Saturday, August 7, 2010

Things 6 & 7 (Week 3) - Feed Your Reader: Find & Subscribe to Feeds (6) / Begin to Build an RSS Reading Habit (7a)

Introduction

Photo by Cattrin
Photo by Cattrin
One of the key concepts of "Web 2.0" in education is the understanding that we are all becoming "networked learners."
The tools connect us to an expansive, interconnected web of experts, ideas and resources, and allow us to participate and contribute. A core element of your own PLN, or personal learning network, is your RSS reader (also known as a newsreader or aggregator). Fill it with quality feeds and the expert knowledge, learning and ideas come to you!


Discovery Exercise: Feed Your Reader (3 parts)


PART 1: Find 2-3 Edublogs of interest to you and add them to your reader
You will have to invest a little time, over time, to find the first couple of bloggers whose voices really resonate for you, but once you find a couple of folks you really like, adding others becomes easy. In the "blogosphere," you will find that the voices you value are often connected to one another.

Probably the best way to build your "feed library" is to find one or two bloggers you like and explore their "Blogrolls" (a list of blogs they read/follow linked on their own blogs' sidebars). As you follow their blogs, you will also make new connections through their posts and comments. Again, it just takes a little time, over time -- like tending a garden. And you can always make adjustments as you go.

That said, here are a few places to begin looking for Education-focused blogs

DISCLAIMER: A "highly-ranked" or "award-winning" education blog is not the only indicator of quality or relevance in content. I am just trying to point you to some options to get you started finding feeds. There are, no doubt, many "little" and "niche" bloggers out there with important messages that would resonate for each of you. I hope you will take some time to find those voices and add them to your growing network of learning connections.


‡ HELP Tip: To add most blog feeds to Google Reader, just copy and paste the main blog URL (site address) into the Add a Subscription box in your Google Reader. The reader will "sniff" the site for a feed. For more help/info, review the "Thing 5" instructions for adding feeds.


PART 2: Use a "blog search engine" to find 1-2 additional blogs/feeds of interest to you (educational or otherwise) and add them to your reader.

Use a Blog Search Engine to Find Feeds
There are a number of different "blog search" tools on the Web. Our omnipresent friend Google offers two such tools. Use these tools as you would a "regular" search engine to search for blogs or news feeds. Do not spend an inordinate amount of time on these. I just want to you experiment a bit.

  • Google Blog Search - http://blogsearch.google.com
    Type your terms into the search field and click Search Blogs. Use multiple keywords and phrases (in quotes) just as in a regular Google web search. Adding clarifying terms such as "education" or "elementary" to your main topic may be helpful.
  • Google Reader "Browse for Feeds" - http://google.com/reader
    Perform a "Feed Search" from right inside your Google Reader. Here's a screen shot showing how.

‡ HELP Tip: To add most blog feeds to Google Reader, just copy and paste the main blog URL (site address) into the Add a Subscription box in your Google Reader. The reader will "sniff" the site for a feed. For more info, review the "Thing 5" instructions for adding feeds.


PART 3: (OPTIONAL) Add a "Fun" Feed to Your Reader

¤ NOTE: If there is more than one feed on a page, right-click the specific feed icon or link and select Copy Link Location (or Copy Shortcutin IE) then paste the copied URL into your Google Reader "Add a Subscription" field. Examples here.

Here are a few "fun" feeds to try:



Task (3 parts)

PART 1: After completing the discovery exercises above, you should have about 7-10 feeds in your reader. Check your Google Reader at least every other day (preferably daily) for 5-7 days. Practice skimming and scanning. AFTER you have done so, complete PART 2 (Thing 7a) below.

¤ NOTE: You are not required to retain all of the original 5 feeds from Thing 5 if you do not want them (Go to Manage Subscriptions in your Google Reader and click the Trash can next to the feed you want to remove).

¤ IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YOUR GOOGLE READER: The content in your reader can be overwhelming because it will continue to "pile up" endlessly. BUT -- it's not actually there -- it hurts NOTHING for you to skim and skip items and mark them as "read" just by scrolling past them. You aren't actually deleting anything. In fact, learning to quickly scan and process a lot of news items is an essential part of RSS literacy and information management -- the important ideas will always come back around, and you will also learn to pare down your subscriptions as you go. If you feel compelled to thoroughly read every item, you will remain completely overwhelmed and quickly "quit" your reader. Keep trying -- it gets easier!

PART 2 (Thing 7a): Write a blog post reflecting on your experience and sharing one or more items of interest from your reader. Include links to any posts you refer to. Be sure to include "Thing 7a" as part of your post title. You will be asked to "share an item of interest from your Reader" at two other times during this course (Weeks 6 & 9). Please continue to check your reader at least every other day throughout the course. It's the only way to actually build a reading habit. See note below.

PART 3: Check out the "Thing 7a" posts of at least two classmates (find their blog addresses on the Google spreadsheet). Leave a thoughtful comment if you find something interesting, helpful or provocative. Log into Edublogs first to make commenting easier.


Stretch Task

Create a Custom News Feed. One of the most powerful features of Google News is that it allows you to create a custom feed that checks 4,500 news sources for whatever keyword(s) you choose. To set up your feed, go to Google News: http://news.google.com, enter your desired search term(s) and click "Search News" (Use advanced search features to refine your search as needed). While viewing your results, click the RSS link in the left sidebar, and copy and paste the feed URL into the Add Subscription area of your reader. After monitoring the feed for a couple of days, write a brief blog post describing the feed you created and sharing an interesting item that has appeared in your reader as a result of the feed.
Posted by at No comments:

Thing 5 (Week 3): Getting Started with RSS

Introduction

What is RSS?

rss.png

RSS is a special type of computer code that allows users to know automatically when new "stuff" is added to their favorite websites. An RSS feed, which looks like a scary piece of computer code is an incredibly powerful, amazingly useful piece of Web 2.0 technology that is not actually scary at all (honest!). RSS, which stands for Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication, allows web users to subscribe to multiple websites and have new content delivered to them automatically in one location, called an RSS reader or aggregator. Instead of visiting each website to check for new information, the user simply checks his or her reader, which has collected and organized all of the new content using RSS. In short, when you set up an RSS reader and subscribe to the content (feeds) you choose, it's just like creating a customized newspaper or magazine containing only the stories, media and information you want to read, delivered "fresh" to you every day - spam-free, ad-free, and just-plain free!

Why is it called a feed?

Essentially, you (via your RSS reader) are being fed new content (news, blog posts, journal articles, book and movie reviews, images, podcasts, etc). You don't have to go out and get it. It just comes to you.

What do I need to take advantage of this wonderful RSS stuff?

There are two basic parts to using RSS - first is the feed, which will be available as a link or icon on the website or blog you want to subscribe to, and second is the reader (or aggregator), which is the container that manages all of your subscriptions (or feeds). There are a number of different readers available. For this course, we will use Google Reader, a free, simple, browser-based reader. Basically, it's like this : You visit a website you like, click the RSS feed/subscription link and add or paste the URL into your reader. Then, you visit your reader anytime you want to see what's new at all of the sites you have subscribed to.

How can RSS help educators?

Educators can use RSS feeds to keep up-to-date with news items, favorite blogs, journal articles, book reviews or updated items from any area of interest, keep current in educational trends, track student blog posts or changes to a class wiki site, and share news or media items (such as podcasts, images or videos) with students, colleagues and parents. For a list of fantastic ideas for using RSS in your classroom, check out Ten Tips for Using Web Feeds in the Classroom from Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson.

RSS in Plain English (3:45)

Watch the short video in which our friends at CommonCraft explain the essence of RSS.

A couple more RSS explanations that may be helpful (not required):

Discovery Exercise: Set Up your Google Reader and Subscribe to Some Feeds


Just some of the possible RSS subscription icons
Just some of the possible RSS subscription icons
For this course, you will use Google Reader as your RSS aggregator.

To get started, everyone will subscribe to the same 5 feeds. (In Thing 6 you will learn how to begin finding and subscribing your own preferred feeds).

Different sites present their feeds using different icons and links (though there is a current push for standardization). Most commonly, you will see an orange icon, or a link that says Subscribe or Syndicate, RSS, XML or ATOM. With a little practice, you can learn to easily locate and use the various subscription icons and links - I promise!

To subscribe to a feed, you simply click the icon or link for the feed and you will then see either a button to click to add the feed to your Google Reader, or a page of "scary code" from which you copy the URL and paste it into the Subscription field of your Google Reader.

To set up your Google Reader, simply visit http://reader.google.com and log in with your Google Account. You can also just log into your gmail account and click reader in the upper left corner of the gmail window (The first time you log in, you will see a welcome screen containing sample "recommended" feed items -- you aren't subscribed to anything yet).

Then, in another browser tab or window, visit the following sites and subscribe to the feed.

‡ HELP Page: Step-by-step instructions for subscribing to each site

(In the Task below, you will find instructions for "what to do" with the feeds after you have successfully subscribed).

Five Required Feeds (please subscribe to all -- you will be free to edit )

  • Free Technology For Teachers - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
    "A review of free technology resources and how teachers can use them. Ideas for technology integration in education." Riches abound on this site.
  • Instructify - http://blogs.learnnc.org/instructify
    From LEARN NC. "Instructify is where teachers can stock their toolboxes with practical, time-saving classroom ideas and cutting edge methods of instruction. It’s where to find useful, free technology to utilize in the classroom. And it’s a fun place to spend your planning period."
  • TechLearning Advisor Blog - http://www.techlearning.com/section/Blogs
    A rich group blog hosted by Tech&Learning that features daily posts by some thoughtful, influential voices in the edublogosphere (sorry about the ads).
  • Successful Teaching - http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/
    27-year veteran teacher Pat Hensley (a.k.a loonyhiker) offers     "strategies and tips for successful teaching." Her blog embodies the Web 2.0 spirit of sharing.
  • Teach Paperless - http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/
     "This is a blog meant to help teachers create and maintain SocialTech-integrated Paperless Classrooms. In addition, our community regularly posts and comments on all aspects of paperless, digital, and technological culture as it relates to education." Second Runner-Up for 2009 Best Individual Edublog Award.

‡ HELP Page: Step-by-step instructions for subscribing to each site

Two Stretch Feeds - Go Beyond Blogs...

(Optional, but really good to know). Your Google Reader can read any kind of RSS-syndicated content, such as news stories, images, video clips, bookmarks and podcasts. Try adding a news feed and a podcast feed to your reader. It works the same as adding a blog feed.


‡ HELP Page: Step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the five required and two stretch feeds.

Google Reader Official Help: Getting Started with Google Reader


Task


PART 1: Get comfortable using your Google Reader. Read through the "new items" from the above subscription feeds in your Google Reader. This brief video shows you how. You are not expected to read every item thoroughly, but rather to scan and skim all items and read those that seem relevant, thought-provoking or interesting. You will need to click the blue title of an item to go to the actual site and read any comments. Be sure to star any items you want to save for later reference.

‡ HELP Video: Using Google Reader to Read Your Feeds

¤ IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YOUR GOOGLE READER: The content in your reader can be overwhelming because it will continue to "pile up" endlessly. BUT -- it's not actually there -- it hurts NOTHING for you to skim and skip items and mark them as "read" just by scrolling past them. You aren't actually deleting anything. In fact, learning to quickly scan and process a lot of news items is an essential part of RSS literacy and information management -- the important ideas will always come back around, and you will also learn to pare down your subscriptions as you go. If you feel compelled to thoroughly read every item, you will remain completely overwhelmed and quickly "quit" your reader. Keep trying -- it gets easier!

PART 2: Write a brief blog post telling about an item of interest from your reader. Provide a direct link (permalink) to the item within your blog post. NOTE: You will need to visit the actual blog or website to get the direct link -- your Google Reader is just "pulling in" the content -- like a radio pulling in a signal. The "real" show is being "broadcast" from a remote location. Click the title of the blog post in your reader to visit the actual site. See the Edublogs Help page for instructions on adding links to a blog post. Be sure to include "Thing 5" in your post title.
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Thing 4: Blogging begins with reading other blogs

Introduction
Like other Web 2.0 technologies, blogging connects people and ideas. There are, of course, blogs addressing pretty much every topic imaginable: Personal interests and family, education, politics, news, entertainment, arts, culture, sports, lifestyle, hobbies, social causes, technology, business, self-help, etc... Technorati's "State of the Live Web" for April 2007 reported tracking over 70 million weblogs and counting. If you can think of it, someone's most certainly blogging about it.

Blogging is more than writing. Blogging is reading, reflecting, questioning, researching, synthesizing, linking, conversing, teaching, sharing and expressing ideas. Blogging is about writing, but blogging begins with reading.


Discovery Exercise: Voices in the Blogosphere
Read at least five of the blog posts below. They are intended to give you just a tiny sampling of a few voices and blogging styles of teachers and students in the "edublogosphere," which is the category encompassing education-related bloggers and blogs. Take some time to read the comments as well, as commenting is one of the most significant aspects of blogging. Next week, you will set up your RSS reader and subscribe to a few blogs that spark your interest.

As you read, consider the following questions (feel free to adapt and expand on any of these or add your own):

* What do you notice about the genre of blog writing in general?
* How is blog reading different from other types of reading? How is it similar?
* How is blog writing different from other types of writing? How is it similar?
* How does commenting contribute to the writing and meaning-making?
* How can blogging facilitate learning?


Sample Blog Posts
Select Five - or more if you are engaged :)

1. dy/dan (Mr. Meyer): Why I Don’t Assign Homework
There are 176 comments and trackbacks (comment showing when another person has linked to this post in their own blog) on this post as of February 6, 2008. You don't have to read them all - says something about the provocativeness of the post, though!
2. Two Writing Teachers: Letters of Gratitude
A high school teacher talks about a powerful third grade writing project -- sending thank you letters to relief workers in /haiti that really touched her heart.
3. Mrs. Edmison's Class: Questions for One of Our Favorite Authors: Grace Lin
Third grade students receive a special blog comment from a beloved author answering their questions about writing.
4. Twenty-Five Days to Make a Difference (Laura Stockman): It Doesn't Matter if You're 6 or 26 or 106
On December 1, 2007, ten-year-old Laura Stockman decided to honor her grandfather's memory by helping to make a difference in the world every day for twenty five days. She did "little things that kids can do." And she blogged about her efforts. More than a year later, Laura's message and blog have inspired thousands of people to make a difference every day. If you are not convinced that blogs and other social media have the potential to change the world (and to empower our students), I hope you will take time to explore Laura's site.
5. Mark’s Edtech Blog: Is this SSR 2.0?
A third grade teacher describes a "new" kind of Sustained Silent Reading.
6. Betchablog (Chris Betcher): The Myth of the Digital Native
Teachers often make the assumption that our students, who have "grown up digital" are technologically fluent. It's not necessarily true. (This is a post that's particularly resonant for me, and one I think every teacher should read).
7. Remote Access (Clarence Fischer): Bias in the Classroom
A middle school social studies lesson beginning with an online "energy" game evolves into an opportunity for students to think deeply and critically about bias in the media they consume and in their own lives.
8. Pre-Cal 40S (Fall '06) SCRIBE # 1 !?, intro to circular functions
This is an example of a "Scribe Post," as "invented" by calculus teacher Darren Kuropatwa, in which a student (11th grader in this case) reviews the classroom learning for the day or week. The teacher sets guidelines for the quality of work and students who exceed the requirements have an opportunity to be nominated into the "Scribe Hall of Fame."
9. Dear Kaia & Skyelar: This, This, That
A father helps his little girl to look for beauty in things that are ordinary, ugly or thrown away.
10. CoolCatTeacher (Vicki Davis): Spies Like Us
Vicki Davis talks about the realities of teaching in a society where every cell phone is a recording device. Vicki Davis is someone you want to know about!
11. Creating Lifelong Learners (Mathew Needleman): Energize Your Classroom: How Jim Cramer Made Me a Better Teacher...>> Teachers can make challenging concepts "engaging and comprehensible" to students by applying techniques gleaned from CNBC's "Mad Money," with wacky, high-energy host Jim Cramer.
12. Extreme Biology: Sickle-Cell Anemia isn't Half Bad
Award-winning classroom blog of a high school biology teacher in an Atlanta-area private school. Students post about different topics related to the study of biology. This is a typical student post exploring biology in action. Check out the comments in response to the student's question at the end of her post.
13. EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging
Anne Davis, an edublogging pioneer from Georgia State University, has been blogging with elementary school students since 2002. In this post, she enumerates her reasons for blogging with students.
14. Learning is Change (Ben Wilkoff): The Ripe Environment
An proposal for getting 'beyond the tools' to create an environment for real, collaborative teaching and learning. Features ten strategies (now updated with their own expanded posts).
15. Students 2.0: Teaching Brevity
The author of this post is a fourteen-year-old. The Students2oh blog was collaboratively written by a group of outspoken, articulate high schoolers from across the U.S. and beyond.
16. Bit by Bit (Bob Sprankle): The Time is Now
In an engaging metaphor about television "rabbit ears," Sprankle makes a case for rethinking "analog" teaching practices and moving into the digitally-driven 21st century.
17. NeverEnding Search: PowerPoint Reform - A First Chapter
High school librarian Joyce Valenza shares highlights from her presentation for senior English classes on how to stop making miserable PowerPoint presentations.Good points and good resources.
18. Patrick's Update: 5th Grade
This post was written by an at-risk fifth grader who struggled with writing and school success in general. Anne Davis shares it as an example of the importance of comments in blogging.
19. A Really Different Place (Carleigh): One Family's Story of Survival
A sixth grader who blogs as part of a classroom community of writers shares a story about the recent plane crash on the Hudson River.
20. Weblogg-ed (Will Richardson): What Did You Create Today?
Prolific edublogger Will Richardson shares some questions he hopes his children might be able to answer about their school experiences.
21. Andy Carvin / Learning NOW: An Open Letter About Cyberbullying
Andy Carvin responds to a nerve-striking "humor" article in Wired Magazine.
22. Pair-a-Dimes (David Truss): Students, Information and Schools
A brief but provocative post that asks us to think about how information access has changed for our students. Read it -- the graphic will kill you (metaphorically).
23. A Simple Desultory Dangling Conversation (Skydaddy): The Upside Down Pop Quiz A teacher rethinks and reworks the traditional "pop quiz" to provide an incentive for students to really learn what he wants them to learn.
24. Wandering Ink: How To Prevent Another Leonardo Da Vinci
An argument about the ways in which the current education system and adolescent culture discourage creative thought. (If this interests you, you may want to view Sir Ken Robinson's AMAZING TED Talk: Do Schools Kill Creativity?).
25. Duck with a Blog: Second graders Write About Our Missing Duck
Award-winning elementary blog about an unexpected guest. Be sure to click the duck to read the students' stories.



Task
Create a blog post in response to the exploratory reading and questions listed above. Feel free to reflect on anything that struck you about the posts themselves or the genre of blogging in general. Be sure to include a link to any post(s) you refer to (see "permalink" note and videos below) and include "Thing 4" in your post title.

¤ IMPORTANT NOTE: When linking to a blog post, you need to use the post's Permalink. Because blogs are frequently updated, as posts "get older" they are pushed off the "front page" into the archives. What??? Fear not: each post has a unique URL (web address), called a Permalink, typically containing the post title and date, or a unique post number.

Examples:

* http://weblogg-ed.com = the main address (URL) of Will Richardson's blog.
* http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/working-together-to-make-a-difference/ = the permalink to his February 3, 2009 post entitled "Working Together to Make a Difference."


* http://blog.mrmeyer.com = the main address of Dan Meyer's blog
* http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=213 = the permalink to his May 3, 2007 post entitled "Graphing Stories."


Each link above is the permalink, so you can simply copy the URL from your browser's address bar when using it in your post.

¤ EQUALLY IMPORTANT NOTE: Unlike email or Word, simply pasting a URL into your post won't make it a link. You need to use the "Link" button. See "adding links" video below for help.

‡ HELP:

* How to locate a blog post Permalink (Important!)
The Permalink is the direct link to a specific blog post. It will include the date and title of the post, or a post number. You must use the Permalink when linking to a blog post -- you can't just link to the main address of a blog.
* Adding links (web page URLs) to your blog posts
Please make sure you are clear on this. It's not difficult, but you cannot just copy and paste a link like you do in email or Word.
* Adding permalinks from other blogs (a more thorough explanation of the Permalink concept - 3:21)
Posted by at No comments:

Thing 3 (Week 2): Become a Blogger

Introduction
A blog is one of the core publishing/communication tools of Web 2.0. A blog, at its simplest, is a website containing an archived series of posts (e.g. articles, news items, commentaries, journal entries, stories, reviews, summaries, etc...), organized by categories (or tags), with a place for readers to leave comments. Readers can subscribe to the blog using a special type of code called an RSS (or similar) feed. A blog may have one or many authors, and can be about any topic, from personal to political to professional.

Blogs connect ideas and people.
Blogging can provide teachers and students with an authentic opportunity to express themselves, synthesize ideas from many sources, engage in discussion and debate, write for an audience beyond the classroom, reflect on their own learning, teach and mentor others, and connect with peers and experts around the globe. As you work through the next few "Things," and the remainder of the course, you will begin to learn more about blogs and their powerful potential for personal and professional learning, reflection and communication.

Today, the primary goal is to get you "up and blogging."
Your personal blog is the most important component of the course. You will use your blog to document your learning, discoveries and experimentation throughout the course. It will also serve as your course portfolio, or record of completion.

Discovery Exercise
As you watch the video below, consider the term "NEWS" as meaning any content or topic that is relevant to you and/or your students.

Blogs in Plain English (3:00)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
Getting started:
If you have not already done so in "Thing 2.5," set up your blog.

Before you get started blogging, please consider the following:
Tips for a Richer K12 Learning 2.0 Blogging Experience

* Your blog will be as meaningful as you make it. Invest in your reflections and spend a little time crafting your posts. Take time to link, format your text and possibly add images. Feel free go beyond the minimum posting requirements. The blog is truly yours.
* Be brave when posting and celebrate your learning. We all struggle and experience frustration and can benefit from hearing about others' experiences. We also want to hear about your discoveries and problem-solving triumphs!
* Be generous in commenting on other participants blogs. Blogging is meant to engage readers in two-way communication. We are a community of learners. If you take a little time to encourage and respond to others' posts, they will respond in kind.



Task
After you have set up your blog, write the following two posts. Be sure to include the Thing # in the Post Title.

POST 1: From Thing 1 - Reflections on Lifelong Learning
Write a reflective blog post based on the 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners. You may write about anything related to your own experiences or beliefs about Lifelong Learning, and your thoughts about this course. The three things you were asked to consider were:

o Which habit(s) may be most challenging for you to employ as part of your K12 Learning 2.0 experience?
o Which habit(s) will be easiest, or are most resonant for you as a lifelong learner?
o Which habit do you think will be most important for you as you work through this course, and why?


POST 2: From Thing 2 - Thoughts about Web 2.0
Complete a blog post reflecting on your initial thoughts about Web 2.0 and its role in 21st Century teaching and learning. Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?" Why would you want to? How might you be able to use these tools to support your own learning?

¤ IMPORTANT: In case you missed this above -- after you have registered your blog, BE SURE to add your blog address to the Google tracking spreadsheet. I will use these addresses to subscribe to your blogs in my RSS reader so that I can follow your progress. Coaches and participants will also use the Google spreadsheet to locate each others' blogs.

‡ HELP Video: How to write and publish a basic blog post

Stretch Task
(P. S. I hope everyone does this one!) Blogging is meant to be a conversation and we are a community of learners. Check the Blog address listings in our course tracking spreadsheet (remember, there are several tabs in the spreadsheet) and visit the blogs of two colleagues -- one from your own school and one from another school. Read their Thing 1 or Thing 2 posts and leave a comment in response -- be sure to include your blog address in the Website field!

‡ HELP Video: How to leave a comment on someone's blog
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Thing 2.5 Set up your blog

Thing 2.5 (mini-thing): Getting Started with Blogger

In which you sign up for Blogger, Create a New Blog and Change Your Password, then post your blog address to our shared Google spreadsheet. Whee!

Task
1. Follow the instructions on this video to set up your Blogger blog.

2. Add your blog address to the Google tracking spreadsheet.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thing 2 What is Web 2.0 and (Why) Does it Matter?

Thing 2 (Week 1): What is Web 2.0 and (Why) Does it Matter?

Introduction

The term "Web 2.0" can be applied across broad categories of emerging technology tools and design principles, social and economic shifts, business philosophies, participatory media and culture, etc.... Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking and social bookmarking sites, tagging, photo- and video-sharing, RSS, etc...) are collaborative, browser-based and user-driven. They include platforms and tools for publishing, connecting, sharing, organizing and remixing.

A popular synonym for "Web 2.0" is the "Read/Write" web, which suggests that users are contributing, creating and collaborating rather than just consuming web content. "Web 1.0" or the "Read-Only" web was a place where the average user didn't publish content, because it required technical knowledge (HTML and other programming code) and money (to purchase server space and software). Web 2.0 tools allow users to easily participate and to customize their online experiences.

At its core, Web 2.0 is about powerful Web-based technologies connecting people and ideas.

So, what is Web 2.0?
Here are a few "one-sentence" definitions, and one that is slightly longer:

* "It's not a web of computers, it's a web of people." - Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web
* "Working on the Internet is the same as working on your desktop." - Sarah Bresee, Outcast
* "Web 2.0 is the two-way web where content finds you." - Ron Rasmussen, KnowNow
* "People doing things together on the web." - Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Foundation
* "Web 2.0 is all the Web sites out there that get their value from the actions of users." - George Jones, InformationWeek
* "The new WWW: Whatever. Whenever. Wherever." - Tom March, Educator, Inventor of WebQuests
* "Less than a decade ago, when we were first getting used to the idea of an Internet, people described the act of going online as venturing into some foreign realm called cyberspace. But that metaphor no longer applies. MySpace, Flickr and all the other newcomers aren't places to go, but things to do, ways to express yourself, means to connect with others and extend your own horizons. Cyberspace was somewhere else. The Web is where we live." - Steven Levy and Brad Stone, Newsweek.



Discovery Exercise: (Why) does Web 2.0 matter?
Please watch the following video clips to learn a bit more about some important "21st Century Shifts."

¤ NOTE: If YouTube is blocked at your school, you may need to view these clips from home.

The Web is Changing...
Web 2.0: The Machine is Us/ing Us by Michael Wesch (4:30)

If you don't see the video, here is a direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g


The World is Changing...
Did You Know? 4.0 by Xplane, the Economist, Karl Fisch & Scott McLeod. (4:46)

Inspired by the original Shift Happens / Did You Know? (worth a watch to see the evolution!) by Karl Fisch (8:20)
If you don't see the video, here is a direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8


Students are Changing...
A Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch and students at Kansas State University (4:45)
If you don't see the video, here is a direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o


The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler

If you don't see the video, here is a direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o


Task
What might Web 2.0 look like in school and why should I care? Read this blog post: "Web 2.0 is the Future of Education" by Steve Hargadon, and the attached article "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0" by David Warlick. (Yes, these total of eight pages of reading, but they are an important stage-setter for the course).

Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?" Why would you want to? Next week (in Thing 3), you will be asked to complete a blog post reflecting on your initial thoughts about Web 2.0 and its role in 21st Century teaching and learning, so please make a few notes.
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Thing 1: Lifelong Learning

23 Things began as a tutorial on Web 2.0 for employees of the Public Library for Charlotte and Mecklinburg County. Please view this slideshow about Lifelong Learning.

7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners

After you've finished viewing the slideshow, think about which habit will be easiest for you, which will be most difficult and which you think is most important. Once your blog is set up, share those thoughts with the participants. Be sure to read and comment on others blog posts as we continue through the course.
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)