The Next New Thing: Create, Communicate and Collaborate With Blogs

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The Next New Thing Create, Communicate and
Collaborate With Blogs

• Will Richardson
• March 11, 2004
• Internet _at_ Schools East
• Washington, DC

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User Warning
Use of Weblogs and RSS technologies may lead to
sleeplessness, irritability, and the horrible
reality that youll never being able to know it
all. Use at your own risk.
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Weblogs First
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What is a Weblog?
A Weblog is an easily created, easily
updateable Website that allows an author (or
authors) to publish instantly to the Internet
from any Internet connection.
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Weblogs Dont Require

• Knowledge of HTML
• Knowledge of FTP
• Webpage creation software
• If you can send an e-mail, you can update a
  Weblog page.

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Weblogg-ed
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How Easy Is It?

• Just Watch

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What Weblogs Can Do

• Create Digital Paperas much of it as you want
• Allow for collaboration from far-flung
  participants
• Add voices to the conversation
• Archive thoughts and research
• Provide instant audience
• Filter and organize information

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So, a Weblog Can Be

• Online Filing Cabinet
• Photo Album
• Portfolio
• Online Journal
• Collaborative Space
• Much more

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Types of Web Logs

• Personallargest segment people writing about
  their own lives.
• BusinessMicrosoft, Macromedia and others are
  allowing employees to communicate with potential
  customers as a way to build brand loyalty.
• PoliticsDemocratic presidential candidates,
  Howard Dean especially

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Types of Web Logs

• CollaborativeGroups of various sizes sharing
  space, usually on a common interest
• Special InterestWhatever topic you are
  interested in, theres a Web log for it.
• Web PortalA Website that business owners or
  educators can update regularly.

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Blogs Get on the Map
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Presidential Bloggers
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Celebrity Bloggers
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How Many Blogs Are There?

• Over 5,000,000 with 10,000,000 expected by years
  end.
• Over 50 are kept by 13-19 year olds.
• Fewer than 50,000 are updated daily. 66.0 of
  surveyed blogs had not been updated in two
  months.
• The typical blog is written by a teenage girl who
  uses it twice a month to update her friends and
  classmates on happenings in her life.

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Blog the Word
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Blog the Word
Now weve got Blog (n) Blogger (n) Blogosphere
(n) Blogging (v) Blogroll (n)
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Nothing Will Stopthe BLOG!
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Why Weblogs?

• Weblogs have a number of characteristics that
  make them interesting as classroom/library tools.
• Aside from ease of use, archiving of info,
  audience, access and collaboration, theres
• 1. MultimediaWeblogs can make use of audio and
  video, and some can store files of other types
  for easy retrieval.

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Why Weblogs? (Cont)

• 2. HypertextWeblogs allow for easy linking to
  research and sources of information.
• 3. Low costMost Weblog software is either free
  or relatively inexpensive, depending on your
  needs.
• 4. CommunicationInstant, comprehensive and
  complete

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Weblogs in Schools

• More and more teachers and educators are finding
  that Weblogs provide interesting new ways of
  communicating with students, parents and
  colleagues.

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Weblogs in the ClassroomOnline Filing Cabinet

• Students and teachers can use the Web log as a
  place to store assignments, plans, handouts, etc.

Claire
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Weblogs in the ClassroomCollaborative Learning
Space

• Students can extend conversations outside of the
  classroom, and collaborate with invited guests
  from around the world.

The Secret Life of Bees /Author
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Weblogs in the ClassroomOnline Discussion

• Weblogs can work as a discussion group for
  students and staff.

Honors Sociology
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Weblogs in the ClassroomProfessional
Development

• New (or veteran) teachers can use Weblogs as
  portfolios or as an archived discussion of their
  practice with mentors .

Entry Year Teacher
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Weblogs in the ClassroomWriting Instruction

• Blogging as Genre
• Media Literacy

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Weblogs in SchoolsWeblog as Website

• Schools can use a distributed content creation
  model when using Weblogs as Websites.

Little Miami Schools
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Weblogs in SchoolsLibrary Portal

• School library sites can serve as easily updated
  research portals and resource sites.

IMC
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Weblogs in SchoolsInformation/Communication

• Weblogs can provide a great way to manage
  knowledge, from committee work to historical
  artifacts.

Technology Committee
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Weblogs in Schools Classroom Portal

• Weblogs make for an easy classroom interface for
  notes, links, homework and conversation.

Journalism 2
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Considerations

• Privacy and safety
• Cost
• Technical support
• Connectivity of classrooms and homes
• Time to develop
• Web log software

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Uses in Education

• Reams and reams of digital paper for students,
  teachers and administrators to create with.

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Web Log Options

• Free Web log software on the Internet
• Blogger
• moTime
• Many others
• Software for local installation
• Manila--295 a year for up to 3,000 sites
• Moveable TypeFree to schools
• Pay Web logs with hosting
• Type Pad--_at_30 a year with a limit on space

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Helpful Hints

• Start a Web logIf you are going to teach with
  blogs, you need to be a blogger.
• Read other Web logsAnd find other educators
  using them. Web logs foster community.
• Start smallCreate a classroom portal, invite
  some others into the conversation, build from
  there
• Web logs are a toolfit them to your curriculum,
  not vice versa.

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What is RSS?

• The behind-the-scenes tool that adds power
• to blogging.

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Real Simple Syndication (RSS)

• RSS allows writers to automatically syndicate the
  content they create and it allows readers to
  subscribe to receive that content when it is
  published.
• Most Weblogs have RSS feeds built in
• Content comes to you instead of you going to look
  for it.
• Makes it easy to keep track of more sources of
  information

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Real Simple Syndication (RSS)

• Two parts to RSS

Part 1 An XML news feed from the Weblog
Part 2--A news reader to translate and display
the feeds
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Many Blogs in One Place

• You can subscribe to as many news feeds as you
  can keep track of.
• Weblogs
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Searches
• Amazon.com
• Thousands more

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Using RSS Feeds

• Step 1Look for xml button

George W Bush
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Using RSS Feeds

• Step 2View XML feed and copy address

XML Feed
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Using RSS Feeds

• Step 3Find a news reader (aggregator)
• Aggregators check the feeds that you tell it to,
  see if there is any new content, and if so, save
  the content for you to view when you are ready.

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Using RSS Feeds Part 2

• RSS Feeds can also be displayed as content on a
  page.

Athletics
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RSS in Schools

• Teachers can aggregate content from student
  Weblogs
• Parents can aggregate news from the school and
  work from student Weblogs
• Administrators can aggregate news from various
  school Weblogs
• Librarians (and others) can push content simply
  by posting to a Weblog
• Everyone can use e-mail less, scan more
  information in less time.
• And much, much, much more

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RSS in Schools

• And one more cool application
• Research can come to you!

Claire
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First Steps

• Start a Weblog and start publishing to the
  Internet
• Read some other Webloggers
• Go to bloglines.com and sign up for an account
• Subscribe to some feeds
• Start thinking and playing

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Thanks!

• And if you have further questions, or youd like
  to join my conversation, please visit me at
• www.weblogg-ed.com
• THANK YOU!