School Newspapers are Moving Online!

Here's an interesting article from eSchool News Online: As with so many of our other modes of communication, it looks like more and more schools are moving the publication of their newspaper online. It's quite inexpensive, according to the article, and shouldn't we be teaching kids to communicate in an online evironment anyway?

What does this mean for print journalism?

Just Askin'
Lee Anne

Wiki Classes on the Eighth Floor

Want to create a website for your classroom? Nothing is easier than a wiki.
We have two classes on Wikis in November.

Nov 15, 8:30 - 11:30 pm
Nov 28, 4:00 - 7:00 pm

We have created an Eighth Floor Professional Develoment Wiki.

Click on the WikiSpaces button below.



Thanks!
Lee Anne

Want to Make Something of Your Blog?

I ran across this article: 21 Surefire Tips for a Successful Blog Launch. Now, the intended audience here is people who want to be out in the blog world - sell something, become famous, stuff like that. However, I thought these were good tips. Not all of them are useful in an educational setting, sure, but many are. What's important here is if you are teaching using blogs or are allowing your students to reference blogs, you need to know what's going on behind the scenes. So here your go.

Thanks!
Lee Anne

FREE Resources - But They are Wikis!

Looking for free resources for you classroom - or yourself? Check out this site Scott found called Wikimedia.org. It is a repository for several pop culture and free content wikis. Free books, free content, free a lot of stuff. Wikimedia is perfect if you are teaching a foreign language since it is published in most any language you might be speaking. Also, great for looking up what something means or what "the kids are calling it these days."

What About Blogs? - October 2006

Welcome to the Eighth Floor class, "What About Blogs."

We thought you might be interested in looking at a few of the blogs we find particularly relevant to education and technology integration.

There are thousands and thousands of blogs out there. You will find blogs on any topic from pet grooming to dissertation research. People of all ages are drawn to blogging as a form of social networking.

As a collaboration and communication tool, blogs are finding their place in education. Many teachers use them for professional.

Check out the following education/professional development focused blogs:
Webblogg-ed
Moving at the Speed of Creativity
Teachers Teaching Teachers
Blog of Proximal Development
2 Cents Worth

Several teachers are using blogs in the classroom as a tool for collaboration and communication. They find that blogging results in much more authentic learning for students.

Check out the following education/classroom use blogs:
Mrs. Watts Second Grade Computer Classroom
SAS China
AP English Literature and Composition
English 12
Maybry Online.org - Classroom and Teacher blogs
Applied Science Research Blogs
Alan November - Examples in Education

Check out the following education/safety focused postings and articles:
MySpace Education
Change Agency

Blogging Tips and Tricks:
Blogs - Anatomy
Blogs for Learning
Evaluating Blogging
Blogging Best Practices

Being as this is a class about blogging, we think you ought to do a little, well, blogging. (Those of you reading this who are not enrolled in the class, please jump in!) We’d like you to share some of your thoughts or concerns about setting up and using blogs either professionally or in the classroom.
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Here are some questions to get you started thinking:
- What do you want to know about blogs?
- What do you already know about blogs?
- How do you think you can use blogs?- How do you see others using blogs?
- What are you concerned about when it comes to blogs?
- What experiences (good or bad) have you already had with blogs?
- How important is digital literacy for our students?
- OR anything else you would like to blog about.
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Come up with at least one idea for using or creating a blog - it doesn't even have to be "school" related, and post a comments. Share any other thoughts you might have.

Post comments by clicking on the “comments” hyperlink at the bottom of this posting. You can contribute as “other.” Be sure to include your name somewhere. Read others’ comments and feel free to comment on their comments.

Thanks!
Lee Anne

FREE - K12 Online Conference 2006

Don't let the word "free" throw you. Free doesn't mean it's worthless! Although this online conference won't cost you a penny, it's worth "it." (Whatever "it" is for you.) Not only is it worth a million dollars (tax $$, at that), but it is worth your time - a much more valuable commodity. This is a wonderful example of open content and open resource - kind of what the Web 2.0 is all about. These folks are walking their talk and talking their walk.

Do some investigating. I insist
Go to the website K12 Online Conference 2006.
Listen to a podcast about it: Open Content, Open Conference by Wesley Fryer on the School Library Journal website.

I went to a VERY worthwhile conference last summer that featured most of the geniouses featured in (and running) this free online conference. I traveled by plane, gave up weekends, stayed in a hotel, rode busses (w/o air conditioning) and all the junk that goes along with going to conferences. I suffered! I suffered in order to tell you that this is worth your time and is presented to you as the best possible senario - it's free, it's online, and it's at your convenience. I plan on "being there." Why wouldn't I - it's free.

I'm just sayin'
Lee Anne

Technorati Tags: k12online06 k12online

What Happened When I Jumped off the Bridge

I wanted to let you know how my wiki adventure went. Pretty darn good! They are doing a fabulous job, and I am quite impressed with their efforts.

We invite you to have a look at our Comp I class wiki. CompOneTCC

(Remember that it is a work in progress - they are in the process of creating their pages.)

Thanks!
Lee Anne

Why Would'ya Wiki?

Have you discovered the power of wikis yet? We have a couple of classes coming up on the Eighth Floor about creating and using wikis in the classroom.

Wiki When You Wanna!
Wed - Nov 15 - 8:30 - 11:30 am
Tues - Nov 28 - 4:00 - 7:00 pm

Need to know a little bit more about them before you commit?
Of course you do.
Listen to our Eighth Floor Podcast on Wikis.

Also, check out Will Richardson's wiki and his page about wikis: http://webloggedlinks.pbwiki.com/Wikis.

You'll be Jumping off Bridges in no Time, Too.

As you all probably know, Will Richardson is giving a special workshop on the Eighth Floor next week. I'm ever so excited. I know - you all wish I would shut up about him already. But I can't! If you are lucky enough to be enrolled in the class, you'll see what I mean - I'm just sayin'. If you are not lucky enough to be enrolled in the class, I have a consolation prize for you. Will has an article in the October Edition of Edutopia that is pretty darn interesting.

Yep, if he jumped off a bridge, I'd probably jump off right behind him. W A I T, I think that's exactly what I did in my Monday night Comp 1 class last week. We had class in a computer equipped class room that night because we were going to end with an in-class writing. First, however, we had some very, really, always important stuff to talk about - stories we'd read from the reader that sould teach us about narration and description and extremely important information we gleaned from several titillating chapters of our handbook. Honestly, I was as bored as they were, and I'm not a super boring teacher (well, I don't think so, usually). They could not keep their hands of the computers that were in front of them - don't blame'em. So in an effort to keep their attention and interest them in the material, I started dancing faster and faster - spinning to the point of nearly losing consciousness. At least that's the only explanation I have for what happened next. I heard the words come out of my mouth, "Next week, we are going to build a wiki and you guys are going to teach each other this stuff. How many of you know what a wiki is? Your job this week is to find out - what do they look like, how do they work, etc." At the same time I'm laughing (howling!) at myself because, guess what, I have to learn those things too, double quick. Actually, it's not that desperate. I've played with them quite a bit. I'm still laughing on the inside. It's better than crying - that'll be Sunday night before class on Monday.

I'm optimistic! I had their attention instantly. They were asking questions about wikis left and right - I told them enough to make them go look for more. I put links on BlackBoard about wikis, and 90% of them have been on there every day - EVERY DAY! They are going to have to explain and define and teach us all about writing stuff - you know, that titillating stuff. When I told them that they would be published on the web and I'd be telling people about this, they got serious. They wanted to know who was going to check to make sure they didn't look like fools. I told them they were. HA!

What better way to learn than to teach, right? I'll let you know how it goes.

Lee Anne

Why do Students Blog?

I am always asked, and I am always curious. Why? How? Who?

I ran across this blog post by Joan Vinall-Cox in her blog, Elgg - Learning Landscape. I thought you might be interested.

Check it out.

Thanks!
Lee Anne