Blogging for a Better Classroom (10 Habits of Bloggers that Win Remix)

Blogging for a better classroom
Vicki Davis, Teacher
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
Handouts
http://coolcatteacher.wikispaces.com

Web 1.0
The Read Only Web
Source: The Wayback Machine

Web 2.0
The tools in school are changing again.
The Read/ Write Web

Web 2.0
Blogs
Wikis
Podcasts
Social Networking
Tagging
RSS

Every teacher needs an RSS Reader
Google reader – http://reader.google.com
Netvibes – http://www.netvibes.com
PageFlakes – http://www.pageflakes.com
Note: I did a Web 2.0 workshop series for Atomic Learning – if you have a subscription you can learn more there.

What is a Blog?

Do blogs matter?
“The Internet’s first scalp.”
John Podhertz, The New York Post
I want to say this about my state.
When Strom Thurmond ran for president,
we voted for him. We’re proud of it.
And if the rest of the country
had followed our lead,
we wouldn’t have had all these problems
over all these years either.— Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, Dec. 5, 2002

Media’s Response
A Kennedy school of journalism study found:
“A certain receptivity in the bloggers allowed judgment in the press to correct itself.”[1]
[1] Rosen, Jay. "The Legend of Trent Lott and the Weblogs." Pressthink: Ghost of Democracy in the Media Machine 15 Mar 2004 05 Jun 2006 <http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2004/03/15/lott_case.html>.

Blogs and the media!

Societal Shift
“ When the smoke cleared, mainstream journalism’s authority was weakened.[1]
[1] Pein, Corey. "Blog-Gate." Columbia Journalism Review 1: January/February2005 05 Jun 2006 <http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/1/pein-blog.asp>.

http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html

Web + Log = Blog

Blog Anatomy
Post (the entry)
Comments
The Sidebar
The RSS Feed
About the Author
License

Places for Classes to Blog
http://www.classblogmeister.com
http://www.edublogs.org
Youth Voices – High School Kids
www.ning.com
www.blogger.com
www.think.com

My blogs
http://westwood.ning.com
http://netgened.grownupdigital.com
http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com/profile/coolcatteacher
http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com/profiles/blogs/beginning-of-project-blog-post
http://digiteendreamteam.blogspot.com
http://technocatteens.blogspot.com/

Video + Blogging = Vlogging
http://www.youtube.com/user/digiteendreamteam

What about bad comments?
Moderated comments
It takes time to show up.
Spam comments
Require you to enter letters to make sure you’re human.
“Authentication code”

Elementary Blogging
Mark Ahlness – Mighty Writers
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=41233
Al Upton’s Mini Legends
http://minilegends.edublogs.org/
His Students are on the right side

10 Habits of Bloggers That Win
(What to teach students about blogging)

Habit #1
Have a “voice”
Blog Like a Pirate
http://westwood.ning.com/profiles/blogs/693670:BlogPost:8384
My new one “blog like a “blue Man” (Avatar)

Classroom “Voices” are Educated Ones
No IM speak
Make it clear what part of the assignment you’re doing (Headings)
Spell check (Firefox)

Habit #2
Hyperlink words that need explanation.(Contextual Linking)http://technocatteens.blogspot.com/2010/08/augmented-reality-future-now.html

The manual way to do it!

Habit #3
Have a tempting title.CatchyInformativePiques CuriosityExplains a little bitSee http://technocatteens.blogspot.com/

Which blog post will you read?
A paragraph I read today
Ipods: Killing the CD as we Know it
Gesture Based Computing Assignment
Murdering the Mouse: The Future of Gesture Based Computing

Habit #4
Write and cut in half.(Write fast and then edit it down and reorganize.)

Exception
The “How to” Post
Then be very specific, give examples, show pictures, screenshots, tutorials.

Habit #5
Don’t post till they can see the white with their eyes.(White space)http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2010/09/tips-to-overcome-conversation.html

Write first, format second.
Habit #6

Important formatting
Headings
Bullets
Quotations
Italics (sparingly)
Color (for emphasis)
Did I say WHITE SPACE?

Paint a picture!
Habit #7

Places to Find Pictures
Creative Commons www.creativecommons.org
Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images
Flickr – www.flickr.com
Cool Iris Add In - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5579/

Screenshots & Videos
Jing – www.jingproject.com (Screencast)
Fireshot – Screenshots on web
Win 7 Snipping tool – Screenshots
Camtasia – Screencasting
Students should know how to embed

Other add ins
Graphic Organizers – http://www.classtools.net
Graphics
http://westwood.ning.com/profiles/blogs/comparing-and-contrasting

Habit #8
Before you bag it, tag it!Pull Technologies - http://westwood.ning.com/profiles/blogs/reflective-blog-post-plnsUse a Tag “pln”http://westwood.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=pln

Habit #9
Ping and Participate!Ping your friends! (for adults)www.twitterfeed.com

Ping Search Engines
www.pingomatic.com
Only ping if you WANT to be found!
People you link to will follow trackbacks to YOUR BLOG!! So get ready!

Make it easy for others to Ping your content
Tweetmeme http://tweetmeme.com/about/retweet_button

Engage in Conversation
Reply to those who comment to you!
Disqus
www.disqus.com

Commenting

Habit #10
Get the stats back!www.statcounter.comBlogger is internal

The great need for meaning
We want a global audience.
Must be done wisely and safely.

Where do I go from here?
Start blogging!!
Every expert was once a beginner.

The power of Three!

http://foresthillsnortherntechnology.wikispaces.com	120
http://coolcatteacher.wikispaces.com	87
https://coolcatteacher.wikispaces.com	2

Blogging for a Better Classroom (10 Habits of Bloggers that Win Remix)

by Vicki Davis

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