Introducing Three New Teen Bloggers

The three students in my Web 2.0 Computer Applications course have been blogging since the beginning of September. Over the course of the last three weeks, they have learned about Blogger, Delicious, Google Docs, Creative Commons, Flickr, Google Reader, Technorati, and StatCounter. They have watched The Machine is Us/ing Us, a TED talk on the Predicting the next 5000 days of the Web, the infamous (and newly updated) Shift Happens video and countless Lee Lefever In Plain English clips.

This is my first time teaching this course and it is taking shape as we go. It occurred to me last week that excellent blogging happens when you are passionate about what you are writing. My students now have two blogs (see if you can tell the difference).

I am proud to introduce the following new teen bloggers:

• Jack, a sophomore, who is writing about technology at Computer Apps '08 and about baseball at America's Game.
• Matt, a senior, who is writing about technology at How to of F2 and about hockey at Hip Check Hockey.
• Doug, a senior, who is writing about technology at The Application of Technology and about football at Football: No Pain, No Game.

Please take the time to check out my students' blogs and leave them a comment if something strikes you.

Thanks!
-Liz

image source: Mexicanwave's photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexicanwave/2404978535/

Advice for Web 2.0 Newbies

Photo by pbo31

Angela Maiers, in her latest blog post, asked for some suggestions for people starting their Web 2.0 journeys.

Here are a just a few:

1. Start with the pedagogy - always remember that it isn't really about the technology, it is about the teaching and the learning. Technology is a tool, it is a means to an end. "It's not what the software does, its what the user does" - hugh . Check out Chris Lehmann's slideshow on Progressive Pedagogy and 21st Century Tools.

2. Jump in - you have to start somewhere, go for it. If you are reading this blog then you have already started. Take a look at my blog roll. Set up a Google Reader, start reading lots of blogs, and comment. Comment a lot. We bloggers love it when you comment. It makes us feel someone is listening. It is a great way to start the conversation.

3. Join Classroom 2.0, Twitter and/or Plurk - make sure that you include information about your self in the bio portion of your Twitter page and start sharing. Send out several Tweets before you start following people. Then look at my list of followers and/or people I am following and pick a few to start following. If they don't follow you back, you can always send a message with @username. That will get through to most people even if they aren't following you. I have a huge Twitter network, so @lizbdavis is the best way to get through to me on Twitter.

4. Start blogging yourself - the act of blogging has been an incredible learning experience for me. I never before thought of myself as a writer, but the more I write the more comfortable I feel about writing. Blog posts don't have to be long (and really shouldn't be) and they don't have to be perfect. Just get your ideas out there. Tweet your posts, link to other bloggers and you will be heard.

5. Attend conferences - Meeting my Online network face to face at Edubloggercon, Educon 2.0 and the BLC08 conference was an extrememly powerful experience for me. I really felt like I already knew people from our Online interactions. We just picked up where we left off and the real life conversations and friendships were inspiring and energizing. This made my journey feel so much more meaningful and immediate.

Dave Truss just posted this video which tells the story of his journey. He is a valuable part of my network and I wouldn't know him if I hadn't first done all of the things I've shared above.

Please share your suggestions and questions here!

Jott Faux Pas

I love Jott. Jott is a free service that automatically converts your voice into e-mail and text messages—anytime, anywhere, with any cell phone. Call Jott from your phone and leave yourself (or someone else) a message. Jott transcribes your words into text and sends it to your email or as a text message to your phone. You can also have Jott send you a reminder at a particular time. You can even Jott your blog...

Doh! Yesterday I went to Jott my husband, who's name is Rob, and instead Jott sent the reminder to my blog (notice they rhyme :o). In an ohnosecond my personal reminder was broadcast to the world. Fortunately, it wasn't anything too embarrassing. I've deleted the post, but if you subscribe to my blog, you may see it show up in your reader. Sorry about that.

Oops!
-Liz

Updated Delicious Screencasts

Delicious is a social bookmarking Website that allows you to save your bookmarks Online and retrieve them from other places. You can also easily share your interesting links and find useful resources by exploring others' saved bookmarks. I blogged about this great Online application more than a year ago. I also created several screencasts to explain how to get an account and save bookmarks.

Since that time, Delicious has been purchased by Yahoo and the interface has changed a bit. I've created two new screencasts using the new Website. I've embedded them below. Hope you find them helpful. Please feel free to share and link to these screencasts as you see fit.

Getting a Delicious Account


Saving bookmarks with Delicious

Respecting Tradition Yet Alive to Innovation

I started my new job last week as the Director of Academic Technology for Belmont Hill School. Belmont Hill is an independent boys school for students in grades 7 -12. Needless to say, I haven't had much time for blogging. I have been getting to know the faculty and the school. It is always challenging to start a new job. I am thankful to the faculty and staff at Belmont Hill for being so helpful and welcoming.

One of the things that drew me to Belmont Hill is their mission statement:

"Respecting tradition yet alive to innovation, our structured and rigorous program provides students with clear expectations and consistent encouragement, a framework for growth that honors creativity, teamwork and competition..."

I love the juxtaposition of tradition and innovation. I truly believe that these two ideas can exist in harmony. As I told the faculty, I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I just want to add some bubbles. Excellent teaching can thrive without technology. But being "alive to innovation" requires a willingness to step outside of your comfort zone, take risks and perhaps fail. Successful innovations usually don't start out successfully. I'm looking forward to learning more about the traditions of Belmont Hill and helping us all to embrace the innovations that new technologies can offer.

Photo Credit: "BelmontMA." May 1999. [http://www.belmontma.com/schools/belmont_hill/belmont_hill_content.html]. 9-5-08.

Our favorite Quotes

As the new school year begins (at least here in the Northeast U.S.), many of us are putting together faculty presentations. I am presenting on Thursday at Belmont Hill as their new Director of Academic Technology. I am both excited and terrified about the event. In an effort to spice up my presentation, I've been looking for some good quotes. I went to my network and they did not let me down.

Here are a few of my favorites and the quotes that people have shared so far. I created a wiki to collect more quotes. If you have one to add to the list please share it here: http://edquotes.wikispaces.com/

"Technology is anything invented after you were born, everything else is just stuff"

-Alan Kay

"It's not what the software does it's what the user does" -hugh

"History will say, “They had WHAT tools? And they did WHAT with them?” - John Davitt
Shared by h011y via Twitter

“The technology itself is not transformative. It’s the school, the pedagogy, that is transformative.” - Tanya Byron
Shared by @h011y via Twitter

"We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us." Marshall McLuhan (1964)
Shared by @craigr via Twitter

"Any smoothly functioning technology will have the appearance of magic." Arthur C. Clarke (1984)
Shared by @craigr via Twitter

"Fish don't know they live in water." Zen Saying
Shared by @craigr via Twitter

"Our system of education is locked in a time capsule. You want to say to the people in charge. . ."
Shared by @craigr via Twitter

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?" - Roy from 'The IT Crowd' http://tinyurl.com/y75xbx
Shared by @jarruzza via Twitter

@cshirky 's "communications tools don't get socially interesting until they get technologically boring"
Shared by @ehelfant via Twitter

“Indeed, the role I give the computer is that of a carrier of cultural 'germs' or 'seeds' whose intellectual products will not need technological support once they take root in an actively growing mind.” Seymour Papert
Shared by @georgygrrl via Twitter

"The illiterate of the 21st century won't be those who can't read & write but those who can't learn unlearn & relearn" - Alvin Toffler
Shared by @jepcke and @rrodrigo via Twitter

"The B.E.S.T. conversations I have had with the people who know THE MOST about TECH has never been about TECH." ~Jen Wagner
Shared by @jepcke via Twitter

"Blogging is vandalism" - Alan Kay :-)
Shared by @garystager via Twitter

"We already knew that kids learned computer technology more easily than adults, It is as if children were waiting all these centuries for someone to invent their native language." - Jaron Lanier
Shared by @edtechworkshop via Twitter

"Why shouldn't we give our teachers a license to obtain software, all software, any software, for nothing? Does anyone demand a licensing fee, each time a child is taught the alphabet? - William Gibson
Shared by @Bmuench via Plurk

"You must be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi
Shared by @LoriB via Plurk

image source: From define23's photostream on Flickr.

BlogHer - The Community for Women Who Blog

I just read about the BlogHer annual conference in the New York Times this weekend. I've signed up on the site and discovered that there is going to be a one day conference in Boston in October.

Thus far, my experience in the blogosphere has been very education based. I am excited about the opportunity to explore blogging with women who blog on a variety of different topics. I have also, dare I say it, felt at times some gender inequity in the world of educational blogging. There are probably more women who blog in this realm, but it seems like the men get the press and the keynotes. Maybe I'm overly sensitive, maybe I'm right...

I'm planning on attending the conference in October and look forward to expanding my network and learning more about blogging. Care to join me?

Image Source: Wendy Piersall's photostream on Flickr: BlogHer08 Conference Photos