tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9387932123515888922024-03-13T00:33:47.143-04:00Web 2.0 Learning BlogAn interactive blog for educators who are exploring, discovering and playing with Web 2.0 technologies. The postings will take you through a series of activities in which you will work with blogs, wikis, tagging, social networking, and media-rich sites that collectively exemplify Web 2.0 technologies that can be harnessed for teaching and learning. Have fun learning!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-53796414646594186392007-07-23T22:52:00.001-04:002007-07-23T22:52:43.087-04:0014. Facilitator NotesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-46785844745637352142007-07-23T22:51:00.000-04:002007-07-24T11:30:40.526-04:0013. Other Web 2.0 Applications and IdeasAlthough new Web 2.0 applications seem to arise daily, there are some important systems and ideas that cut across many of the applications and can empower teachers and students. <span style="font-style: italic;">RSS feeds</span> are one such system.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >RSS Feeds and Readers</span><br />RSS is an acronym with many translations, but a common one is <span style="font-style: italic;">Really Simple Syndication</span>, where <span style="font-style: italic;">syndication</span> refers to something like a syndicated, or regular, columnist. An RSS feed is a regular posting of news to your computer much like a stock ticker or display of current news headlines (but thankfully, they don't move!). The following short YouTube video explains the concept of RSS in simple English and diagram: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-82903232021776657022007-07-23T22:50:00.001-04:002007-07-23T22:50:56.989-04:0012. Copyright Issues and Creative CommonsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-42790656230150462532007-07-23T22:48:00.000-04:002007-07-24T22:09:34.373-04:0011. Concerns with Web 2.0 in SchoolTeenagers find Web 2.0's high level of interactivity with real friends and the real world to be compellingly attractive. Adults are often unaware and uniformed about the Web 2.0 sites that their children and students frequent. As a result, otherwise responsible teachers, administrators and parents don't have a realistic understanding of the potential dangers or benefits of Web 2.0, and they are not in a position to provide meaningful guidance to teens or pre-teens. Below is a discussion of some of the Web 2.0 issues that schools and homes should understand and address:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E7ifJjA9UWY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E7ifJjA9UWY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br />The video above focuses on reasons why schools need to be wary of social networking sites. Teachers and students in the video below acknowledge potential dangers, but they emphasize the educational and social value that they, as users, experience.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QSGuffzd9_Y"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QSGuffzd9_Y" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-76670209868706222642007-07-23T22:47:00.000-04:002007-07-24T21:49:33.372-04:0010. Digg and CrowdsourcingEverybody likes to express their opinion, but it so often appears that no one cares, and that our opinions don't really matter. Several Web 2.0 applications actually build their readers' opinions into the site as a way to add value to their information. Here's an example from Wired.com where users can change the ranking of <span style="font-style:italic;">corporate privacy villains</span>, moving them to places of prominence on top of the page or to oblivion off the bottom. Scroll down the page to see the up and down arrow buttons and the number of ratings readers have shared by clicking on them.<br /><a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/06/request-for-cor.html">* Ranking example from Wired.com</a><br />Wikipedia article on <span style="font-style: italic;">Wisdom of Crowds</span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_crowds">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_of_crowds</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Crowdsourcing Examples:</span><br />Wikipedia corrections of Britannica<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Errors_in_the_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_that_have_been_corrected_in_Wikipedia">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Errors_in_the_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_that_have_been_corrected_in_Wikipedia</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-16792646868082799472007-07-23T17:25:00.001-04:002007-07-29T22:42:27.371-04:009. Audio and Video Web 2.0 WebsitesWeb 2.0 users want to interact not only with text and images, but also with audio and video, and by now most Internet users have heard of iTunes, podcasting and YouTube. These sites and ideas are not only attractive to users but also to big business. For example, in 2007, Google purchased YouTube for 1.6 billion dollars. Google clearly sees a strong future for user-created and shared video on the Internet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Podcasting</span><br /><ul><li><a href="http://epnweb.org/">Education Podcast Network</a></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-58610206640827936402007-07-23T17:20:00.001-04:002007-07-29T22:35:50.702-04:008. Web Applications like Google DocsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-42602078905816555232007-06-11T22:57:00.000-04:002007-07-24T21:39:46.444-04:007. Google Earth & MashupsGoogle Earth is a fascinating free application you'll need to download and install on your computer. It is used by many teachers and students to explore a topic spatially through a geographic interface. It is closely related to Google Maps with which it shares its satellite imagery of the earth. Here's a link with short videos that demonstrate Google Earth's features. The page has a button to download Google Earth to your computer.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://earth.google.com/tour/">View Goggle Earth tour and download</a></li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: This workshop section may be done as a demonstration if Google Earth is not installed on the workshop computers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Geotagging</span><br /><span>Both Google Maps and Google Earth provide a <span style="font-style: italic;">layering</span> system whereby geotagged data can be accessed via the map interface. The data appears as though it were superimposed over the map in a transparent layer. All of the data is linked to a geographical location within Google Maps or Earth. <a href="http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/07/google-earth-tu.html">This brief Wired article describes how NASA photographs from space are made accessible through a geotagged data layer available on Google Earth.</a><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-4315934229959949012007-06-10T23:24:00.000-04:002008-12-11T22:19:28.918-05:006. Wikis for Collaborative Web Publishing<span style="font-weight: bold;">Wiki</span> is a Hawaiian word that means <span style="font-style: italic;">quick</span>, and wikis are the fastest way to create web pages that can be collaboratively edited by multiple people. You don't need to use any special software (like Dreamweaver or Front Page), you don't need to know HTML (the Web-page computer language, and you never have to send your page to a Web server. It's really easy for a teacher, student or class to create a private or public Website on any topic you're studying.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rm37_lH8qSI/AAAAAAAAABI/LjobEokb7sA/s1600-h/wikipedia-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rm37_lH8qSI/AAAAAAAAABI/LjobEokb7sA/s320/wikipedia-sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074989424832194850" border="0" /></a><a href="http://wikipedia.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wikipedia</span></a> is the largest and best-known Wiki. A global community of volunteer writers have made Wikipedia the world's largest encyclopedia approaching two million articles and rivaling Britannica for accuracy (according to a 2006 Australian study). Students know and trust Wikipedia, but many teachers are less familiar and less confident regarding its use in school. If you haven't visited Wikipedia, DO SO. Search for a topic in your specialty and judge its value for yourself. Next search for a topic that provokes strongly differing viewpoints like War in Iraq, Global Warming, S<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>tem Cell Research or Abortion. See how Wikipedia handles those hot topics. If you require your students to do research, you should discuss the pros and cons of Wikipedia with them to help them understand the world's most comprehensive encyclopedia. <span style="font-style: italic;">Note: Many teachers of advanced classes have their students add to a Wikipedia article or a Wikibook.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Video of Wiki in Plain English</span><br />Here's a four-minute <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/">Common Craft</a> YouTube video that explains the wiki ideas with plain English and simple diagrams.<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-dnL00TdmLY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-dnL00TdmLY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Visit an Education Wiki</span><br />Below are links to a wide variety of educational wikis. If you are a high school English teacher, try the Educause article on using wikis to teach writing skills. If you teach any advanced discipline, try the <span style="font-style: italic;">Using a Wiki in Education</span> article from the Science of Spectrometry. The Educational Wikis link will connect you to many K-12 and professional development wikis for you to browse. As you explore these wikis, keep in mind that they were created and edited by groups of people like you with no special Web development skills or software!<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><ul><li><a href="http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/">Educational Wikis</a> is a collection of education-related wikis posted on the popular (and free) Wikispaces site.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp?bhcp=1">Educause article</a> on writing instruction in higher ed.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.scienceofspectroscopy.info/edit/index.php?title=Using_wiki_in_education"><span style="font-style: italic;">Using a Wiki in Education</span></a> (from Science of Spectrometry)</li></ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Add a Wiki Entry</span></span><br />The easiest way to learn about wikis is to create or edit a wiki entry. Below is a <span style="font-style: italic;">sandbox</span> wiki that is designed for teachers and librarians to learn-by-doing. Click on the Learning 2.0 Wiki Sandbox and choose a favorites page (I like the favorite restaurants page). You'll need to enter the password (which is "PLCMC"). Scroll through the editing box to see how others have created their entries. Try making a change or adding your own favorite. Just follow their formatting examples. When finished, click the SAVE button and see how your entry has been added to the Web page. You can re-edit to modify your entry as many times as you wish.<br /></span><ul><li><a href="http://plcmclearning.pbwiki.com/">Learning 2.0 Wiki Sandbox</a><br /></li></ul><br />Write an entry in your blog that reflects your exploration and thoughts about wikis, perhaps in your classroom. You can include a link to any website in your blog. Remember to tag your post with the workshop tag.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-53144595043063265662007-06-10T18:54:00.000-04:002008-12-11T22:19:29.161-05:005. Tagging, Folksonomies, Social Bookmarking<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/RmyzqFH8qQI/AAAAAAAAAA4/Q4oqVvbw5Xo/s1600-h/Del.icio.us_logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/RmyzqFH8qQI/AAAAAAAAAA4/Q4oqVvbw5Xo/s200/Del.icio.us_logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074628415651096834" border="0" /></a>We'll see how millions of people organize their knowledge and resources using the Del.icio.us Website. Their secret sauce has four ingredients:<br /><ol><li>Users <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">select</span> websites they want to remember for future access. This small step filters out all of the uninteresting sites and focuses sharply on sites that others have found valuable.</li><li>Users label each website with <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">tags</span> that reflect how <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">they categorize it</span> so they can <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">group it with related sites</span>. This free-form method of organization by tagging is called a <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">folksonomy</span>.</span></span> (Compare this with a <span style="font-style: italic;">taxonomy</span> that is a scientifically-generated system of organization such as Dewey Decimal System or Taxonomy of biological classification.)<br /></li><li>Del.icio.us <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">shares</span> all of the websites and tags</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">create a gigantic filtering and categorization system</span> for its users. (note: user's names or accounts are not shared.)</li><li>Users may <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">choose to share</span> their favorite website with others <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">in personal, family or interest groups</span>. Bookmarks shared within a social or interest group is sometimes called <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">social bookmarking</span></span>.</li></ol>Since users keep their Web bookmarks in Del.icio.us, they can access them from any computer on the Internet. It is perfect for students, teachers and traveling people who need to access information from school, home and work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Let's see Del.icio.us in action:</span><br /><ol><li>Go to the <a href="http://del.icio.us/">Del.icio.us </a>site.<br />(Note that there is no <span style="font-style: italic;">com</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">org</span> at the end. The official suffix is <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">us</span> for <span style="font-style: italic;">United States</span>.</li><li>Notice the lefthand column of currently popular websites (check out any that interest you)</li><li>Search for a topic of interest to you or your class. Be as specific as seems reasonable. For example, you could search for: <span style="font-style: italic;">irregular verbs, volcano, deep-sea treasure, cheap wine, organic coffee, thai recipe, plankton, electron microscope photo, baroque music.</span> Rather than getting the most-frequently visited sites, you get the <span style="font-weight: bold;">most-recommended</span> sites.<br /></li><li>Check out the <a href="http://slackermanager.com/2005/12/the_several_hab.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Habits of wildly successful Del.icio.us Users</span></a>.</li><li>Here's a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHyeTfz0tUA">Del.icio.us tutorial</a> on YouTube for beginning users (5 min.). <span style="font-style: italic;">Note: schools may block this site</span>.<br /></li><li>Teachers use Del.icio.us as a way to aggregate the websites they find (and found by their students) into sensible categories. The tagging of websites is key to the success of this use (a classroom or topic tag would be appropriate). The resulting lists can be exported to class web pages, blogs or through RSS feeds.</li></ol><br />The short movie (less than 2 min) below offers a simple, visual explanation of the method, reach and power of social networking.<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6a_KF7TYKVc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6a_KF7TYKVc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Tag Clouds</span><br /><ol><li>Check out the <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/"><span style="font-style: italic;">popular <span style="font-weight: bold;">tag</span></span> view of Del.icio.us</a>.<br />The size of the tag reflects its popularity. This view of information is called a <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Tag Cloud</span>. At a glance you can see the relative levels of activity and interest in a broad field. Notice that both <span style="font-style: italic;">education</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Web 2.0</span> show enormous interest!<br /></li><li>Click on a tag of interest and see how to navigate using a <span style="font-style: italic;">tag cloud</span>. Tag clouds are a feature of many websites that provide access to huge amounts of information.<br /></li><li>Create a blog entry (with our workshop tag) with your thoughts on a topic that would be a Del.icio.us application for your class. You may want to think about how tag clouds could help your students as they try to find good information in the large Internet. Remember that your students only need to create an account if they want to add bookmarks to sites.<br /></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-63415092153957762972007-06-10T17:50:00.000-04:002008-12-11T22:19:29.471-05:004. Image Generators (pure fun!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rmx6iVH8qNI/AAAAAAAAAAg/O7JO8EjMyb0/s1600-h/solidgold.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rmx6iVH8qNI/AAAAAAAAAAg/O7JO8EjMyb0/s200/solidgold.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074565610344327378" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Image generators</span> are websites that allow you to create or customize images. Some allow you to create signs or buttons. Some allow you to create fantastic titles. Others give you a variety of interesting photographs and invite you to add creative text within the photo (like the example to the right).<br /><br />Explore the image generator links below and try a few. They are all free, and none of them require accounts. You and your students can use these for web graphics, report titles and just for fun. If you create an image you like, you can add it to your blog.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/">The Generator Blog</a></li><li><a href="http://www.letterjames.com/">Letter James Site</a></li><li><a href="http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/">FD - Flickr Tools (many tools!)</a></li><li>Google for <span style="font-style: italic;">image generator</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">text generator</span> for more<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rmx8l1H8qPI/AAAAAAAAAAw/nodCD9GwEyM/s1600-h/news_image.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rmx8l1H8qPI/AAAAAAAAAAw/nodCD9GwEyM/s320/news_image.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074567869497125106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">See if you can post your created image to your blog. There are two or three ways:<br /><ol><li>Save the image to your hard drive OR record the URL of the image.<br /></li><li>Create a New Post in your blog and add the image via the <span style="font-style: italic;">Add Image</span> button.</li><li>From the image generator site, you may be able to post directly to your blog.</li></ol>Record your ideas about image generators in your blog. Can you think of a way to use a generated image in your teaching or with your students? Be sure to label the post with our workshop tag. (Note: some image generation sites permit viewing of recent creations, which may be objectionable. Check the site before you give it to students.)<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-66965015833686905922007-06-10T17:12:00.003-04:002008-12-11T22:19:29.620-05:003. Putting It All Together: part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/R_uiWr_RltI/AAAAAAAAABg/Dw9o18uSEQo/s1600-h/logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/R_uiWr_RltI/AAAAAAAAABg/Dw9o18uSEQo/s320/logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186917906496198354" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Add a photo to your blog.</span><br /><br />You can upload a photo from your computer or link to a photo from anywhere on the Internet. If you host personal or class photos on a Flickr account, you can link directly from your Flickr photo to your blog. You can also use a photo from http://www.everystockphoto.com. You'll just need the "URL" or web address of the photo. You can right click on any Internet photo and copy the photo's URL.<br /><br />To add the photo to your blog text, just click the photo icon in the Blogger editor. You will have the option to browse your own computer to upload a photo or to enter a photo URL. After you select your photo, you can choose to display it in a small, medium or large format, and you can choose to display it centered or to left or right of your text. Click the "Upload Image" button to place the image in your blog. It will display at the location of the cursor in your blog text. You can upload up to 1024MB of photos to your Blogger account. Other blogs like Wordpress have a similar way to enter photos.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Add a comment to a blog.</span><br /><br />Visit a blog of your choice. At the end of the posting to which you'd like to comment, click on the link that allows you to add a comment. You may or may not need to have an account on the blog. If the blog owner permits comments, you will be able to enter your comment and submit it. Check to see how the comment is displayed or accessed. This is one of the most common forms of Internet discussion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Subscribe to a blog.</span><br /><br />Most blogs "publish" themselves and their changes to the Internet through a feature called "RSS" (Really Simple Syndication). The RSS symbol is a small orange square with white arcs that represent broadcasting or speaking. You'll need a place to read the blogs to which you subscribe. This is called an RSS aggregator. Two of the most common are Google Desktop (iGoogle) and Google Reader. You can create one from your Blogger account (owned by Google). One way is to visit "labs.google.com" and select iGoogle or Google Reader.<br /><br />To actually subscribe to new blog postings, just visit the blog you wish to read. On your browser or the blog post you should find an RSS icon. Click on the RSS icon and follow the prompts to subscribe to the blog. From now on, all new postings will show up as links in your RSS aggregator. The may sound complicated because of the new vocabulary, but it is really quite easy and convenient.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVFsxev-2sk&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVFsxev-2sk&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-7375065566246324792007-06-10T14:53:00.002-04:002008-12-11T22:19:30.043-05:002. Photos, Image Sharing and Flickr.com<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/R9akQqGRXcI/AAAAAAAAABY/-oGqg9EkJvM/s1600-h/aurora_flickr_tidewater_muse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/R9akQqGRXcI/AAAAAAAAABY/-oGqg9EkJvM/s320/aurora_flickr_tidewater_muse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176505427794419138" border="0" /></a>Everybody loves photographs from family, friends, faraway places and fun. In this activity we'll look at a large photo posting and sharing website that millions of people use to save, organize, display and share their photos. You and your students can use it as a source for photos for web pages, reports and teaching materials (we'll learn about caveats later). You don't have to join Flickr to search and view the photos others have shared. You do need a free account to post your own photos. Follow the steps below to begin:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Learning about Flickr and Web 2.0 Photo Sites</span><br /><ol><li>Go to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr Home Page</a>. You may create a free account at this time.<br /></li><li>Take the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/tour/">Flickr Tour</a>. This will introduce you to the various components of the Flickr experience. You might be surprised how many ways photos can be used on the Web!</li><li>Search for photos using a topic of interest to you or to your class. You could search for <span style="font-style: italic;">volcano, Nixon, StatueofLiberty, avacado, lathe, MRI, salamander</span> or any combination of one-word search terms (note <span style="font-style: italic;">StatueofLiberty</span>). Capital letters are not important in the search.</li></ol><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Posting to your Flickr account.</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note that you can only post to your own Flickr account.</span><br /><ol><li>If you created a Flickr account, upload an original photo to Flickr. (note: you need to have full <span style="font-style: italic;">rights</span> to -- or ownership of -- any photo you upload.)<br /></li><li>Carefully <span style="font-style: italic;">title</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">tag</span> the photo meaningfully. Include the workshop tag in all posts and uploads. Tagging is the most important step in photo management on Flickr and on the Web. Photos are searched for and organized according to <span style="font-style: italic;">tags</span>. You'll learn a lot about tags in these activities!</li><li>Search for photos using the workshop tag to see those your peers have posted.</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Other photo websites:</span><br /><ul><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://smugmug.com/">SmugMug</a> is similar to Flickr but it emphasizes personal collections more than sharing. There is a part of SmugMug for professional photographers (fee-based), and there are nice options for high-quality photo printing and nice photo albums. Try the SmugMug tour.</li><li><a href="http://everystockphoto.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">EveryStockPhoto</span></a> is a source of over one million photographic images that you can use. Many are taken by professional or semi-professional photographers. They generally require that you give the photographer proper attribution where you use the photo. Most photos use a Creative Commons license that permits unlimited educational use.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >How safe are photo websites?</span><br /><ul><li>Flickr, for example, has over 800 million photos publicly available. Even though less than one-half of one percent may be inappropriate for family viewing, Flickr devised a way to segment their users in order to protect children and schools. When users upload photos, they categorize each one as <span style="font-style: italic;">safe</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">moderate</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">restricted</span>. Unregistered users, like most school users, can only view <span style="font-style: italic;">safe</span> photos. In order to view the other categories, you must log on as a registered Flickr user and specify <span style="font-style: italic;">moderate</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">restricted</span> from the Advanced Search page. This ensures that no one can accidentally view adult content.<br /></li><li>Here's a <a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/07/flickr">Wired</a> article that discusses this issue in depth.<br /></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-7254530229105615622007-06-10T14:35:00.000-04:002008-12-11T22:19:30.198-05:001. Create Your Own Blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/RmxLQFH8qMI/AAAAAAAAAAY/E1YU_9k7plQ/s1600-h/scottg_s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/RmxLQFH8qMI/AAAAAAAAAAY/E1YU_9k7plQ/s200/scottg_s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074513619765209282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Create the Empty Blog</span><br /><br />Create a blog on Blogger.com, a free service from Google. You can upload a photo of yourself or a caricature to further personalize your blog (here's the small photo I use). Here are the simple steps:<br /><ol><li>Go to <a href="http://blogger.com/">Blogger.com</a></li><li>-- If you already have a Google account, log in to it using your username and password.<br />-- If not, select a username and a password to create your Google account. You have to use your real name in the process, but your username may be anything (without spaces). Your password should be more than 6 characters, and ideally would include a mix of lower case, upper case and numbers. (But you DO have to remember it!).</li><li>Pick a name for your blog. It can be anything from "Martha's Blog" to "Internet Learning in Room 302."</li><li>Pick a one-word "short name" for your blog that will be part of its web address. Since this must be unique, pick a name that others probably haven't already chosen. It could be "marthablog" or "rm302" or anything. You and others will access your blog using this name in an address like: "http://marthablog.blogspot.com."</li><li>Choose a template from the examples to choose the appearance of your blog; you can always change your mind later.</li></ol>Congratulations! You've created your blog! Next step is to add your first post (message):<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Add Your First Post:<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What do you think of blogging? Any ideas where you might you this in school?</span></span><br /><ol><li>Click on "Post," "Create," "New Post" or whatever will take you to an editing window where you can write your first message. It's called a <span style="font-style: italic;">post</span> for the same reason our mail goes through the <span style="font-style: italic;">post office</span>.<br /></li><li>Each posting requires a short, explanatory <span style="font-style: italic;">Title</span>, just like the subject in an e-mail message. Your message will be shared via its title, so it should be self-explanatory. Enter your title in the Title box.</li><li>Each posting requires a message body, again like an e-mail message. The editing window provides formatting tools like simple word processor that you can use to add to the expressiveness of your text. Book titles, for example, may be italicized.</li><li>Each posting should also include <span style="font-style: italic;">tags</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">labels</span>. These are descriptive terms, separated by commas, that you or others may use to search for relevant postings. Be sure to use our workshop tag for every post your create in the workshop. That's how we'll share with each other. Write two or three <span style="font-style: italic;">tags</span> in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Labels for this post</span> section.<br /></li><li><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Optional:</span> A small photo from your computer or from the web may be added to any post (use the <span style="font-style: italic;">Add Image</span> tool in the button bar). Hovering the mouse over a tool will display the tool's function.<br /></li><li>When you are finished, click on <span style="font-style: italic;">Publish Post</span> (or on <span style="font-style: italic;">Save As Draft</span> if you don't want to post it yet).</li></ol>Congratulations! You've completed your first post and finished the activity! Later we'll share and comment on each others' posts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938793212351588892.post-50208177983423544502007-06-10T14:01:00.001-04:002008-12-11T22:19:30.323-05:00Overview of Web 2.0 Learning Activities<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rm2owFH8qRI/AAAAAAAAABA/X0jQpnFqnEc/s1600-h/matrix_image.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 3px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bQoA83cFryM/Rm2owFH8qRI/AAAAAAAAABA/X0jQpnFqnEc/s320/matrix_image.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074897899079117074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step into the future of learning technology!</span></span><br />Web 2.0 is made up of many interactive Internet technologies and Websites. We will explore parts of Web 2.0 that are valuable for teachers to use in their classes and for them to know about for background knowledge (and fun!). Below are the topics we will cover with links to the activity page for each one.<br /><ol><li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/creating-your-own-blog.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Blogs, Blogging and Blogger.com</span></a><br />BLOG is the abbreviation of "Web log," and an individual blog is much like a journal you may choose to share with others and for others to comment on. In this activity you'll create your own blog and learn how to post messages on it. You will also learn how to comment on others' blogs. Thousands of teachers and millions of students use blogs every day to write, read, collaborate, criticize and think in a new way about communication.<br /></li><br /><li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/2-photos-image-sharing-and-flickcom.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Photos, Image Sharing and Flickr.com</span></a><br />Visit the Flickr site, and search its millions of photos. I'll bet you can find some your class would not only enjoy but would learn from. A boon for studying about foreign places and ... well, just about everything!<br /></li><br /><li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/3-putting-pieces-together-part-1.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Putting It All Together: part 1</span></a><br />The real power of Web 2.0 technologies and websites lies in the creative ways that each site's capabilities can be combined with others. You'll love it (and so will your students)!<br /></li><br /><li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/4-image-generators-pure-fun.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Image Generators (pure fun!)</span></a><br />Put on your creativity hat and expose your funny bone ...<br /></li><br /><li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/5-tagging-folksonomies-social.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tagging, Folksonomies and Social Bookmarking</span></a><br />We'll visit the Del.icio.us site learn how tagging has changed the way information is organized and accessed. <span style="font-style: italic;">Warning: This activity comes with powerful ideas attached</span><span>.</span><br /></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/wikis-for-collaborative-web-publishing.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wikis for Collaborative Web Publishing</span></a><br />See the fastest way to create and collaborate on web pages that is as useful in your classroom as it is in global business and research.</span><br /></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/06/7-google-earth-mashups.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Google Earth & Mashups</span></a><br />Google Earth is facinating, but you also can add and link Web 2.0 content to make it a great way to spatially explore and organize knowledge. It's a lot of fun, too!</span><br /></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/web-application-like-google-docs.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Web Application like Google Docs</span></a><br />What if you or your students didn't own a computer, word processor or e-mail program? Web applications provide those services and more over any computer. It's one of the BEST ways to shuttle documents between home and school.</span><br /></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/9-audio-and-video-web-20-websites.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Audio and Video Web 2.0 Websites</span></a><br />Sites like iTunes and YouTube are either so popular or are blocked by school filtering systems that you may want to skip this section. But you and you students should know that the power of posting and sharing text and images extends to sounds and videos. These are some of the most popular and culture-changing sites on the Web!<br /></span></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/10-digg-and-crowdsourcing.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Digg and <span style="font-style: italic;">Crowdsourcing</span></span></a><br />What if everyone rated the news stories and web posts they read? Through a process called <span style="font-style: italic;">crowdsourcing</span>, top-ranked stories are posted on Digg so you and your students can see what others find interesting.</span></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/11-concerns-with-web-20-in-school.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Concerns with Web 2.0 in School</span></a><br />Parents, teachers, administrators and school boards may worry about what their children may be exposed to in Web 2.0 activities. On one hand, they want their children to have access to the best the Web has to offer. On the other hand, they fear the lack of centralized control over Web 2.0 sites to guarantee Internet safety.</span></li><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/12-copyright-issues-and-creative.html"><br /></a><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/12-copyright-issues-and-creative.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Copyright Issues and Creative Commons</span></a><br />Copyright was created for the express purpose of fostering the production of creative work. You and your students need to know about copyright issues that relate to Web 2.0 posting on the Web. You also should know about recent extensions of copyright that resolve many of the thorniest issues for class publishing.</span></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/13-other-web-20-applications-and-ideas.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Other Web 2.0 Applications and Ideas</span></a><br />This is an optional segment that includes other Web 2.0 applications and ideas that may be of interest to educators. (RSS feeds, Connectivism, etc.)<br /></span></li><br /><li><span><a href="http://capeweb2.blogspot.com/2007/07/14-facilitator-notes.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Facilitator Notes</span></a><br />These notes provide guidance for a facilitator to conduct a hands-on Web 2.0 workshop for teachers and other school stakeholders.<br /></span></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0