by Brian Bridges
Recently, CLRN added nine new blogs to their web site so that customers can more easily track new review posts. Given, though, that many people are beginning to read blogs, but few know how to organize them (similar to those who know how to create but not organize bookmarks), we created a narrated tutorial about RSS, push and pull technology, and how to track and organize blog feeds using Google Reader. You can find the tutorial here.
by Brian Bridges
While CLRN will be presenting several hands-on sessions at the CLMS conference, I’ll be sharing about our blogs and wikis course. Session information is listed below, but I encourage you to arrive early for my special BONUS presentation. I hope to see you Friday ant 2:30.
Blogs and Wikis: Writing Across the Curriculum
Discover a variety of online, collaborative writing tools, and see how teachers are using them to engage their students, participate in online writing projects, and publish to an authentic audience. We’ll review and demonstrate a variety of free resources including Edublogger, pbwiki and Google Docs. Handouts include content standard connections, 100 ways to wiki and blog in the curriculum, and tutorials. Come early for a BONUS presentation.
Abstract
Each summer, I teach one of the four-day technology integration strands at CTAP 6’s Technology Festival. This summer, I focused on writing in the curriculum using blogs, wikis and Google Docs.
During this writing across the curriculum session, we’ll first look at a variety of ways that teachers and schools have utilized blogs and wikis to add relevancy to the writing process. Writing, reporting, and analyzing is woven into the content standards of every subject area. To that end, one of this session’s handouts outlines specific standards that teachers will be addressing when their students create blog or wiki postings.
We’ll explore a variety of educational blogs and wikis and compare and contrast their best uses. Using two handouts, Blog Strategies and 50 Ways to Wiki, we’ll make connections both to the standards and to current and potential class projects in several subject areas.
I’ll also demonstrate setting up a new Edublogs blog and a pbWiki wiki and show how to customize them for your class. Handouts will include tutorials detailing how to set-up each blog or wiki component. Links to other tutorials, resources, curricular projects, and clients (wordpress) are included as well.
tags technorati : blog, wiki, web20, edublogs, pbwiki, clrn, clms, cue
When I began researching the state of Podcasting in early 2006, I began to notice a number of podcast categories. iTunes had already broken them out into several strands, but as the volume of podcasts increased, categories seemed to naturally appear to accommodate them. My attempt to ornate genre titles is partially for my own amusement, but I tend to think they’ll become part of my story starter as I prod educators to consider, “What kind of podcaster are you?” Better yet, “What kind of podcasters are your students?”
The seven categories were quickly created and I tend to think they could easily grow or condense as I direct more light on them. This is a good thing, since my hidden motive is to provide educators with the words and the ideas for integrating podcasting into the curriculum.
4. Audio Books
Audio books were around long before Podcasting as many a commuter can attest. With the advent of podcasting, though, the medium has brought not only a wider range of texts to the masses, it’s also empowered educators to create their own audio books.
Take LibriVox, for example. Here, volunteers have recorded more than 700 public domain novels and poems. Yes, volunteers. This means, of course, that you or, better yet, your students can record chapters or books in their entirety. There is no better way to make literacy relevant than to publish recordings of your students reading stories. All LibriVox texts are in the public domain and their podcasts have no copyright restrictions.
Storynory centers itself around children’s stories, including original titles and those in the public domain. Storynory releases a new title each week. While they generate their own recordings, the central idea, making literacy authentic by reading interesting literature, is strong.
SHAKESPodosphEARE is a great example of the growing trend to blend blogs with podcasts. Here, Dr. Greg Martin narrates scenes from Shakespeare’s plays and uses his blog to promote discussions about the readings. This combination blog/podcast (perhaps we’ll call it a plog or a blogcast or a blast) offers educators a perfect combination of mediums: audio of lectures, music, or novels with accompanied text that directs the reader’s attention.
I’ll cover more genres next time. As always, I appreciate your comments.
Brian
Technorati Tags: cue2007 cue07 cue ctap onctap podcast blog blogcast blast plog bridges
