
As I wrote, in part, in a blog, (http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1783) “…The [Amazon] topic related to the big news of the day, “Obama says longer school days and years will bring the US up to par.” … many [posts], especially the early ones, were fairly reactive. As time passed, more were reflective, including teachers/parents/observers with anecdotal evidence to support their opinions. I found myself wishing for voices that could offer not only anecdotal evidence, but also quantitative, data/research driven background information to help develop understanding and shape the discussion.
“Coincidentally, since I have been following EdBlogCon and NECC, I couldn’t help but wish to hear some of those voices speak in a more public venue; after reading the Amazon forum, I wish it all the more! To do so, I see, would mean a willingness to be knocked around by a certain number of posters. And yet, there were others in the thread who were listening and dialoging. They would have been so open to what those of you [David Warlick and other leaders] with your finely honed knowledge base have to offer.”
Food for thought….
What made me choose those blogs?
I find it very exciting to explore what others are thinking, to be challenged, to learn about new & useful teacher strategies/resources, and to learn more directly about technology; therefore choosing these blogs was a natural decision.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Week 2 Reflection
What have I learned?
What a wonderful question; I learned that I am about as competent technologically as I thought! When I took typing in high school the minimum criterion was to type at least 23 words a minute with less than five errors. When I couldn’t do that by the end of the semester, despite diligent effort, I had a “little visit” from my typing teacher. I’ll never forget the morning she came and knelt next to my typing table (yes, back in the day!) and told me, ever so sweetly, that she would be willing to pass me for the semester, if I would be willing to drop the second semester class. (I translated that to mean, “never take typing again.” !)
What relief we both experienced! But you can imagine the amount of trepidation I have had to overcome to enter this new age, can’t you? And oh, how I long to type with fluent automaticity. Of course, with sheer practice and determination, I have become faster and more accurate; however…!
In addition to developing better keyboarding skills, I have had to become tenacious enough to stick with figuring out what has to be done. For instance, you may recall that I wanted to create an avatar. Nicole’s directions were explicit, carefully laid out, and paralleled the instructions on yahoo, the site I ended up using. But – it took me about three hours to find my way around, figure out the instructions to develop my figure, save it, verify that I had it, lose it, and have to recreate it.
Or had I lost it after all? Had I been I looking in the proper folder or was I just a tab away?! One thing I find to be very true is that details are so crucial to understanding; I’m a broad concepts kind of gal, which causes me to have to read, try, and reread to discover the nuances that the author fully intended I grasp on first reading.
After word: only by accident, did I ever get the avatar loaded on my profile. My fourth hour was spent trying to export my avatar. No kidding. After I spent ages studying three pages open simultaneously on my screen just to find “export,” I then spent that much more time trying to make the export happen. I’ll spare you the details other than to say that nothing worked, even after I knew it should. Then, again accidentally, I noticed I could download rather than export; I saved the avatar to my desktop and voila, could get my blog to accept it. Never mind that I then discovered it wasn’t the exact figure I’d saved in yahoo…!
Bottom line: I have learned that educational technology acquisition, for me, has to be a combination of perseverance embedded in windows of opportunity, e.g., grabbing pockets of time as they come along, if I am going to accomplish my goals. I couldn’t have done this in past years, when I had kids at home, or had other extended family and community responsibilities. Humbling and motivating.
How did I feel about starting a blog?
In addition to the technology issues I described, I am a fairly private person, so blogging in the public eye has certainly pushed my envelope! My original intent was to acquire something for my students, and that has carried me through the learning curve, as well as through the ambivalence I felt about starting a blog.
What do I not want to forget to include in my classroom blog, and how can blogging be used in the classroom or in my educational role?
LOL - allow “more than enough” time! Start small!
I also want to remember to be personal in the midst of being a professional with my students, and I want to be as encouraging and supportive of my learners as our facilitators have been with us. If I have been challenged by this work, then I need to remember that many of my students will be, too. How can I help them, even inspire them, to set authentic learning goals and work toward them?
Should I use this in the classroom or my educational role?
This course-specific blog doesn’t fit in my classroom, nor do I pretend my words here will gather an ongoing following. That said, I know I have been opened to a marvelous world of professional reflection that will lead me to share URLs with colleagues. I recognize the charge to become a contributor and can imagine participating online in that way.
Questions I still have about blogging:
1. RSS feeds still escape me; I keep thinking I have subscribed, but don’t believe that is the case. And when is it preferable to keep up via an email feed versus keeping up via a Reader, or whatever? Is there a way to add a blog from its site, or is it necessary to copy the blog’s URL and paste it into a window at the RSS site?
2. What organizational systems are best for keeping up with blogs, along with curriculum sites and professional development sites that the blogs lead us to?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Recently I reported two blogs that particularly appeal to me are a literacy blog, http://www.thedailycafe.com and the KidLit site http://www.kidlitosphere.org. Now, I want to share out two others that have riveted my interest:
Hello http://blog.stratepedia.org/ [Related to SIM: Strategic Instruction Model] “Hello is our blog, written by those of us at Stratepedia and additional contributors from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. In Hello you can expect to find news about Stratepedia services and events; learn more about our products Depot, Dossier, and the Learning Labs; or learn more about various emerging technology trends.” I’m hooked, big time, on SIM, both its curriculum enhancements that the entire district has begun to access and the learning strategies strand offered most often by Region XIII and especially suited for Tier 2 and 3 learners. This blog even includes some sample organizers. Like The Daily Café, I can see that this will be an on-going, go-to “classroom assistant.”
You RRISD ITS’s rock! I am sooo impressed by what you have developed to help teachers facilitate students’ learning. I explored Technology Education Know-How and put it on my “list,” only to notice today it’s one of the blogs listed on our course homepage. I just hadn't worked quite that far through the list - or so I thought. To check it out, if you haven’t already, go to http://www.techedknow.com/, “Helping Teachers Teach with Technology” from Greg Smith, yet another RRISD ITS. Here you can find links to everything from 1050 Power Point presentations to a .pdf converter or from a plagiarism checker to Wordle ideas.
I really need to stop and figure out how I want to organize access to all these blogs and sites. Now where did I see the link to a nifty site that claims it will help me even more than feeds, in the way it gathers the blogs I want to follow…?
Luego.
Hello http://blog.stratepedia.org/ [Related to SIM: Strategic Instruction Model] “Hello is our blog, written by those of us at Stratepedia and additional contributors from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. In Hello you can expect to find news about Stratepedia services and events; learn more about our products Depot, Dossier, and the Learning Labs; or learn more about various emerging technology trends.” I’m hooked, big time, on SIM, both its curriculum enhancements that the entire district has begun to access and the learning strategies strand offered most often by Region XIII and especially suited for Tier 2 and 3 learners. This blog even includes some sample organizers. Like The Daily Café, I can see that this will be an on-going, go-to “classroom assistant.”
You RRISD ITS’s rock! I am sooo impressed by what you have developed to help teachers facilitate students’ learning. I explored Technology Education Know-How and put it on my “list,” only to notice today it’s one of the blogs listed on our course homepage. I just hadn't worked quite that far through the list - or so I thought. To check it out, if you haven’t already, go to http://www.techedknow.com/, “Helping Teachers Teach with Technology” from Greg Smith, yet another RRISD ITS. Here you can find links to everything from 1050 Power Point presentations to a .pdf converter or from a plagiarism checker to Wordle ideas.
I really need to stop and figure out how I want to organize access to all these blogs and sites. Now where did I see the link to a nifty site that claims it will help me even more than feeds, in the way it gathers the blogs I want to follow…?
Luego.
Well. There's no getting around it; the purpose of this particular blog, and therefore of these initial posts, is to complete course assignments. While I have prepared for this work, I had not anticipated having limited parameters placed on formatting! I'm a big Wordie; I enjoy all the bells and whistles that Word document formatting provides. I have to confess to frustration with plain text in emails and the limitations on Excel spreadsheets. Sooo ... how far can blog formatting go...? I'm curious to find out.
But I digress from my assignment! In this first blog (Oh - how frustrating is Lotus Notes formatting? I've just discovered I cannot cut and paste here - which makes Lotus Notes seem advanced.), I will take on a couple of questions. I notice myself thinking of these as first drafts, assuming that once I seem them posted, I'll have revision ideas.
A reflection on what I hope to learn from this course:
In this course I am eager to learn how to create and manage a blog that will add interest and meaning for my struggling middle school students. Initially I thought I would use it only for reading responses; however, as I have examined other blogs, I have realized my students and I could easily expand our work to scanned copies of writing. I also wonder if it might add meaning to publish our power point presentations of comparing homophones....
Identifying the purpose of my blog:
Not surprisingly, this connects to what I hope to learn from this course. Added to the above, then, I have identified approximately twenty Language Arts TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) that I would provide opportunities for students to practice over the course of the year, as they grow to mastery through blogging. In general, students would "write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes.” In particular, “Students are expected to:
6th grade 110.18(C)
… write responses to literary or expository texts and provide evidence from the text to demonstrate understanding.”
7/8th grades 110.19/20(C)
… write responses to literary or expository texts that demonstrate the writing skills for multi-paragraph essays and provide sustained evidence using quotations when appropriate.”
Spacing is interesting.... But just think of all the dendrite connections we can strengthen by this new learning....
Luego.
But I digress from my assignment! In this first blog (Oh - how frustrating is Lotus Notes formatting? I've just discovered I cannot cut and paste here - which makes Lotus Notes seem advanced.), I will take on a couple of questions. I notice myself thinking of these as first drafts, assuming that once I seem them posted, I'll have revision ideas.
A reflection on what I hope to learn from this course:
In this course I am eager to learn how to create and manage a blog that will add interest and meaning for my struggling middle school students. Initially I thought I would use it only for reading responses; however, as I have examined other blogs, I have realized my students and I could easily expand our work to scanned copies of writing. I also wonder if it might add meaning to publish our power point presentations of comparing homophones....
Identifying the purpose of my blog:
Not surprisingly, this connects to what I hope to learn from this course. Added to the above, then, I have identified approximately twenty Language Arts TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) that I would provide opportunities for students to practice over the course of the year, as they grow to mastery through blogging. In general, students would "write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes.” In particular, “Students are expected to:
6th grade 110.18(C)
… write responses to literary or expository texts and provide evidence from the text to demonstrate understanding.”
7/8th grades 110.19/20(C)
… write responses to literary or expository texts that demonstrate the writing skills for multi-paragraph essays and provide sustained evidence using quotations when appropriate.”
Spacing is interesting.... But just think of all the dendrite connections we can strengthen by this new learning....
Luego.
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