Twitter #edchat

Edchat has become an exciting collaborative conversation forum for educators via Twitter. Edchat discussions happen Tuesday’s on Twitter in two different time zones – 12pm and 7pm (ET).
• Follow the hashtag #edchat
• Each week hosts a new educational topic

There are great bloggers who have explained, in detail, Twitter and edchats. Here are just a few samples:
Teacher Reboot Camp
The Cool Cat Teacher
Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom

I participated in my first edchat discussion on August 18th and was pleasantly surprised at the thought-provoking discussions with last Tuesday’s topic “What Objectives are Necessary for Effective Tech Integration?”
• Technology should become increasingly transparent
• Innovative educators needed
• Do innovative educators always equal good educators?
• Encourage and engage colleagues
• Teachers engaged in teaching; students engaged in learning
• Explore new resources and tools
• Focus on content, not the technology
• Tell admin, show admin, involve admin
• Tech needs to be adopted, not adapted!

I found myself continually refreshing my Twitter page as the conversations were lively and constantly evolving from people joining in throughout the evening. Is this kind of conversation worthwhile? Absolutely! I have added a number of new technology experts to my professional learning network (PLN), and have gained new followers who share in my educational interest in technology.

Dare to Tweet in #edchat…it will do your PLN good!

Let’s Talk About EdTechTalk

If you are visiting EdTechTalk (ETT) for the first time and want to find out more about this site, you might just visit the ‘About Us’ section. The opening statement sums up the goal of this highly valuable educational website. “EdTechTalk is a community of educators interested in discussing and learning about the uses of educational technology.” There is no shortage of topics to meet your professional development needs. The plethora of technology shows on the website line-up is well-rounded and sure to satisfy all techy appetites. The current ETT line-up includes:
• 21st Century Learning
• EdTechTalk K-12
• Making Connections
• EdTechBrainstorm
• EdTechWeekly
• Parents as Partners
• EdTechTalk
• It’s Elementary
• Teachers Teaching Teachers
• Women of Web2.0

There are several different ways in which to catch the ETT action:
• Listen to a live webcast
• Access show archives
• Subscribe to a RSS feed

I was first introduced to EdTechTalk last fall during my Web 2.0 graduate course as some of the podcasts were posted on the course Trailfires. Wanting to get to know more about the personalities hosting EdTechTalk, I began following their blogs and reading their Tweets on Twitter. What I can say for certain is that educators who are interested in expanding their knowledge about 21st technologies cannot pass through this website without taking time to sample a webcast.

I have become an avid fan. I have become an avid fan so much so that I have subscribed to multiple shows through my iTunes. What better way to enjoy a webcast at leisure than by uploading the iPod and hitting the play button!

Blog #8 Social Networking: Let the Conversations Begin

This Web 2.0 topic could be the largest one to tackle. Where to begin? “Social networking websites help people connect with others who share their interests, build online profiles and share media such as photos, music and videos” (Glaser, 2007). Social networking allows people to come together ‘virtually’ by sharing common backgrounds, goals, topics of conversation or collaboration.

Wikipedia lists over 100 hundred social networking websites with a little disclaimer “please note the list is non-exhaustive, but is limited to some notable, well known sites” (Wikipedia, 2008). What motivates the first-time user to join an online social community? It may be sparked by an electronic invitation from family/friend or colleague, a professional purpose or simple curiosity.

As I researched online to find out which networking sites
were the most popular in 2008, I quickly discovered that each resource I found posted slightly different results. Two social networking powerhouses that consistently ranked in the top two were MySpace and Facebook, while others listed in the top ten changed slightly. Here are a few of the most common sites from my search:
MySpace
The most popular of the networking sites, with a Wikipedia listing of over 240,000 registered users. Interactive network full of personal profiles, blogs, photos, videos and music.

Facebook
A network utility that connects members with friends, family and colleagues unique to their world.

Bebo
A social media network where members share their profile and can explore videos, music, authors and join in groups which share common interests.

Friendster
Helps members stay in touch with existing friends and create new ones.

Classmates Online
Find and connect with friends and acquaintances throughout schooling from kindergarten to university.

LinkedIn
Focuses on career networking for potential clients, field experts and business providers that can also help provide job opportunities.

Twitter
A micro-blogging social community that allows users to read each other’s updates, also known as ‘tweets’. Posts must be 140 characters or less in length.

Hi5
Find friends, display photostreams, or build a homepage to express your personal profile.

(Image created using Wordle)

Why Join a Network?
A social network provides members with unique connections between people that might not otherwise be possible outside of the Internet. Imagine building relationships that have no global boundaries, sharing experiences, problem solving, collaborating, learning and teaching all through a free social network. “Social networking is currently one of the most interesting phenomena on the Internet. Millions of people belong to online social networks” (Bell, 2007). A Dummy’s Guide to Social Networking gives new social consumers a quick introductory guide to contemplate before making a commitment to a network.

It is important to be familiar with the Terms of Service for each network as they all vary slightly. Wikipedia’s List of Social Networking Websites page provides a comprehensive overview of the 100+ most notable sites that include defining the membership’s focus group, number of registered users, and registration requirements (ie. Open forum, invitation only, age restriction etc). It is noteworthy to find out whether or not the social network you are interested in has membership fees that will only then provide all-inclusive access to the network. An example of this is joining Classmates.com. Initial sign-up allows users to register a free account, but information and access is quite limited without purchasing a Gold membership.

While I don’t personally have Facebook or MySpace accounts any longer, I do not miss them. I have chosen to participate only in social networking for professional purposes through places such as Ning and Twitter. I don’t want to be social networking in the same places students and parents may be venturing and so I have consciously chosen to limit my social networking interactions. I have made unbelievable professional contacts with specialists from around the world in the area of education, technology, media, literacy and music. My most exciting social networking gain came from attending the Internet Librarian 2008 Conference in Monterey. By noon of the first day conference attendees were tweeting comments about the conference, it was listed on the front page of Twitter Search as one of the hot topics. Out of nowhere I could view dozens of conference participants who also actively networked on Twitter.

Embracing Social Networking as a Professional
My focus on incorporating social networking would mainly be at the collegial level at school. Educators have wonderful opportunities at their fingertips in finding networks suitable for enhancing online professional learning opportunities, instructional areas of interest or professional growth needs. A few examples…
NECC 2008 (National Educational Computing Conference) site gives attendees an online professional development opportunities to extend learning post conference.

Yahoo! Teachers is a peer social network strictly designed for teachers, created by teachers.

Social Networks in Education Wiki houses a wide range of social networking websites for educators categorized into helpful topics and subject areas.

Classroom 2.0 is a “social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative or transformative technologies in education” (Hargadon, 2008). This is a support network for educators who want to engage in digital dialogue, share video and photos, access wikis and blogs as well as join groups of interest.

TeacherLibrarianNing is an online community build for teacher-librarians and educators by Joyce Valenza.

New Social Literacies
As educators we must recognize the world in which our students live in and that one of social community and networking. We must teach our students how to be socially effective in the digital world, how to engage responsibly, interact safely and be well-informed 21st century citizens (Smith, 2007). Social networking can not only change the way educators instruct lessons, but change the way students look at education and expect instruction. If schools have access to social networking sites, educators may embrace teachable moments with these sites and help address new merging social literacy skills. Students need direction in developing and nurturing these new skills to ensure safe, responsible decisions as they connect to digital communities around them.

Stephen Abram (2008) highlights the importance of emerging literacies in education, specifically social literacies. Schools must now “expand the teaching of information literacy, computer literacy, media literacy, critical literacy…” (p. 21). The security watch-dogs of these social sites try make them as safe as possible, however Abram (2008) reminds us that “they are only as safe as the user has the awareness and skills to make good judgements” (p. 21). He suggests to parents and educators that at different stages in a young person’s life we help them define a level of awareness about their personal information.
“What would we tell others about ourselves in our family?
What information would you email grandma versus a stranger?
Do you share more or different things when you’re out in your neighbourhood?
When do you tell people your whole name and address?”
(Abram, 2008, p.23)

Not only do social networking sites promote new social literacies, they can also support student learning by:
-Building online communities
-Promoting social discussions and collaboration
-Allowing shared grade level or subject specific resources and research
-Creating interest groups and forums

Social Networking Safety Concerns
Many school districts block sites such as MySpace and Facebook. These sites are often not as secure as they need to be, and anyone can view profile information and contact users who set up an account. Educators want to encourage students to express themselves with healthy social networking interactions but can a school computer lab provide the safety net young students need? Can educators guarantee that students will maintain privacy settings while using a social site at school? Social networking sites also can open up behavioural concerns with a relatively new phenomenon called cyber-bulling. Cyber-bulling can be defined as “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others" (2Learn.ca, 2008). The 2Learn.ca Education Society has excellent resources for educators and parents on Internet safety as well as a Web 2.0 overview. I do not have access to these kinds of sites at school and I don’t think that I would jump into using them if access was opened up as there is a complex process to ensure all students have parental permission in using accounts such as these.

Abram, S. (2008). Scaffolding the new social literacies. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 15(2), 21-23. Retrieved from ProQuest.

2Learn.ca Education Society. (2008). Net know-how: Cyberbullying overview. Retrieved from http://www.2learn.ca/nkh/nkhcboverview.html

Bell, E. (2007). A dummy’s guide to social networking. Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/8ba3be240a010408011d3f0bae419646/pg0.htm

Glaser, M. (2007). Your guide to social networking online. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/08/your-guide-to-social-networking-online241.html

Hargadon, S. (2008). Classroom 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.classroom20.com/

Smith, F. (2007). How to: Use Social-networking technology for learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology

Wikipedia. (2008). List of social networking sites. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_sites

Blog #3 A Del.icio.us Recipe for Success

Visiting Wikipedia Social Bookmarking gave me an interesting overview to the history of social bookmarking. I was surprised to read that this concept dates back to 1996, with some of the major players (Delicious and Furl) around since 2004. How did this Web 2.0 tool escape my knowledge over the past couple years? The first I heard of social bookmarking sites was during a professional development workshop I attended last winter, hosted by well-known technology specialist Judi Wolf from Ohio. The session was titled ‘Best of the Best Websites that Enhance Instruction and Learning’. Judi guided the session through her Delicious account, showing an enthusiastic educational audience the wonders of social bookmarking.

After that presentation I had created a basic Delicious account of my personal (with private settings) bookmarks, though not exploring further the many features this tool has to offer. To tell the truth my original account has sat idle for a couple months as I have not updated links or visited my universal bookmarks – not sure why? Last week I decided to create a second account, this time housing all of my professional websites with a public sharing setting (username cmt1). Two features that I wanted to check out first were the ‘subscriptions’ and ‘network’. I was a little hesitant of using the subscriptions feature, not knowing if my account would be inundated with thousands of links automatically. Not the case. Subscriptions is basically a ‘holding tank’ for millions (yes, millions) of bookmarks under the tag(s) requested. I set up a subscription to ‘Web2.0’ and was shocked to read that I was now a subscriber to over 3 million websites tagged with the same name. The second new component in Delicious I engaged in this past week was the network feature. I added a small collection of classmates usernames to my network and now have their professional collection of bookmarks on hand for reference.

What are some of the implications for instruction and learning?
Social bookmarking is set up to provide universal collaboration for students and for teachers alike. Searching, investigating and learning through the Internet provides users (both students and educators) with an overwhelming wealth of exploration and knowledge, not always easily managed. However, using a site like Delicious can assist in the learning process by providing a unique opportunity for collaboration, information management and social sharing. Students have the capacity to build an online resource bank of Internet sites applicable, and tailored to, their learning environment. In Trailfire #8 “Taming the Beast: Social Bookmarking” Will Richardson writes about the importance of students building digital resources by stating “so not only are they collecting sites for themselves, they are collaboratively building a classroom resource” (Richardson, 2007, p.1). There is an obvious ‘working together’ theme that can emerge from using these applications in everyday learning situations.

Thinking about my own school setting I can envision several approaches to creating a school account or assisting teachers setting up grade level accounts within the K-6 division. As teacher-librarian I can either take on the task as a technology leader or support grade level teachers in creating one shared account housing general educational tags, grade level tags or combination tags that focus on subject and grade level themes. Delicious is an easy application for beginners to understand and utilize in the inquiry and research processes.

The Internet is changing the way we find and collect digital information and Educause makes a salient statement by saying “It may become less important to know and remember where information was found and more important to know how to retrieve it using a framework created by and shared with peers and colleagues (Educause Learning Initiative, 2005, p. 2). As a teacher-librarian I still believe it is important to recognize and reference where information comes from, but it is becoming equally important to have a universal storage and retrieving system for digital information. One observation I have noticed the past several years (and including this year) is that teachers still use ‘old school’ practices by having young students write down Internet addressed before visiting the computer lab. This method is arduous, time consuming and for some young students just an impossible keyboarding task. Having a universal Delicious school bookmark in the browser will eliminate wasted instructional time.

It is time to support and encourage our colleagues who already value the importance of learning through such initiatives as ‘Professional Learning Communities’ and move them into a socially collaborative sharing environment...online.

I checked out the list of social bookmarking sites on Wikipedia and found it remarkable that there were 24 listed. Also interesting were the listings for similar social sites in areas such as social cataloging and social citations. While Delicious is my chosen site for social bookmarking I decided to check out a few other options out there to see how they compare.

Jooce
Jooce allows users to organize their Internet sites, digital files, photos, and emails, creating a universal desktop for digital customers always on the go. Site provides users with unlimited space for storing information with a private/public accessibility option.

Digg
Digg is a site for users to share Internet content from news, podcasts, and blogs. Digg promote online community conversation about the Internet topics people are most interested in. The creators of this site have limited users to only registering for one account.

Faves.com
What is interesting about this site is it has a corresponding Faves.com Blog. This social bookmarking site was launched in 2006, boasting that is has a strong international audience of online users – top three countries using this site are the United States, Italy and Japan. A toolbar icon is available for quick saving.

MyWeb
Another branch of Yahoo! is MyWeb where three simple themes ‘Share, Save, Discover’ are featured for those wanting to maximize their Yahoo! account. This was the only bookmarking service that I found had an age restriction in their ‘Terms of Service’ agreement stating “parents of children under the age of 13 who wish to allow their children access to the Service must create a Yahoo! Family Account” (Yahoo! Inc, 2008). MyWeb was introduced to Yahoo! fans in 2006.

CiteULike
Developed in England this site is different from all the others. CiteULike is set up as social bookmarking, but focuses completely on bookmarking citations from academic research and papers. Users can store small bookmarks of text from research journals thus building online bookmarked bibliographies and references to share with colleagues. I did not find this site easy explore which leads me to believe that this site is definitely for a narrow audience of specific academic users.

Educause Learning Initiative. (2005). 7 things you should know about…Social bookmarking. Retrieved from http://www.trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/199340

Richardson, W. (2007). Taming the beast: Social bookmarking. School Library Journal, 3(1). Retrieved from http://www.trailfire.com/joannedegroot/marks/199339

Yahoo! Inc. (2008). Yahoo! Terms of service. Retrieved from
http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html

Blog #2 Reel Viewing

'Digital World: Kids Today' from YouTube is an interesting video commentary about social networking and the digital generation of learners today.


Exploring video sharing sites this past week was thoroughly enjoyable! Sites such as YouTube and TeacherTube can offer up online consumers video sharing and video viewing in educational capacities, consisting of a wide range of subject material for all grade levels. I found a couple distinct differences between incorporating video sharing sites versus photo sharing in an instructional setting. First, students and teachers are able to freely access both YouTube and TeacherTube sites in my school (something which was not the case for the photo sharing sites). Also, I am more familiar with using the video sites to compliment or supplement instruction in the classroom and have used video sharing sites much more so than photo sharing sites.

One little glitch I experienced that caused a few days of grief was trying to upload a video into my blog. I could not find the 'edit html' button and kept receiving error messages in the process. I used Blogger help, and thought the instructions were outlined in a straight-forward manner. It took a couple days to figure out that I was missing a default command in my global compose settings. Life was good after the setting was changed and saved.

I invested many hours this past week sifting through both sites and really value the multimedia perspective video can bring into any classroom. Both sites are easy for users navigate through and all viewers will find a plethora of video choices from a vast array of subject areas. The only negative experience researching this topic was the significant difference between the amount of time it takes to load and play a video on a school computer compared to the time it took on my home laptop. much my researching for appropriate videos to compliment lessons at school are usually conducted at home.

I discovered that YouTube is not only used for video sharing but also an avenue for video blogging as another outlet for young people to live their lives 'virtually'. According to Wikipedia video blogging (also called vlogging) is when blogs are embedded into a video format (Wikipedia, 2008). Video blogging has become more popular over the past couple years with regular bloggers. Many vloggers on YouTube have sequential numbering included in their titles, making the process of following video blogs that much easier. I conducted a search of Web 2.0 vlogs on YouTube and was pleasantly surprised to have an over abundance of video blogs to view. My viewing choices included titles such as ‘Web 2.0 is not the future of education’ to ‘Web 2.0 and its benefits for the students’ education’. Comparing those contrasting titles alone tells me that many people have much to share through video blogging. The interesting possibilities are endless when it comes to thinking of ways that students can incorporate video blogging into their learning. This format would lend itself to be a creative format for students to record an inquiry project from start to finish.


There are a couple features about TeacherTube that I appreciate as an educator. The top menu bar on the screen displays helpful links to guide users through the most popular, most viewed and favourite videos on the site. This quick reference can help educators see what others find worthy of viewing. Through the online sharing format, TeacherTube continues to meet one of their goals of trying to promote the online educational sharing of instructional videos.


Last year in the spring my school hosted a school-wide ‘Literacy Week’ to promote literacy, authors, and reading. During this week I hosted a Comic Café to launch new comic books and graphic novels purchased for the school library collection. As I promoted this genre throughout various grade levels, I discovered that there was an enthusiastic fan base of graphic novel readers in the school. What was really interesting was that a couple of students indicated to me that they were excited about some of the new graphic novel series added to the school collection because they were fans of the manga videos posted on YouTube. Posted here you will see one short video excerpt from the original manga series Fruits Basket. I had no idea that YouTube contained videos to compliment the Japanese print series. Since learning from my students that manga videos were available on YouTube I began using short video clips to promote various books, authors and reading.

Exploring around Beth’s Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom blog, I found one past post where she had posted a wiki listing of all of her favourite videos, podcasts and slides to share regarding 21st century learning and technology. What a wonderful idea to have a narrowed list of quality videos that have been viewed and approved of by a leading educational technology expert!

Some other video sharing sites I chose to explore this week include:
One World TV
This site based out of the UK is an online video sharing community focused on climate change and global justice.
Big Think
Contains accessible interviews from today’s leaders, academic thinkers and celebrity activists.
Yahoo! Video
Not only is Yahoo a popular search engine, but also host to an online video sharing community.

Yes, there are plenty of choices to make when it comes to video sharing and video viewing sites personally and professionally. Educators must take time to determine which online communities are appropriate to use and which sites work best for potentially uploading and/or sharing educational video experiences at school.

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. (2008). Video Blogging. Retrieved
September 26, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlog