Organizing Internet Resources

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Introducing social bookmarking tools

1. Definition
2. Function
3. The idea of tag


Writings about social bookmarking
(read one of them)

*
7 Things You Should Know about Social Bookmarking - EDUCAUSE

* Sites to See: Social Bookmarking - Education World



Discussion

* How is social bookmarking tool different from or similar to RSS feed readers?

* How can social bookmarking be used in professional development and teaching?


Lab Section

Basics
1. Register and Install Extension
2. Add URLs to your del.icio.us

* Add two links from "CEP416Resources"
* Change the name of your bookmarks
* Tag your bookmarks
* Bundle your tags

3. Share Your Bookmarks

* Enable “Private Saving” function
* Add CEP416Resources to your network
* Add Linkroll to your blogs (Optional)


Weekly Gallery Project

Imagine your collaborating teacher asks you to plan a week-long unit of your choice. Though the topic is up to you, she does want to see a few things:

1. You need to identify at least two specific content expectations your unit will meet. Here are links to the K-8 GLCES, and to High School. In your blog post, you will need to tell us the grade level you are planning this unit for.
2. You also need to identify at least two specific technology standards from the METS that you will be working on in this unit.
3. You must supplement the content of the unit with at least five websites that address different aspects of the unit.
4. You need to use a public calendar to communicate with parents and students what you will be doing each of the five days.


Therefore, the agenda for this week is:

1. Read through the GLCEs and the METS linked to above to help you pick a unit topic that you can clearly align with the content expectations.
2. Weekly Gallery Project
1. Set up a social bookmarking account of your choice (del.icio.us, is a popular one, but there are others as well.)
1. Organize at least five websites under a common tag that you can use with your students to help them learn your topic.
2. Set up a public calendar (google has one) in which you briefly outline what you aspects of the unit you will cover for each of the five days.
3. WIKI gallery
1. Please link the permalink of your blog post for this week to the wiki gallery column "bookmark."
2. Please link the public page of your calendar to the wiki gallery's "calendar" column. Here is a jing video to show you how to find the public url.



Assignments

In your blog post for this week:

1. Identify the grade-level you've created this unit for.
2. Identify at least two GLCE's and two METS that this unit addresses.
3. Identify the tag you used to organize your five resources. Please embed a link back to this tag on your del.icio.us account (or whatever you chose). Here is a jing video to show you how to do this.
4. Devote a paragraph to each of your five web resources to let us know how you would use the site to help students learn. For example, you might consider saying, "On Monday, the lesson focuses on part A of the unit. The website URL will be used to help students x..., y... and z. On Tuesday, the topic changes to part B . . . "

Week 2: Blogs

Blog Survey

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Comparing Blogs and Websites

Directions: Below are 8 links to sites found on the web. As you look at each site, classify each site as either a website or a blog. When you have finished classifying each site, go back and create two lists that outlines the key features of both websites and blogs. That is, what are the defining characteristics of each that allowed you to classify each of the 8 sites as either a website or a blog?

A. http://www.educ.msu.edu/
B. http://www.mackenty.org/index.php/site/index/
C. http://www.assortedstuff.com/
D. http://technosavvy.org/
E. http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/
F. http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/
G. http://elps.k12.mi.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=2

Discussion:
1. Classify each site as either a) a website or b) a blog and
2. Make separate lists of the key characteristics of websites and blogs. You will report back to the class on your work, so be sure to take notes.

Examples of Professional and Educational Use of Blogs

Read Seven things you should know about blogs
Locate one example of teachers using blogs in ways you find interesting.
You can go to Edublog Awards 2007 Finalists, you might try using a blog search engine such as Technorati or Google Blog Search, or you can also find a list of educational blogs here--There are different categories there, so be sure to scroll through the entire page.
Questions:

• How does the teacher use his/her blog? What is an specific example (a post or a comment)?
• What function does the blog serve?
• What do you think is the benefits of using blog this way?
• Do you have any critiques?
• What are some helpful strategies you are using to read the blogs?

Example: Grade 5/6NT Blog

Writings about Educational Implications of Blogs

• The Educated Blogger by David Huffaker
• Ferdig, R. E., & Trammell, K. D. (2004). Content delivery in the 'blogosphere.' T.H.E. Journal, 31(7), 12, 16-17, 20. link
• Echlin, H. (2007, January 7). Digital discussion: Take your class to the Internet. Edutopia. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-discussion-take-your-class-to-internet.
• Colombo, M. W., & Colombo, P. D. (2007). Blogging to improve instruction in differentiated science classrooms. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(1), 60-63. link
• Lesesne, T. S. (2006). Technology meets literature: Meeting authors through their blogs. Teacher Librarian, 33(5), 58-59. link
• Ishuzuka, K. (2006). History teacher 2.0. School Library Journal, 52(4), 26-27. link
• Richardson, W. & Mancabelli, R. (2007). High-tech inspires the read/write website. The Education Digest, 72(9), 14-18. link

Sell your blog ideas!

Think about the educational implications of blogs through the following group work.

Pro: try your best to persuade others to use blogs in your classrooms

• Explain what teachers/students can do with the blogs…(find and explain in detail at least three specific ways of using blogs)
• Explain the advantages of using blogs…
• Find out one particular blog to support your arguments, and talk about how this blog can be further improved.
  • You can find some examples from http://del.icio.us/CEP416Resources/blog
  • You can also search for blogs at: www.technorati.com or http://blogsearch.google.com/)

Con: try hard to avoid using blogs in your classrooms

• Better or alternative approaches?
• The disadvantages of using blogs?

Group 1: Teacher's Online Journal – created and maintained by the teacher himself/herself
Group 2: Student Blog – created and maintained by individual student
Group 3: Classroom/Student Group Bog – created and maintained either by the teacher or by a group of students

Blog Lab

Basic:

• To create a blog
• To create a post that includes text, a picture, and a link to an outside resource
• To leave a comment

Advanced:

• To tag/label a post (Why do we need this?)
• To create “Important Links”
• To edit "About Me" page
• To add a picture

Bonus:

• To add writers/members
• To restrict the right of commenting only to the members of the blog
• To embed a video

Assignments

• Create a post on your blog in which you a) devote at least one paragraph to each of the blogs you liked best and tell us what it was about them that you liked. Be sure to create an embedded link back to each blog so we can see the blogs you are referring to--hint, the links in this post are embedded links because they do not display the url address
• Capture some of your current ideas on how you might be able to use a blog in your teaching both as a classroom management tool and for student learning. Please try to tailor these ideas to the grade levels and subject areas you are most interested in teaching.
• Update your blog link on our Wiki Gallery. Here's a quick clip on how to do this.

Week 1: Introduction to Course

1. Discussions on a vision of k-12 students
   
   
   
2. Student and instructor introductions
3. Syllabus and course overview
4. Look through some of the past student galleries
5. presentation on Learning New Technologies