Blogs, Blogging and RSS Feeds

This is the final drawer in the Web 2.0 tool box.  I have been learning about blogs, blogging and RSS feeds for three months now.  It is due to these tools that I now understand what my iGoogle homepage is - a customized site for gathering information relevant to my needs and interests.  These tools are very versatile in the ways they can be used both personally and professionally. I know I have only skimmed the surface of the possibilities, and the list of uses will continue to grow and evolve over time.  It is exciting, however, to be aware of the tools and imagine the many ways they can become a part of your life.

To begin, a blog is a type of website an individual creates to share information (comments, videos, pictures, links, etc.) on the world wide web.  Posts to a blog appear in reverse chronological order on the web page.  A blog is also socially interactive in the sense that others can leave comments on your posts.  Generally, the blog is in an area of interest, and helps to connect you with others who share that same interest.  Blog - Wikipedia provides a good overview of these features.  The following Common Craft video by Lee LeFever - Blogs in Plain English, is a great starting point to understand the blogging world.

Truly, the best way to understand a blog is to begin blogging yourself.  There are numerous platforms to use when setting up your own blog, and the choice ultimately is a personal one, based on how you envision using it, what tools you are already using, and your comfort level.  As indicated in Blog-Wikipedia, blogs have been used in many ways.  The blogs can be defined based on the content they contain or how the content is delivered.  Some examples of how blogs can be defined are:

• Personal blogs
• Corporate and organizational blogs
• Genre blogs
• Media type blogs
• Device

I chose to use Blogger as my blogging platform.  I chose this platform primarily because I could create documents in Microsoft Office Word and publish them directly to my blog.  Will Richardson also recommends this site due to the ease of use (2010, p. 48).  That being said, as I indicated previously, there are numerous platforms available.  Some are free web based sites, some are microblogging sites, some charge a fee, some are self-hosting, such as Blogger, and others a site-hosted, such as Twitter.  Here are a few to get you started in your exploration:

• Blogger
• Tumblr
• WordPress
• SquareSpace
• Posterous
• LiveJournal

Once I created my blog page for this course, I could at least recognize other blogs when I came across them.  In the Web 2.0 world, there are so many tools and gadgets out there, it is hard to know whether you are on a Wiki, Ning, blog, etc.  Just as with these tools, when you begin to create your own or participate in others, you develop a feel for the characteristics, features and benefits of each type of Web 2.0 tool.  For that reason, by creating your own blog, you will become familiar with what it can do and how you can potentially use it.

After you have created your own blog, it is beneficial to explore other blogs.  Not only will you find sites which are useful personally and professionally, but it lets you see how various sites are designed and the numerous gadgets that can be used to personalize your site.  Look beyond the information and links in the blog post - focus on items found in the sidebars, headers and footers of the blog page.  The blog becomes the digital face of the author - it reveals their purpose and some of their personality.  For example, on my own blog page, I have included professional tools related to my career in education, a book club I am part of - Shelfari (I am going to dive into this once I done this course.  I have had a few people requesting to be my friend, but I haven't had time to play yet.), a Flickr photostream (also waiting for me to put to full use), a badge showing I am a member of Classroom 2.0, some samples of Web 2.0 tools I have tried, such as a Voicethread, my Twitter postings, and so much more.  Yes, in a digital sense, this is growing and evolving with me, very much becoming a digital image of who I am online.  Digitally speaking, I may be in the infantile stage, but I am maturing with the more digital experience I gain.

I remember the first day I set up my blog, I was unfamiliar with terms such as "html" and "embed" in relation to blogging.  It was very overwhelming.  However, now that I have been playing around with my own blog, I not only know what these mean, but I am using them to blog and share information on my blog.  Further, I better understand other issues I run into in other arenas of my life, such as issues with my computer at work and at home.  So, to keep with the metaphor of "infantile", in my first days I was fresh from the womb and needed someone to feed me (in this case, mostly Richardson).  As I learned the basics of creating a post and embedding a few pictures (working with html text), I began to feel a little less timid.  I began taking my first steps, wobbly at first (maybe a few tears were shed, and sometimes I cursed the screen when it didn't do what I wanted).  However, I am at the point where I am posting more than just pictures, working with html text, adding gadgets, and so much more.  I am not running, but the steps and footing are solid enough to give me the independence to know how to grow with these tools.

The question then becomes, how do you find blogs to follow.  There are a number of ways to do this.  In my case, I was given a list of recommended blogs for the Web 2.0 course.  If you are looking for this kind of information, here are some blogs to get you started:

• Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog
• Will Richardson's Weblogg'd Blog
• David Warlick's 2 Cents Worth Blog
• Joyce Valenza's Never Ending Search Blog
• Copyblogger
• Stephen Abram's Stephen's Lighthouse Blog
• Lee Kolbert's Geeky Momma's Blog
• Buffy Hamilton's The Unquiet Librarian

Beyond that, you can look at my blog roll in my side bar.  I have found other blogs in the educational and technological field that I feel are worthy of being shared on my blog.  I often look at the blog rolls of sites I go into to find out who they are following.

However, there are a couple of other ways to find blogs about specific topics.  A second way is to use the tools to search the blog directory.  Some of these search tools are (Richardson, p. 108):

• Technorati
• Bloggernity
• Google Blog Search
• IceRocket
• Blogsphere
• BlogSearch.com
• BlogPulse
• Blogscope
• Blog Search Engine

I will come to the third way of searching a little later on.

Knowing how to locate the information is only the first step.  Once you find great resources, you want to keep up with any new information which is posted to these sites, whether it be comments to existing posts, or new posts from the author(s) of the site.  Often on these site you will find RSS feeds.  This stands for Really Simple Syndication.  Wikipedia gives a good overview of RSS feeds.  As Richardson indicates (2010, p. 108)this allows you to subscribe to the blog so you don't have to return to it repeatedly to see if anything new has been posted.  Again, the Common Craft video on RSS In Plain English is useful in helping you visualize how this process works:

The RSS feeds makes the managing of the information on the web slightly more possible.  The RSS feeds can come to you in a couple of ways that I know of.  The first I am aware of is a tab under my email account. 

When subscribing to many of the pages, it will give you the option of heaving the feeds come to this location.  However, I chose to set up an aggregate reader.  There are many different readers to choose from.  I chose Google Reader because I wanted to learn more about the features of my iGoogle homepage.  However, Richardson does list other options (p. 109):

• Bloglines
• NewsGator
• Pluck
• FeedBucket
• FeedShow
• My Yahoo
• Rocket News

I have created files for all of the blogs and other types of sites I subscribe to.  These are similar to a filing cabinet.  A file for education. Another one for technology. Financial information, cooking, parenting, etc.  I then label the RSS feed with whatever file title they fall into.  I can have a RSS feed subscription which falls into more than one category, such as education and technology, for instance.  Why is this a big deal?  To help me search for specific information that is coming to me in my feed subscriptions.  It allows me to narrow down the search through the blogs when searching for specific information.  For instance, I wanted to include a blog roll on this site.  I went to my Google Reader and chose from the Web 2.0 Blogs file I had set up.  It saved me from searching my entire listing of subscriptions.  Similarly, when I am looking for information about cooking, I go to my cooking feeds first and scroll through the posts as a starting point. 

I should also mention at this point, the Google Reader is the third way I know of to search for blogs of a particular topic.  In my Google Reader page, there is a search option.  I can type in the topic of choice, and Google Reader will show a list of blogs related to that topic.  The rest is up to me - I have to sift through them until I find what I am looking for. 

All this said and done, Pam Berger and Sally Trexler say now you need to respond to some one's blog (2010, p. 109).  I think this is because it makes the game real - it makes this the Read/Write Web. 

Personal Uses for Blogs, Blogging and RSS Feeds

Personally, I have used blogs a few times that I am aware of.  I know for sure I used it once to figure out how to solve a problem I was having with my computer.  I have also responded to let them know the information was helpful.  I have posted information on sites like Facebook.  As Richard MacManus indicates, it is about getting your voice out there (2010, par. 1).  Beyond this, however, I haven't really tried too much.  Richardson (2010) does give me a few ideas, though.  These are a few of the things I can see myself trying or continuing to do in the future:

• e-portfolio
• as a resource
• a collaborative space
• connective writing

To illustrate what this might look like, I did a quick search on Technorati for the term "blogging".  I came up with an extensive listing of choices, a variety of bloggers who were writing about topics ranging from music, icy roads, to squid.

Dean Takahashi states in his article State of the Blogoshphere: More bloggers are doing it with their phones, that there are also the "mom-blogs", who often are writing about brands of products.  According to Takahaski, this tends to attract advertising to their sites.  Further, Takahashi refers to the annual State of the Blogosphere report that Technorati conducts.  In the survey conducted for this report, 48% of the bloggers felt more people in the future will be obtaining their information from blogs over the traditional forms of media.

Professional Uses for Blogs, Blogging and RSS Feeds

Professionally speaking, there are many uses for these tools, as well.  To begin with my own first hand experiences, I have created this blog for a university course on Web 2.0 tools.  That in itself was a professional use.  However, this blog has now become an educational tool for me as I lead other teachers in learning about 21st century tools for our classrooms.  It is a resource I can share with others to get them started in the Web 2.0 tools world.

Of course the blogs I follow are a great professional development resource.  I have found links to so many helpful and educating articles.  Through these connections, I have also been introduced to terms and concepts that truly are hot off the press.  The information is timely.  In addition, I am making contacts and developing working relationships with others who I am unable to meet face to face with.  This is even with my own school district which covers a large area. 

Richardson (2010) also mentions other professional uses, such as:

• as a learning tool
• as a resource
• class portal
• collaborative space
• connective writing
• e-portfolio
• knowledge articulation
• online filing cabinet
• transactional writing
• student blogging

The RSS feeds really are the "killer app", as Richardson indicates (2010).  This application revolutionized how I used the web for both personal and professional uses.  The fact that I could now subscribe to sites I found interesting or useful, and have that information come to me, has done two things.  One, it has made it more likely that I will read professional material on a daily basis.  It is there, and as I scroll through my feeds I inevitably find something that peaks my interest.  Therefore, I believe the RSS feed deserves credit for making me feel more intelligent.  Secondly, I am more likely to contribute something worthwhile to social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook.  It is so easy to share what I am reading (if I feel it is worthwhile sharing). 

As an aside, it is interesting to know what happens to your information once you put it out there.  In Blogger, there is a page where you can look at your stats.  There is an overview data page which shows you where in the world the viewers of your page are, how many times your site has been looked at, and traffic on your site.  It looks something like this:

Another interesting statistic to look at is the traffic, including both the referring URLs and the Referring sites.  I followed up some of the recent ones on my site and was a little surprised to see one of my postings for this course had been listed in a blog roll on another site.  It made me feel good - like all my hard work had been beneficial beyond this course.  However, try as I might, I can't seem to find the trail tonight.  An example of what this page looks like is:

I am definitely still learning what all these statistics mean and how to follow up how the information I put out there is then being used.  For now, this is a good start.  Baby steps.



References

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited

Fitzpatrick, J. (June 20, 2010). LifeHacker: five best blogging platforms.  Retrieved at http://lifehacker.com/5568092/five-best-blogging-platforms.

MacManus, R. (Nov. 24, 2010).  Top trends of 2010: the rise of tumblr, posterous, & light blogging.  Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/tumblr_posterous_top_trends_2010.php

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Takahashi, D. (Nov. 3, 2010).  State of the blogoshphere: More bloggers are doing it with their phones.  Retrieved at http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/03/state-of-the-blogosphere-more-bloggers-are-doing-it-with-their-phones/

Twitter - Network Mining



Ivan Walsh's Flickr photostream

I set up my Twitter account over the summer, but really didn't do anything much with it at that time.  I don't recall who I was following or who was following me, but I know it involved some people from the online course I was taking at the time.  However, it wasn't until this course that I really began to network and become connected, thereby experiencing the power of this networking tool.  As William Kist indicates, "people are tethering themselves to each other, crisscrossing the Web as they Twitter everything from the mundane to the sublime" (2010, p. 3).  Twitter is that little bird we put in a cage and send down into the mine shaft to search for the quality air, so to speak.

My first tweet was uncomfortable.  I didn't like the idea of giving a play-by-play of my daily routines.  For one, they aren't that interesting.  Secondly, none of my family or friends use Twitter as a social or professional tool, and those are the only people I could imagine being slightly interested any of my tweets. 

bradleyolin's Flickr photostream

As far as what I was getting out of Twitter...not much.  I didn't get some of the lingo being used - a condensed way of sharing information due to the microblogging nature of this tool (messages need to be given in 140 characters or less).  I wasn't following anyone I knew, so I wasn't really interested if they were going for coffee or doing errands. I felt alone

in the mine!                

I wasn't motivated to check out my Twitter account very often.  In fact, I didn't go on Twitter after that summer course ended.  It wasn't until this course began that I needed to revive the account and try to put some life into it.  So I sent the bird in the cage back down into the mine shaft.

There were a couple of key steps I took that enabled me to understand the potential of this tool on a personal and professional level.  The first was a link a classmate provided for a list of Twitter names to follow from the educational field.  It was a link similar to Canadian Educators Who Tweet on Listorious, a list I could add my Twitter handle to and in turn the list would automatically set me up as a "follower" to anyone on that list and they were automatically set up as followers on my account.  Listorious would do the same with the handles of any newcomers to the list.  This was key in growing the list of people I was following, as well as the people following me.  My list continued to grow (currently I am following 400 Twitter handles and have 167 following me).  The mine shaft was getting productive - and as with any type of information management, periodically one has to review their "workers" to see which ones a producing and which ones need a pink slip.


Glen Bowman's flickr photostream

I had also been following several Twitter handles required by this course.  These are great resources in the area of education, technology and web 2.0 tools.  The list recommended for this course, to get anyone started in these areas, is as follows (they are the light in the mine shaft): 

Glen Bowman's flickr photostream

• Will Richardson (@willrich45)
• David Warlick (@dwarlick)
• Joyce Valenza (@joycevalenza)
• Stephen Abram (@sabram)
• Dean Shareski (@shareski)
• Alec Couros (@courosa)
• Ross Todd (@RossJTodd)
• Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin)
• Steve Hargadon (@shargadon)
• Scott McLeod (@mcleod)
• Mack Male (@mastermaq)
• Judy O'Connell (@heyjudeonline)
• danah boyd (@zephoria)
• Buffy Hamiton/The Unquiet Librarian (@buffyjhamilton)
• Joanne de Groot(@joannedegroot)

As well, I added the classmates from my course, another thirty or so handles.  The superintendent from my school district is trying to use Twitter as a public relations tool, so I added all the handles from that professional group.  Finally, I have added Twitter handles to follow as I navigate the Web - I find many of the sites I visit have the option to follow them on Twitter.  I have added many personal interest Twitter handles to my account, such as The Edmonton Journal (@edmontonjournal), Oprah (@O_Magazine), YA BookShelf (@YABookShelf), and IndigoEvents (@indigogreenroom) to name a few.  David Parry from AcademHack referred to this YouTube - How To Use Twitter video as his starting point for learning how to work with Twitter.  Sam Harrelson posted this in 2007, which isn't the most current, but does explain the basics well.


cliff106TM's flickr photostream

So now I had built my networking community and I had a good flow of tweets to scan each time I signed into the site.  I found this more interesting, and as I scrolled through the tweets I would find links to topics I was interested in.  The information I was seeking was now coming to me instead of me having to venture out into the world wide web to find it.  Twitter was starting to look better to me - I was beginning to see the use of this mining for information tool.


homard.net's flickr
 photostream

It wasn't until I set up TweetDeck that I really got this Twitter thing.  (Will Richardson mentions another platform, Nambu, which I have not investigated but at a first glance, does look very worthy of consideration.)  TweetDeck brought Twitter to life for me.  I have set up columns on this platform which allows me to manage my Twitter lists; to follow groups I have created, both public and private; and to sort and manage the information coming to me from Twitter.  I can chose specific groups identified by a hashtag (i.e. #edtech) which is typed somewhere in the tweet so anyone can search for any tweets containing this identifying hashtag (these are easy to create - just put # followed by a group name you want and include it in your tweets for that group).  Each list I select to add to TweetDeck then shows up on the TweetDeck dashboard.  I can create a list which displays Facebook newsfeeds from my Facebook account.  Another list I created was for the Direct Messages to my Twitter account.  There is also a list for recommended Twitter handles to follow and finally the list which display the tweets made by the Twitter handles I am following.  I could set up as many columns as I wish for particular listings I want to follow.  All tweets made under these columns are updated real-time. 

Rosaura Ochoa'a Flickr Photostream

Three last things I can do with TweetDeck are searching, composing and syncing.  The search columns display searches I have done on TweetDeck and allows me to conduct other searches (i.e. search for specific hastags; search for particular type of information; etc.).  I can compose a message to join the conversations on Twitter from TweetDeck so I don't have to leave this site and go to my Twitter account.  I can sync TweetDeck with my iPhone (if I had one - I committed to HTC Hero last time I renewed, for reasons I won't go into here).  However, I did add Twitter to one of my home screens on my cell phone and I do check the tweets when I am killing time.  Anything I like, I simply retweet and then I can easily find it when I am at my computer (I just check out my list of tweets to find anything I have posted).

As I mentioned earlier, managing is a key part of this information mining.  I have done this two ways.  The first thing I tried to set up as my Twitter account was growing were groups.  As I followed a new Twitter handle, I would add it to a particular group, such as  "education", "finances", "technology", etc.  I have several groups which I have set up, including personal and professional topics. 

The second way I manage this information is in TweetDeck, as I mentioned above, by creating lists and columns on my dashboard. Tknoppe gives a good overview to explain the basics and show how to customize your TweetDeck in this Twitter TweetDeck Tutorial.

I can leave TweetDeck running in the background of my computer as I work on other things.  Any new tweets or posts will pop up on my screen.  I quickly scan them and if it is something I am interested in I look into it - otherwise I let it fade from my screen.  For example, tonight I came across a tweet with a link to 101 Ways to Use Twitter on Campus by Online Colleges.  It seemed to fit for this week's post, so I explored it.  Another tweet which caught my eye was Alternatives to Wallwisher because of my blog from a couple of weeks ago on presentation tools.  I doubt I would have found these links in my own searches, but someone was generous enough to share their learning on Twitter.  That is really what makes this tool so powerful - so remember to contribute to the community!

Which leads me to my discussion of what Twitter is and how it works.

For anyone new to Twitter and who wants a good overview to get them started, the Common Craft video Twitter in Plain English is where to start (again, they are just plain entertaining to watch!).  As Pam Berger and Sally Trexler (2010) state,

Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/) is a free microblogging tool that can be utilized from a computer, a mobile phone, or a PDA.  Postings, which are called "tweets", are limited to 140 characters, including spaces.  It is very similar to text messaging, but tweets are published to the Web (p. 172).

As Will Richardson (2010) so adeptly points out, "it's that blend of the professional and the personal that makes Twitter such a cool tool on so many levels" (p. 86).  This is the reality of Twitter; both pieces really do come in one package.

Personal and Professional Tweeting

Originally I tried to separate personal and professional uses of tweeting, but it really is hard to do.  In the many resources I have looked at, the two really do seem to blend together.  So, while I will try to address the personal uses first and the professional uses second, it really is hard not to blend here and there. 



 

Nate Cull's Flickr Photostream

Using Twitter for personal uses doesn't mean you have to tweet your every move to your followers, as it was originally created for (Richardson, p. 86).  You can if that is what you want, but I think that is a superficial use of Twitter.  On a deeper level, it can be a tool for just about any aspect of your life.  An example that comes to mind was a tweeter who kept appearing on my Twitter account one evening.  This person was trying to figure out why something on her computer wasn't working properly.  She sent her problem out into her network of Twitter followers - she posted a quick microblog identifying the problem, other gave her suggestions to try, further questions and responses, and finally signing off for the evening not yet having solved the problem but committed to picking it up the next day. 

I had never thought of using Twitter in such a way; it was similar to searching blogs and discussion forums for this type of problem solving; however, the responses seemed more immediate.  I now understand what Richardson means when he states it "creates a 'network at my fingertips' phenomenon where people ask questions and get answers, link to great blog posts or resources, or share ideas for projects as they go through the day.  For many, it's become a running river of conversation and ideas that has cemented their connections to the community..." (p. 86). 

William M. Ferriter writes a column for Educational Leadership.  In September of 2009 Ferriter wrote a column entitled Taking the Digital Plunge.  In this article Ferriter reveals his passion for Twitter and how it can be used to ask questions and share information.  In the February 2010 issue he continues this idea in his column titled Why Teacher Should Try Twitter.  The one point he makes is he reads through his Twitter feeds regularly - 20 minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon (February 2010, p. 74).  I think this is key in "cementing" the connections Richardson mentions.  It is like any relationship; you need to nurture it in order for it to thrive.

Ferriter also mentions a few resources worth exploring regarding Twitter.  Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach (@snbeach) is a "Teacher Leaders Network colleague and a digital learning expert" (February 2010, p. 73).  Her site is 21st Century Collaborative and contains a wealth of information about collaboration.  He also mentions Twitter4Teachers, which I had also come across in my own searches.  Again, this is another site full of ideas of how to use Twitter in almost any subject area and classroom setting. 

Richardson (2010) suggests Twitter Collaboration Stories, a wiki that Nancy White hosts (p. 87).  When I checked out this site, these were some of the ideas in a list of many:

Personal uses:

• Coordinate efforts on your cell phone during a power outage;
• A "water-cooler" type of visiting space;
• Collaboration;
• Get advice about purchases;
• Give advice about purchases;
• Locating original sources of information (quotes, books, movies, etc.)
• Technical support;
• Gathering consensus;
• News updates;
• Storytelling;
• To remember ideas you come up with throughout the day.

Professional:

• Searching for job candidates;
• To get feedback throughout a conference;
• Invite people to collaborate;
• Request suggestions;
• Extend the boundaries of the classroom;
• Dissemination of publications and materials;
• Live Real time databases;
• Global presence and participation in workshops.

Berger and Trexler (2010, p. 172) also provide a list ways Twitter is being used;

• To start conversations
• To recommend books and online resources
• To track favorite authors
• To gain access to a greater pool of opinion
• To post helpful URLs
• To ask advice of experts
• To send reminders
• To share information from conferences
• To promote activities and events

AcademHack by David Parry is another site to check out when trying to determine uses of Twitter for Academia.  Parry lists some ways he used Twitter in the classroom, commenting that it was one of the better things he did in his classroom.  Visit his site for a complete explanation of each item.


Kevin Dooley's Flickr Photostream

• Class chatter
• Classroom community
• Get a sense of the world
• Track a word
• Track a conference
• Instant feedback
• Follow a professional
• Follow a famous person
• Grammar
• Rule Based Writing
• Maximizing the Teachable Moment
• PublicNotePad
• Writing Assignments

He invites readers to note an additional uses in his comments section.  I read through this, with the first post being in 2008 and the last post in March of 2010.  It is interesting to see the evolution in the comments.  Further, I figured out how to add my tweets to my blog page!  Loved it!

I recently attended a workshop which used microblogging throughout the session.  We used TodaysMeet for this networking.  Richardson suggests Edmodo as a secure social networking site to use in classroom settings.  It was the first time I had experienced this and I absolutely loved it.  Not everyone at my table shared my affections.  Some said they found it distracting.  I agree; sometimes I missed something the presenter was saying because I was engaged with something happening on the microblog, but my learning was exponential from this session.  I learned many things from the presenter, but my true learning came from the audience.  People would tweet questions about things in the presentation they didn't understand, and a wave of responses and links would ensue.  I came away with new knowledge and links to resources that the participants in the audience shared. 

As a side note, I used Microsoft OneNote to organize the information as it came in on TodaysMeet, so I left at the end of the day with a new section in my Web 2.0 notebook (I have made this notebook public), Digitales, which I created pages in to display the content of links from the day, the notes I had typed during the presentation, and clips of web pages and other pieces of information I gathered.  At the end, I was also able to export the transcript from the microblog to my OneNote notebook giving me a complete record of the day.  I then synced this with my online Evernote account, and the information is now available wherever I go, whether I have online access or my laptop for off-line access.


Michael Poley's Flickr Photostream


The lists are extensive for both personal and professional uses.  If you want to search for information and/or groups on Twitter, the Twitter Search is a good place to start.

Richardson also mentions InnerTwitter and this site makes sense, especially in light of a CBC documentary I recently viewed, Are We Digital Dummies?  I will leave you to explore both of these and see what connections you make.  I pulled the birdcage back up from the mine shaft, and everyone is still breathing!

Tweet! Tweet!

Resources

Bellanca, J., & Brandt, R. (2010). 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. 

Ferriter, W. (2009).  Taking the digital plunge.  Educational Leadership, 67(1), 85-86.

Ferriter, W. (2010).  Why teacher should try twitter.  Educational Leadership, 67(5), 73-74.

Kist, W. (2010). The socially networked classroom: Teaching in the new media age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Social Networking - The Transparent Global Classroom

Transparency seems to be a catch-word that I keep hearing lately. I hear it in relation to administration, budgets, assessment, and I just read about it regarding social networking. It seems to be a double-edge sword - we want transparency in some things but not in others.


fdecomite's flickr photostream

The first time I heard about the movement toward transparency was regarding our school budget. In the last round of budget scares, our school board was being very "transparent" about funding and allocation of resources. In turn, administrators were also being very "transparent" about their funding and allocation of sources. Isn't that wonderful that we can be so honest about the business end of things?

Of course the transparency in assessment has been around for a while. We have been creating rubrics and descriptions of assessment "for", "of" and "as" learning in attempts to clearly communicate our expectations to students, parents and even for teachers when planning using Understanding by Design principles.  The transparency allows us to more clearly identify the path of learning necessary to achieve our goals, in this case curriculum outcomes.

So what does transparency in social networking look like?  I believe there are a few ways to answer this.  Firstly, there is the transparency of our digital footprint.  Everything we publish to the web becomes accessible by others.  As well, everything others publish about us is also accessible by others.  Even if we have the "private" settings, once something is published, it is out of our hands and susceptible to whomever happens to come across it.  Secondly, there is the transparency of the learning which others have chosen to share via the Internet in many forms (Trailfires, podcasts, videos, blogs, microblogging, wikis, etc.).  Finally, and perhaps not as frequently, there is the transparency of the practices of teachers educating students in how to use these social networking resources.  As Will Richardson (2010) indicates, "we must be able to model for students our own connections outside of the physical spaces we inhabit, and we also must demonstrate our passion for learning transparently in our practice.  We must become, in essence, network literate" (Bellanca & Brandt, p. 296).



fdecomite's flickr photostream

 The question then becomes, why do educators need to be network literate?  The answer is supported by research which indicates our students are participating in social media for two primary reasons: friendships and interests (Berger & Trexler, 2010; Richardson, 2010; Ito et al., 2010).  As Berger & Trexler (2010) indicate, the social value of social networking is apparent to many youth.  As a result, they are very motivated to learn the skills necessary to participate fully in this part of contemporary society (p. 162).  danah boyd's research reveals that youth are doing the same types of activities on line as they have done in shopping malls and parking lots; they continue to "...negotiate identity, gossip, support one another, jockey for status, collaborate, share information, flirt, joke, and goof off.  They go there to hang out (Ito et al, p. 79).  

Media educators are beginning to consider this new media ecology's potential to reshape the conditions under which young people engage with media and culture, moving youth from positions as media consumers to more active media producers.  In what Henry Jenkins (2006) and his colleagues have described as "participatory culture," budding creators can develop their voices and identities as media creators through ongoing interaction with engaged peers and audiences (Ito et al., 2010)

Joe Shlabotnik's flickr photostream

As educators, if we are not engaged in social networking, we will never be able to understand the full potential of this as an educational tool both inside and outside the classroom.  As Richardson points out, we will miss key opportunities to teach our youth how to participate in this contemporary culture responsibly and effectively (Berger & Trexler, p. 162).  Due to the transparent nature of this technology, we want youth to understand the short and long-term implications for the digital identity they are constructing, even as we continue to identify this for ourselves.  In essence, we are helping our youth to understand each time they contribute to the Internet, they are building an online professional resume, whether they intend to or not (Bellanca & Brandt, p. 291).  As Richardson (2010)indicates, "...we can teach students all sorts of important lessons about digital citizenship, safety, information literacy, and more" (p. 133).

For anyone who has not experienced these passion-based learning connections, it is difficult to fully understand the pedagogical implications for curricula and classrooms.  To be sure, at this moment, tens of thousands of teachers and no doubt hundreds of thousands of students around the world are employing social networking tools such as blogs and wikis in their classrooms.  But close inspection of those implementations shows that the vast majority are little more than taking what has been done for years and years in the paper, analog curriculum and repurposing it into a digital format.  In essence, we replaced a pen with a blog, and very rarely did the pedagogies change in the process.  Why?  Because the teachers leading those efforts are not networked learners themselves, ones who understand that the full potential of these tools is found not in the publishing of information, but rather in the resulting connections (Bellanca & Brandt, p. 297)  

In regards to safety, Berger & Trexler (2010, p. 175) display a list from Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens, which is a compilation of advice from various safety organizations (see my side bar for a list of some of these organizations):

     Teach children to:

• Never give out personal information such as name, school, address, phone number, email address, or photos of themselves.  Once such information is placed online, it can never be taken back.
• Never make arrangements to meet in person someone that they've met online, without parental permission or without a trusted adult present at the meeting.
• Never post pictures of themselves or e-mail or send attachments of such photos to anyone without parental approval.  Never should they be sent to strangers.
• Never include hints as to their real identity; use screen names that are nondescript.
• Never open attachments, Web sites, or URLs sent to them by strangers.  They could contain viruses or inappropriate viewing material.
• Obey the age requirements posted by Web sites in their terms of service statement.  Age restrictions are in place as a safety precaution.
• Know that they control who sees their information when they use the privacy settings offered by Web sites.  They should use the setting that requires approval before accepting anyone as a friend.
• Never post anything about themselves of others that they wouldn't want their parents or teachers to see.  That includes bad language or antagonistic remarks about other people or classmates.  Neither should they respond to provoking remarks directed to them made by others.  Such incidents should be reported to trusted adults.
• Never buy things online or enter online contests without parental approval.  Personal information is usually required for such activities and should not ever be shared.
• Get parental approval before an account is created.  Parents should keep a master log of all such accounts, as well as the user IDs and passwords.
• If students encounter offensive or dangerous material online, don't play the blame game.  Use the opportunity to teach them to turn off the monitor and report the incident immediately to a trusted adult, so it can be reported to the authorities.  Follow up with open discussion about safety concerns

Also of interest to me was some online acronyms I wasn't aware of.  Berger & Trexler provide several that parents and teachers should be aware of (p. 174):

• WTGP - Want to go private
• POS - Parent over shoulder
• PIR - Parent in room
• PAW - Parents are watching
• PAL - Parents are listening
• LMIRL - Let's meet in real life
• IRL - In real life
• F2F - Face to face
• ASL - Age, sex, location

It is also worthwhile to research settings on various social networking sites we participate in.  As Richardson indicates, Facebook offers a number of different levels of transparency that you might want to explore, and they are covered in great detail in the "Teacher's Guide to Using Facebook" by Bernadette Rego.   Another example, the YouTube video - Beyond Facebook's New Simplified Privacy Settings gives a great overview of what each setting on Facebook means, how to adjust them, and what information will and won't show depending on the settings you choose.

Another interesting YouTube video to watch is How To Set Up a MySpace Profile.  This is a great description of how a profile is set up, and information contained is sometimes forth-coming, and other times is quite misleading.  It is interesting how both the friendship and interest driven aspects are both part of this networking site.  I do not have a MySpace account, however, it does have some networking and blogging features I am interested in which are not available on Facebook.

Personalizing Your MySpace:

How To Set Up A MySpace Profile

Berger & Trexler note that the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) identify that "learning has a social context" and this social context occurs whether they are face-to-face settings or online.  In that vein, Berger & Trexler identify Twelve Reasons to Use Social Networking (p. 164): 

1. Creates real-life friendships through similar interests or groups.
2. Enhances technology and communication skills.
3. Promotes creativity.
4. Presents new or diverse views.
5. Provides practice editing/customizing content.
6. Shares creative work.
7. Supports user's need to affiliate.
8. Offers opportunity to practice safe, ethical, and responsible use.
9. Creates an environment that fosters participation in online communities.
10. Expands/creates friendships.
11. Encourages user-generated content - videos and photos.
12. Allows educators to reach students through a medium they use every day. 

I understand the transparency of social networking on the social side of the equation.  I have had a Facebook account for a few years now.  When I first set it up, I really didn't do very much with it.  I didn't really get it, to be honest.  It wasn't until I was on maternity leave, lacking grown-up interaction that I dove into Facebook more whole-heartedly.  I hooked up with old friends from high school, and began playing games such as Scrabble and Farmville with friends.  In fact, I made some new friends who saw I was a neighbor to one of their friends playing Farmville, and wanted to add me as a neighbor to their farm.  I could explore my friends' friends, and often I found more "old" friends this way.  Facebook is also great for suggesting friends, based on commonalities with other people I was already friends with on Facebook.


daveynin's flickr photostream

 Last year I had a university professor set up a classroom on Facebook, and we completed a portion of the course on this site.  It was in this site that I gained a further understanding of material we were covering in class.  I had time to think about posts and formulate responses.  I could even look information up to add depth to my comments.  It was a completely private setting in Facebook; only class members were allowed to join the group.  No one else on Facebook could see our posts.

Facebook has also been a great place for planning.  Many of my friends use Facebook to organize events, clubs and other groups.  We have used the site to organize attendance and fundraisers for ringette; an annual Santa's Anonymous Christmas Party fundraiser; Biggest Loser weight loss challenges; Winter Friday Night's Poker Club; and many other sales party events.  Recently, a friend of mine from high school lost her daughter due to a birth defect they were unaware of.  Her daughter was only six years old and it was very sudden.  Facebook became the sight where we supported her - people who would not have known or perhaps been able to extend their sympathies without the social network.  Beyond that, it became a place where we joined our efforts to purchase spices from her Epicure business to help her earn the promotional free trip for her and her son.  One friend made the suggestion in a post to all members of her Facebook community, and then these members forwarded the request to their Facebook communities, etc., enabling it to spread extensively throughout the Facebook network and beyond into the local community.  It was a very successful way to support her.

I have friends who have used the site to advertise items or property they have for sale.  Another friend shares coupons she finds for great bargains.  And of course, we share the traditional media, such as pictures and videos.

Beyond Facebook, I revisited a Ning I had created an account for at the beginning of this course.  My 30-day free trial had long ago run out and I am in the position of choosing to eliminate the Ning or pay a subscription fee.  I wasn't interested in the fee, so I chose to leave it sit there, inactive and far from networked.  However, I did take the opportunity to search the Ning community to see what was out there (just click on Search Ning Networks on the homepage). 

fczuardi's flickr photostream

The first Ning I came across was a Twilight Ning.  I admit I am a fan of the books and the movies.  I was a late arrival to the Twilight Saga, but my daughter and nieces were all reading the series.  As a responsible parent, I needed to explore the literature.  I fell hard for it. (This also happened when I was on maternity leave, so I think the lack of adult contact played a factor - this was a book that wasn't geared toward toddlers or babies!)  I also read The Host by Stephenie Meyer, and really enjoyed it.  I like her work.  So, I joined the Ning.  I want to know when the next movie is coming out.  I am curious as to when Meyer will release her next book.  This is an area of personal interest for me.

I also looked for a Ning on photography.  There are many to choose from.  One of the first photography Nings I tried to join wouldn't let me...it was "currently unavailable".  I could send a message with a comment or a question to the Ning creators, if I wanted.

one thousand years' flickr photostream

I briefly explored the social network for personal interests.  Bellanca & Brandt give an example of Nelson Smith, a 12 year old boy who used social networking with other bushmen to help him figure out why his method to start a fire using basic items wasn't working (p. 285).  I have used social networking sites similarly to figure out how to fix things that weren't working on my computer (particularly Windows 7 - which is now not letting me send web clips to Evernote from Internet Explorer, but I have discovered that I can when using Mozilla Firefox).  I have read through other people's comments and learned from their online, transparent conversations.  However, I am guilty of lurking and not really contributing to these types of discussions. 

In an educational setting, however, I have contributed.  I have been participating in Twitter, which I will go into more depth in a future blog.  I have shared links to articles I find useful, retweeted informative tweets and searched for tweets relevant to professional and personal interests.  I have been following Classroom 2.0 even though I have yet to participate in it.  I haven't participated yet not because I am hesitant to, but rather because I haven't had the time to.

Steven Hargadon has compiled an extensive listing of social networking sites which are being used for educational purposes on his blog Infinite Thinking Machine.  He posted this list January of 2008, indicating it is only a snapshot of sites he found educationally useful at that time and this list will continue to evolve.

Berger & Trexler (2010) summarize some of the ways educators are using Ning (p. 166):

• Organize research projects
• Support group projects
• Serve as an online classroom
• Showcase student work (involving parents)
• Provide an informative site based on curriculum content

Further, they suggest to educators Three Strategies to Use Social Networks (2010, p. 173):

1. Create classroom guidelines for the Ning with students; be sure they comply with district policy.
2. Create a classroom or library social network.  Invite students and encourage them to participate.
3. Discuss the privacy settings on popular social networking Web sites with students and teach them how to apply them.

I have found a few Nings which fit well with my teaching assignment this year.  The first Ning I found is No Time To Cook.  It is a site which has recipes, cooking videos and a network to support the program I am trying to create for my Foods 8 course.

Another site I found is the English Companion: Where English teachers go to help each other.  Within this network, I was able to find three other groups which are of interest to me.  These groups are: Writing Prompts & Assignments, Literature Circles, and Poetry Corner.  Each of these sites provides a network of educators asking questions, giving feedback, and providing valuable information which provides me with relevant professional development tailor made for my needs.

One last site I explored and am awaiting to hear if my request to join the Ning is approved (not all Nings are open to the public, and some require approval before you can join) is the Pearson Ning - I Teach Social Studies.  Pearson is one of the resources I am using in my classroom and I quite like it.  It supports Inquiry Based Learning and Historical Thinking Concepts, two areas I have been working to incorporate into my teaching.

Where do I have to go from here?  I need to start participating in a discussion on a social network based on interests rather than friendships.  I also need to dig further into setting up a social network, because I can see how this tool will fit better for some of the collaboration I want to do professionally.

My understanding of social networking has grown immensely.  Facebook and MySpace had been prominent in creating a specific understanding of what social networking looked like for me.  However, becoming fully immersed in the interest-driven social networking brings a new awareness to the arena.  The transparent global classroom can provide us with educational opportunities which really have unlimited potential, both within and beyond the classroom walls.

References

Bellanca, J., & Brandt, R. (2010). 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M., boyd, d., Cody, R., Herr-Stephanson, B., . . . Tripp, L.(2010). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.