Foursquare & Buzz: Building Community or Too Close for Comfort?

I recently started playing with two newish social media applications, Foursquare and Google Buzz. Foursquare is an iphone app where you "check in" to different places when you visit them. If you are the first to check in, or you check in the greatest number of times, you can become the mayor of that location.


The mayor of my local Starbucks is @KevinPalmer a social media blogger who I follow on Twitter. He lives just a few blocks away from me. I DM'd him and suggested we meet for coffee (at his Starbucks of course).

Google Buzz is a new Twitter like service that is integrated into Gmail. The iphone app can show me who is buzzing near me; it will even give me their approximate street address.

The idea that social media applications like Foursquare and Buzz could connect me to people in my neighborhood is exciting, but also pushes my privacy boundaries. I live in a pretty urban suburb of a big northeastern city. I know a few of my neighbors, but not too many. I don't usually say hello to strangers on the street.

These might be great tools for my community, but they also scare me a bit. For the most part I've gotten over my fear of making virtual connections. I remember when that was pretty terrifying. Now it is just a way of life. Maybe the logical next step is to bring those virtual connections full circle, back to the real world. That is still a little outside of my comfort zone, but I'm willing to give it a try.

What do you think?

Anticipating Educon

The Educon 2.2 conference is only 6 days away. Educon is one of my favorite conferences of the year. It brings together the top thinkers in education and provides an environment perfect for learning from others. This will be my third Educon and knowing how fast it goes by, I'm trying to savor every minute that leads up to it.

Lisa Thumann is my conference buddy. We met three years ago at Educon and hit it off immediately. We both have two kids at home, so a trip away is both exciting and difficult for both of us. We try to make the most of our freedom, but feel the pull of home in the background. Sadly, we only see each other twice a year, at Educon and at BLC. So we tend to be a bit attached at the hip when we are together.

This year I am flying down to Educon with Danja Mahoney (also a mother of two little ones), who I met last year at Educon 2.1. Lisa is picking us up at the airport and then the fun/learning begins. Hopefully we will have time for something to eat before heading over to the panel discussion at the Franklin Institute. Last year I met a bunch of my PLN at TGI Fridays before the panel. I hope we have time to do that again.

The panel topic this year is "What is Smart?" A topic near to my heart if you follow this blog and know how much I'm into Carol Dweck and her "You're not born smart, you get smart" philosophy. I'm interested to see what the panelists have to say and if Dweck comes up in their conversation. I hope she does.

After the panel there is a reception which always feels like a whirlwind of seeing people that I know Online, but haven't met or see only rarely. There is also a meetup of Independent School educators planned by Jim Heynderickx. This will be the beginning of being pulled in many directions. So much to do, so little time.

This year I am only presenting one session on Sunday, so that leaves Saturday pretty stress free for me, except for deciding which of all the amazing sessions to attend. I'll be Tweeting a lot from the conference. You can follow my experience through Twitter. I also have put togehter a Twitter list of Educon Attendees. If you follow the list you should be able to get a taste of what is going on (let me know if you aren't on the list and I'll add you). All of the sessions at Educon are streamed live. So even if you can't attend live, you can always attend virtually.

The Sunday morning panel features former Watertown, MA resident Michael Horn. I met Michael and interviewed him a while back, but haven't seen him since he moved to sunny California. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say and saying hello.

Lisa and I are facilitating a session on Sunday on Managing Filter Failure, Getting to the Good Stuff. We are going to use a modified Ping Pong protocol to help participants get to the heart of the problem. And then we are going to brainstorm some solutions. This will be a true conversation, no slideshows or presentation planned. I'm looking forward to seeing what we all can come up with when we put such great minds together. Although, we are up against a lot of big names during our session - hopfully we will get a few people to come brainstorm with us.

Shortly after our session it will be time to head out. I know how fast it all goes by. I'm savoring every moment leading up to it and will try to stay Zen about making the most of the experience. I'm sure I'll be blogging about it when I return. Looking forward to seeing some of you there! Be sure to say hello!

10 Tips for Beginning Bloggers

My brother has recently started blogging and asked me for some tips. I thought I would share them here. I started blogging in 2006 and it has been some of the best professional development for me that I have ever done. Blogging forces me to think, reflect and write about my experiences. Blogging helps me retain my learning and connects me to others who help and support me in my endeavors. If you don't yet have a blog, I recommend giving it a try. You don't have to blog every day or every week. Just establish a place Online to share your thoughts. If you give it a chance, I think you will find it a rewarding experience.

Here are few tips to get you started.

1. Writing: You don't have to write long posts, just a few paragraphs work best. People don't want to read much more than that. You don't have to be perfect, just get your thoughts out there and press publish. Don't obsess too much about your word choice and grammar. It is your ideas that matter. Include an image and break up your thoughts. Lists work really well, so do bullets.

2. Platforms: Choose a blogging platform that works for you. If you are more technically inclined, you will probably want to use Wordpress and host your own blog. You can also use something like Wordpress.com which will host a wordpress blog for you. If you are less technical, Blogger works really well. Plus, since blogger is owned by Google it does help get you higher up in Google search results. Many teachers also use Edublogs which is run by Sue Waters who is a great support to educational bloggers.

3. Authority: Claim your blog on Technorati. I'm not sure how much your Technorati authority matters anymore, but many people search for blogs to read on Technorati. You want yours to be there to find.

4. Statistics: Keep track of your readership. I use StatCounter to track visits to my blog. There are many other options including Google Analytics which will tell you who has visited, where they came from and where they live. It is really fun to track your stats when you first start blogging. It is nice to know that there are some people out there actually reading what you have to say.

5. Blogrolls: Include a blogroll. When you link to other bloggers they appreciate it and will check back to see what you have written and are likely to include a link back to you on their blogs. It also helps your readers find other bloggers to read on the same subject.

6. Searching: Subscribe to a Google blog search of your name, the name of your blog and the URL of your blog. You want to know when other people refer to you and/or your blog so you can see what they have to say about you, respond with a blog post or at least leave a comment thanking them for the reference. Add your blog to Google blog search if it isn't there already.

7. Twitter: Get a Twitter account and Tweet when you have a new blog post. Twitter is the source for most of my blog traffic. But make sure that isn't all you do on Twitter. You also should tweet other people's blog posts and other links of interest. Check out this post if you are new to Twitter.

8. Subscriptions: Provide a way for your readers to subscribe to your blog via email. I use Feedburner for this. There are many readers who want to get updated when you post a new blog, but who don't use a feed reader. Giving them an email option expands your regular readership.

9. Contact: Include a way for your readers to contact you. I use Retaggr for this. Not only does Retaggr provide a contact form, it also provides links to other places you can find me on the web and includes some information about who I am.

10. SEO: Tag or label your posts. Including a tag helps your readers find posts on the topics they are interested in. It also helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which pushes your blog to the top of search engine results.

Bonus: Include numbers in your post titles. O.K. I have no idea why this works, but my most popular posts all have numbers in the title. Hopefully it will work with this one ;-) Go figure...

Do you have a blog? Do you have a suggestion for new bloggers or for me? I would love to hear them. Please post a comment and share with us. Are you a new blogger? Share a link to your blog so we can check it out!

image source: Blogging Research Wordle from Kristina B's photostream on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/barnett/2836828090/

Digital Journalism Syllabus 2010

Second semester I will be teaching a new high school course for the first time titled "Digital Journalism." It is an English elective for juniors and seniors inspired by and based on Howard Rheingold's Stanford course of the same title.

I have been working on my syllabus for a while and have just completed a draft of my syllabus for the first quarter. It is a work in progress and definitely will change once the course starts.

I would welcome and encourage your suggestions, questions and ideas! (In particular I am looking for two more short videos for the end of the quarter.)

Thanks in advance!

Facing my Fears in 2009!

First of all, thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Edublog Awards. I didn't win, but a lot of really great bloggers did. You can see all the winners here.

On Friday last week I got up in front of my entire school community, 440 teen age boys and about 60 teachers, and sang a song. It was part of a Faculty Holiday concert that we do every year. I have never sung a solo in front of a large audience. The first time I did Karaoke was this summer on vacation and there were only about 50 people there. That was a huge accomplishment for me and this Friday was even bigger.

I am a performer, I have been acting and dancing on stage since I was a little kid. But when I was in 6th grade I tried out for a small singing group and was told that I can't sing. I'll never forget that day. And unfortunately, I let one music teacher's opinion shape who I am. I stopped singing. I only auditioned for chorus and dancing parts for shows. I was embarrassed to sing next to someone and always felt they must be cringing at my voice.

It has taken me 30 years, but I am determined to face my fear of singing and take back that part of myself. As Carol Dweck might say, you aren't born a singer, you become a singer. If this is something I want badly enough, it is something I can do. I am determined not to let my fears stop me from living my life. In fact I've been actively seeking out my fears and facing them down this year.

This summer I learned to sweep row. I have always loved the water and my school has a crew team. I volunteered to help coach the middle school team last spring. "Coaching" involved standing next to a variety of amazing coaches and watching and learning. In the summer I finally got into a boat myself and learned how to row. I even rowed in a race. The race part is where I was terrified.

I have never been a competitive person. In fact, competition scares me. I get so anxious that I can't perform. I tried running a few 5K races years ago and I could barely breath, I was so nervous. This year, this was another fear that I was determined to overcome. I pushed through the fear and raced. It was an amazing experience. I'm so glad I did it. (I'm in the two seat, which is second from the bow of the boat.)

In fact, the more fears I face down, the easier it is to do. Neither of these experiences were resounding successes. My singing was not beautiful and we came in second to last in the race. But, neither were they horrible failures. Instead, I survived both and grew a little stronger and a little braver with each experience. In 2010 I'm going to continue to row and I am going to take some singing lessons.

The more I push myself, the more I want to push myself. I'm seeking out my fears, rather than running from them.

I have been so energized by my own experiences. I believe others can really benefit from doing this. Just take it one fear at a time. They don't have to be big things. In fact, to other people they may seem really small, but it is knowing inside that you are not going to let your fears run your life that really makes a difference.

Well, I haven't really talked about technology here, but I think for many people who are afraid of technology, helping them to face those fears could really make a difference. How can we encourage our colleagues and students to face their own fears and take them on?

I've been nominated for 2 Edublog Awards

Voting ends tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec 16th at USA EST 11.59 PM)


(for my 10 Tips for Teaching Technology to Teachers post)

Even if you don't feel like voting, you should check out all of the nominated blogs. It is a great way to find inspirational educators! I am honored to be in such great company.

Edublog Award Nominations

It is time again for the Edublog Awards. I read a lot of blogs and I thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts and resources with me. Here are just a few of the people that keep me learning every day.

• Best individual Blog Blogush by Paul Bogush
  Paul is an 8th grade social studies teacher in Connecticut. He isn't afraid to tell it like it is. He makes me think, and sometime cringe and often laugh. I admire his risk taking and his commitment to his students and to being the best teacher he can be.
  
• Best individual Tweeter @butwait
  It is hard to pick just one, but Shelly shares great stuff, she retweets and also responds and thinks about what might be helpful to individuals, not just the collective.
• Best Resource Sharing Blog Edueyeview by Sarah Sutter
  Sarah is and art teacher in Maine. Her artistic perspective makes the links she shares particularly interesting, and often things you won't find elsewhere.
• Most Influential Blog Post spectacle at Web2.0 Expo... from my perspective by Danah Boyd
  Danah's writing on teens and technology is always inspiring. This post about her recent experience with a backchannel gone rogue is particularly compelling.
• Best Teacher Blog MagistraM by Danja Mahoney
  Danja is a Latin teacher in Massachusetts. She shares great resources, projects and ideas that relate to all teachers. I think it's particularly cool that such a forward thinking person teaches a "dead" language ;-)
• Best Librarian / Library Blog The Web Footed Book Lady by Lesley Edwards
  I only recently discovered this librarian's blog. Lesley shares great ideas and resources.
• Best Educational Tech Support Blog Thumann Resources by Lisa Thumann
  No Edublog nomination list would be complete without Lisa. She is the ultimate support person, sharing great ideas, tips and links.
• Best Elearning / Corporate Education Blog Brandon Hall by Janet Clarey
  I love Janet's irreverent writing style. She writes thought provoking posts about the state of social media. Her spin is a little different than the teacher blogs I read. I always learn something new here and often laugh while doing so.
  
• Best Educational Use of Audio Conversations.net - Live Conversations on the Impact of the Internet on Cutlure and Society.
  Steve Hargadon (my hero) chooses amazing guests and asks great questions.
  
• Best educational use of a Social Networking Service Independent School Educators Network
  This is probably too niche a network to win, but this has been a great resource for me as I have recently moved into the world of independent schools.