Tapping into the MySpace Minds
SIGAdmin-sponsored Webinar
September 27, 2007
Thank you for participating in SIGAdmin's very first webinar! We hope you enjoyed the presentation. If you haven't viewed the archived recording yet, feel free to do so at: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/362301663
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Follow-up Q & A with Resources
Q. Where should I start if I'm interested in classroom blogs?
A. I'd suggest going to two places. First is a place called Edublogs (www.edublogs.org). There you'll find free blogs, samples of classroom blogs, a nice bank of support, and a whole blogging community. Did I mention that it's free? Also, visit David Warlick's blogmeister tool. David's a fantastic blogger, and has lots of free resources available for teacher bloggers as well.
Q. Do most schools you work with block blogs?
A. It varies really. Some lock them down completely, some are wide open. I think it depends on who's in charge of the filtering mechanism, and what level of input teachers have. I certainly would be vocal if I were in place that had them under complete block. To be fair, there are risky blogs, just as there are risky sites. So, some level of caution is certainly understandable. But, in my opinion, educators should have final say-so.
Q. I haven't really found any blogs that are good for practical teacher advice. Got any suggestions?
A. Sure, there are a good number that I think are very practical. One that I take part in is the one at the George Lucas site. I mentioned that during the presentation. It's at http://www.edutopia.org/blog . Another I'd recommend is PBS's Learning.now. It's here: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now . One more: ttp://ideasandthoughts.org . Those would be good starting points, and good ones for teachers in your schools as well.
Q. I don't necessarily want to play on the "real" MySpace. Is there a social network that mimics that, but is for professional adults?
A. Yes, there are a few sites that are true social networks, but built specifically for teachers. The two I hang out in are both at www.ning.com. One is called "Classroom 2.0" and it's at http://classroom20.ning.com. The other is Library 2.0, available at http://library20.ning.com. These are true social networks in that there is a ton of great information, interesting conversations, etc. all mixed in with people who don't belong, spam, etc. But if you want to get a real feel, those are 2 good places to start. They're free as well.
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