ASH's 23 Things for Web 2.0

Introduction

2011-01-10T13:22:00.013-05:00

This blog has been set-up as part of the Academy of the Sacred Heart’s Mobile Technology Program to encourage faculty and staff to experiment with Web 2.0 tools that are applicable to education.

Over a period of ten weeks, participants complete "23 Things" to become familiar with a variety of Web 2.0 tools. Please read over the FAQs and Tips for Success to learn more about the program. Then get started with Thing 1.

This Program launched the week of January 18 (Week 1). Finish all 23 Things by March 30, 2010 and you will receive a free USB/MP3 Player.* Technology Coaches will continue to support you and your work with the 23 Things until April 19, 2010.

*You must be an employee of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to be eligible to receive the USB/MP3 player. However, anyone can participate in this 23 Things project.

23: Reflect on Things

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Congratulations! You’ve reached the 23rd Thing. Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back for getting to this point.

For your final exercise, please reflect on your learning journey and post a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you:

How has your concept of Web 2.0 change during your journey? You might want to refer back to your first couple of posts.
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

In closing, thank you for participating in this project. We hope you continue to learn about and experiment with Web 2.0 tools and incorporate them into your professional and personal life.

<--Thing 22 Main

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Bonus Material

You might consider making a badge for yourself that shows off all of your Web 2.0 applications. Here is a handy tool to help you accomplish this.

22: Your Turn

2010-03-21T23:04:00.010-04:00

Thus far you have been presented with a variety of Web 2.0 tools. Now it’s time for you to teach. You have two choices for this Thing. You can teach someone else how to use one of the technologies covered in our 23 Things Web 2.0 program (Option A) or you can teach yourself a tool of your choice (Option B).

Photo credit: anitapatterson from morguefile.com

Option A
Teach someone else how to use one of the technologies covered in our 23 Things program and blog about your experience. Who you pick is up to you. It could be a colleague but this is not required. Ideally you select a person and a tool that are perfect for each other but have not met up yet.

In your blog post, discuss why you selected this option and which tool you chose to teach to someone. Were you successful? Did the person appreciate what you taught him/her? Did the person see the value of it? Which aspects of the Web 2.0 tool did she/he like? Do you think the person will use it in his/her personal/professional life?

Option B
Discover your own Web 2.0 tool to explore. Use one of the Web 2.0 directories below to find a Web 2.0 tool of interest. Spend some time to test out the tool.

In your blog post, discuss why you selected the tool you chose. Is it similar to any of the Web 2.0 tools you learned about in this 23 Things program? What aspects make it a "Web 2.0" tool/application? Would you recommend this tool to others? Do you plan on using this tool again?

<--Thing 21 Main Thing 23-->

21: Twitter, Tweets and Retweets

2010-03-21T20:13:00.019-04:00

Twitter is currently the most popular microblogging tool. Microblogging is a type of blogging with very short posts. For instance, Twitter’s posts are limited to 140 characters. Users follow other users by subscribing to each other's updates. All the updates from the users you follow will be aggregated in to one timeline that appears when you log in to the site.

Some Terms:

Tweet: a posting on Twitter.
Following: Those you follow on Twitter.
Followers: Those following you on Twitter.
Timeline: The stream of Twitter posts by those you follow.

Here’s what the folks at Common Craft have to say about Twitter in Plain English:

It's true that Twitter started as a way for people to post what they were doing. But that’s not its only use. It’s now being used for much more, including sharing articles and resources; following real-time events and conferences; connecting with colleagues and friends; and sharing pictures. Many people worldwide became aware of the value of Twitter last summer as protests over the Iran election results occurred and Twitter became one of the few ways for news to reach the rest of the world.

One of the significant aspects of Twitter for you as a professional is that you can follow influential people in your area of expertise. This way you have a chance to listen to and speak to these people via tweets. If you follow the right people, you can build a personal learning network for yourself. Instead of you searching for valuable information, it will find you on Twitter. Also, you can ask questions on Twitter and people may respond with helpful answers and solutions.

Share your information about your day, notes from a conference or important meeting you’re at, links to articles you’ve read, news events, and other information. As you follow people, you’ll get information shared with you.

More Twitter Terms:

Retweet: This is a reposting of someone else’s Tweet. It’s fairly common.
Reply: Sending a public message to another Twitter user or responding to another user’s Tweet. Example: @dinovan hello….
Direct Message (DM): A private message to another Twitter user. You can only send DMs to people who follow you.
#: The # sign followed by a word or phrase is called a hashtag on Twitter. It’s a way to categorize tweets, especially among users following the same event. Examples: #ash23things or #IranElection

Discovery Exercise:

If you already have a Twitter account and want to dig deeper into Twitter, try this. Otherwise, follow these steps:

Sign up with Twitter. Go to twitter.com and click the “Sign Up Now” button and follow the steps to create an account. You will be able to include a short biography or add a profile picture. You can choose to make your account public or private as part of the sign up process. Making your account private means people have to ask to follow you before they can see your tweets. You can come back to these steps at any time using the Settings link in the top right corner of the screen.
Make your first tweet. Click in the status box at the top of the screen where you see the question "What's happening?" Write something about your participation in this 23 Things program. As you type you will see the number at the top right of the box decrease. This is counting down the number of characters you have left. When you have typed your post click Update. You will see your tweet appear in the space below the status box. This is the start of your timeline.
Find people to follow. To get you started, here are Tech Coaches at ASH: dinovan, angiesaylor, HollyMSK8 and jasmithie. Here are some organizations to follow: ASH, NAISnews, and isenet. You can also use third party services like wefollow or the tweetdeck directory to find people to follow on Twitter. Here are some other educators. Once you find someone, click the "Follow" button which is located on every user's page. To subscribe to a users' updates simply click this button and their tweets will appear in your timeline. Your mission is to find people/organizations to follow that are going to post meaningful info for you.
Read tweets and leave tweets. For a week, post and interact with other users. Use the hashtag #ash23things on your tweets if they deal with this 23 Things project. They will then appear here. Note: Your Twitter account needs to be set to public for the tweets to appear on the page.

For Your Blog Post:

After about a week of using Twitter (if you have the time), blog about the experience. If you wish, post your Twitter username so others can see it and follow you.
Did you like microblogging? Do you love it, hate it or are you ambivalent? Explain.
How might you use Twitter in your personal / professional life.

<--Thing 20 Main Thing 22-->

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Note 1
People often wonder how to avoid information overload with a network like Twitter. Answer: Let go of being able to read everything and keep up with everything; take in what you can and leave the rest. If something is important enough, plenty people in your network will post it and you’ll see it. Once you take this plan of attack, you won’t feel quite so overwhelmed.

Note 2
Google Buzz - This is the recently released microblogging tool by Google. The jury is still out on Buzz, but you might want to explore it if you are already an avid tweeter.

21: Advanced Twitter Topics

2010-03-21T18:33:00.025-04:00

Explore one or two of the Twitter topics below and blog about them in your post for Thing 21. Some are better than others; so make wise choices.

Twitter applications that make it easier to read and update from your desktop or mobile device:

Tweetdeck – Free works on Windows and Mac. My current favorite because it allows you to sort into groups. It's definitely worth trying.
Twhirl – Free and works on Windows and Mac. The plus with this one is you can open to multiple Twitter accounts.
Seesmic - Another Twitter desktop app.
Twitterific – for Mac OSX 10.4 or later as well as iPhone and iPod Touch. Free version has ads.
OpenBeak – popular Twitter application for Blackberry.
Tweetie – An app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Software applications that help make better use of Twitter:

Twitpic – share photos on Twitter. Other photo sharing tools for Twitter:

Brizzly – See and share photos, videos and more.
Twitterfeed – feed your blog to Twitter. Do you have more to say than the 140 character limit? Then you can set up a Twitterfeed so your blog updates can be shared with your Twitter followers.
Twollo – find and follow fellow Twitterers with interests similar to yours.
Ping.fm – looking for ways to update all of your web 2.0 apps at once? Try Ping.fm.
Twaud.io – Share audio/video
Feednest.com – Publish RSS feeds

Searching Twitter
Watch this video to learn more about this tool:

Search.twitter.com lets you search all tweets on Twitter, Google-style.

Twittervision.com -- Just for fun.

Have your own Twitter app you want to share? Comment about it here or make a post about it on your blog.

<--Back to Thing 21

20: Presentations 2.0

2010-03-07T22:09:00.005-05:00

SlideShare is for presentations what YouTube is for videos -- a place where you can post your work and benefit from what is shared by others.

Before SlideShare, posting PowerPoint presentations to the Internet was not an easy task. Now, it's as simple as can be -- after creating a free account, upload the presentation and get a unique URL so others can view it online.

One of the best features of SlideShare is being able to search and view the work of others. There are some great presentations available there that can be used as is or to generate ideas for your own. Like YouTube, you can rate and comment on the presentations.

SlideShare presentations can be downloaded or embedded onto other sites, such as blogs. Here's an embedded presentation that you can click through using the arrows at the bottom. Press the "full" button to better view the presentation. The topic is SlideShare.

To complete Thing 20:
A. Explore SlideShare
B. Embed a presentation into your blog
C. Reflect on Thing 20 with a post in your blog

A. Explore
Go to SlideShare and search for presentations on subjects of your choice. Be sure to click the links at the top to view the "Most Viewed" and "Most Downloaded" and have a look at some of the popular presentations. If you are a PowerPoint user, you may want to create an account and upload your own presentation.

B. Embed
Find a presentation to share on your blog. Look for the “embed” button. You can automatically add a SlideShare to Blogger if you type in your user info or you can paste the embed code in your post using the html tab.

C. Reflect - Blog prompts for Thing 20
What did you like about the presentation you embedded? How might SlideShare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?

<--Thing 19 Main Thing 21-->

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Bonus Material

Other online presentation tools--

Scribd is similar to SlideShare but includes more than just PowerPoint slides. On Scribd, you can quickly and easily turn nearly any file—including PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel—into a Web document and share it with the world.
Prezi – Known as the zooming presentation editor, Prezi allows you to create an entire presentation online.
Google Docs allows you to create, share, collaborate and publish documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. This is all done online with no software to install. Take a tour.
What to give a presentation to people live? DimDim and Wiziq allow you to have free online conferences.

19: Podcasts

2010-03-07T18:57:00.013-05:00

The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS (see Thing 7).

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. The following video drives home this point with gusto.

Watch this video for a simple explanation of podcasting from the Common Craft Show.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple, is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but there are other options. For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into iTunes, Google Reader (Thing 7), or your favorite start page (Thing 8). That way, when new casts become available, you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.

Good to Know: You can subscribe to and play podcasts in Google Reader or a start page tool, but they can't help you transfer your media files onto an ipod or other mp3 player. A "true podcatcher" such as iTunes actually DOWNLOADS the media files to your hard drive which then allows you to transfer the files to your portable player.

Discovery Resources:

Here are a few podcast directories:

Podcastalley.com – Over 75,000 podcasts from which to choose.
Educational Podcast Network – A directory of about 2,000 education-themed podcasts, organized by subject area.
Learn Out Loud – A directory of about 1500 free "podcasts you can learn from."
Podcast.com – over 60,000 podcast feeds
iTunes – If you don’t already have the free program installed on your computer, you’ll need to do that first. Once you’ve installed iTunes, you can begin using it to search for and subscribe to podcasts. This video will show you how. When you find a podcast series that you like, you can subscribe to it so you can listen to new episodes as they become available.
iTunes U (a subset of iTunes) – More than 250,000 free lectures, videos, films, and other resources are available from iTunes U. Click here to watch a short video from Apple on iTunes U.

Discovery Exercise:

Take a look at a couple of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you.
For your blog post:

Which podcast(s) sparked your interest? Link to it in your blog post if you would recommend it to others.
Which of directory tools did you find easiest to use?
Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to regularly?

<--Thing 18 Main Thing 20-->

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Bonus Material:

If you want to audio blog via the phone, a resource for this is ipadio. This site includes some educational uses.

18: Work with a Wiki

2010-03-01T03:03:00.021-05:00

As Thing 17 introduced you to wikis, it's time to get your hands dirty and contribute to a wiki. Before we do, let's review a bit about wikis with this video from the Common Craft Show.

Discovery Exercise:

Pick one of the following wikis to contribute to:

EASY--Play in our wiki sandbox for our 23 Things project. (Many wikis have a sandbox which is a designated area where new users can "play around" with wiki formatting, features and editing.) Go to this wiki site and contribute two items to the favorite categories of your choice. There are fun categories such as favorite restaurant and favorite tv shows.
MEDIUM--Contribute to the Academy of the Sacred Heart's Wikipedia entry. It needs some work! In Feb. 2010, Wikipedia reported ASH was a 9-12 institution. See if you can correct/add to our entry. Creating a Wikipedia account will let you try the Beta editing tool which is a big improvement over the current editor.
MEDIUM TO HARD--Contribute to Wikipedia on a topic you know something about or are prepared to research. Looking for something less scholarly? Try Wikia.

Create a post on your blog that details your experience with Thing 18. Which option did you choose? Was it easy to contribute? How does contributing to a wiki compare to a discussion say in Moodle (or some other course management system)? Now that you had a chance to contribute to a wiki, can you think of others ways you might use one?

<--Thing 17 Main Thing 19-->

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Optional Extension Exercise:
Want to set up your own wiki? Try one of these tools: WikiSpaces or PBworks. Both offer free no-ad versions for educators.

17: What's a Wiki?

2010-03-01T02:00:00.013-05:00

A wiki is a collaborative website and authoring tool that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content.

Some of the benefits that make wikis so attractive are:

Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content.
Tracking tools within wikis allow you to easily keep up on what been changed and by whom.
Earlier versions of a page can be viewed and reinstated when needed.
Users do not need to know HTML to add and edit content.

Blogs vs. Wikis
For an odd but interesting discussion of the differences between wikis and blogs, take a look at this decidedly pro-wiki (and pro-Kennedy) video from YouTube.

Wikis typically work one of two ways – an open model where anyone is invited to contribute or a closed model where a select group are invited to contribute. Either way, it is an exercise in collaboration and trust – whomever contributes is expected to meet certain standards of quality and accuracy and should expect, should they not reach these standards, that another participant will edit their contributions. The goal is to use a wiki to create a collaborative piece of information, sharing the knowledge of all contributors.

Discovery Exercise
Now it's time to read some wikis and learn what you can do with them. Check out 3-5 of the wikis below. Explore their organization and content.

Some K-12 Wikis

Discovery Utopias - Middle school students come to a collaborative consensus about what a society truly needs in order to reach for perfection and sustainability. Click the Discovery Utopias link at the bottom of the navigation area (just above the visitor map) to view the student projects.
Great Debate 2008 - Collaborative project that provides students in grades 8-12 with an opportunity to lead an exploration and discussion of issues and candidates surrounding the 2008 presidential election.
Greetings from the World - A high school teacher in Croatia invites people from all over the world to share about their home countries using the Glogster "digital collage" tool (mentioned in Thing 12). An ongoing, ever-growing collection of posts. Winner of the 2009 Edublog Award for Best Educational Wiki.
Holocaust Wiki Project - AP World History students create "branching stories" about families in the Holocaust. "They have to come up with realistic decision points, describe the pros and cons, address the consequences of each decision, and fill it in with a narrative that reflects their research on the Holocaust." (Click Period 1, 2, 3 or 4 at the bottom of the page to view student projects.)
Kindergarten Counting Book - Photos to show each number from 1 to 100. (Wetpaint now offers ad-free education wikis.)
Kubler Reading - Fourth grade students organize their of study Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting on a wiki.
Small Stones - AP Calculus students write their own textbook by "scribe posting" a review of each day's lesson.
Thousands Project - Each month, Mr. Monson's fifth grade class posts a new question, hoping to receive 1000 responses from students and visitors from around the world.
Welker's Wikinomics - Award-winning project supporting the teaching of AP Economics. Be sure to check out the Discussion Forum.
More…

Other Wikis to View…

Wikipedia - the open-community encyclopedia, is the largest and perhaps the most well known wiki
Wiktionary - a wiki dictionary
Wikihow - a collaborative how to manual
The Simpsons Wiki - guess how many wiki articles are present on this web site
Music Wiki - the music encyclopeida anyone can edit
WikiIndex - a wiki guide to wikis

Task
In a blog post, record what new ideas were spurred as you reviewed some of the above wikis. How do the K12 wikis compare to the other wikis listed? How might you use a wiki in your personal or professional life? Can you think of a situation where a wiki would make more sense than a blog?

<--Thing 16 Main Thing 18-->

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Bonus Material:
Jimmy Wales and the Beginning of Wikipedia
Watch this video from TED to learn more about how Wikipedia began. Hear from Jimmy Wales as he recalls how he created Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, never-finished online encyclopedia.

16: Widgets

2010-03-01T00:48:00.005-05:00

Widgets were first mentioned in Thing 8 as part of the discussion on customized start pages. It turns out you can add widgets to a variety of online sites. They are mini-applications that may be embedded in websites, blogs, wikis, Nings, etc. They are often dynamic and interactive. This short video discusses using widgets to liven up your blog.

Discovery Exercise

This is an easy one. Add a widget to your blog site. Blogger makes this very simple. Go to the Layout tab in Blogger. Then, click "Add a Gadget." (Blogger calls widgets, gadgets.) Blogger has a variety of gadgets from which to choose. You might need to try a few widgets before you get one that you like. By the way, less is more when it comes to widgets. It's easy to make your blog look "junky" if you have too many of them. (If you added a widget previously, add a new one. You can also use the layout screen to rearrange the order of your widgets. This is also a good time to review the design of your blog site.)

For your blog post, discuss what widget you added and why. Did you run into any difficulties? Have you noticed widgets on other websites? Are they a distraction or do they add value?

OPTIONAL: If you are interested (or if you didn't find anything in Blogger), you can search other sites for widgets to add to your blog. Blogger has you add widgets to every page of your site. However, if you find a widget on a third party site, you can embed the widget in a single post. Embedding does require you to "edit html" of your blog post but it's not hard. This video demos the technique. Here are some resources to help you find widgets of interest:

<--Thing 15 Main Thing 17-->

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Updated-4/2/10

Optional Extension
Some bloggers create avatars of themselves to place on their blogs. An avatar is simply an online representation of you. If you are interested in this, please visit this site.

I can never seem to get the facial hair
right with these avatar generators.

15: Screencasting

2010-02-21T23:19:00.017-05:00

Screencasts are recordings of actions taking place on a computer screen. You can record mouse movement, windows opening and closing, menu activity, forms being filled in and so on. Just about anything that happens on the screen can be recorded. In most programs, you can add audio to help explain what's happening on the screen. The final product is a video that users can typically view on a web page.

There are many free and commercial screencasting products. For this Thing, we are going to focus on a free tool called Screen-O-Matic that does not require a download. That makes it easy for everyone to use. (Some of the screencasting tools requiring a download are Jing, Camtasia, and Wink. Another free tool that does not require a download is ScreenToaster.)

Here is a video that describes how to use this tool.

Here is a quick screencast that demonstrates how to hide your desktop icons.

Discovery Exercise:
Using Screen-o-matic, create a brief screencast. It doesn't need to be longer than 15-30 seconds. Ideas:

How to:

Post to your blog
Embed a photo in blog post
Change your desktop background

Show us your holiday/birthday/vacation photos
You get the idea—Just about anything

Steps:

First, go to Screen-O-Matic and press the “Create” button to record your video. (Notice that you can minimize the web page and still record video.)
Once you are done recording your video, you can “Upload to SOM” (Screen-O-Matic). You need to create an account to do this, but it’s free. (You can also upload to YouTube if you have an account.)
Finally provide a link on your blog to the video you create or if you’re up for a challenge, embed the video in your blog post for this Thing.

For your blog post: Was this easy or hard to do? How might you or your students (if you are a teacher) use this tool?

<--Thing 14 Main Thing 16-->

14: VoiceThread

2010-02-21T19:54:00.012-05:00

According to its web site, “VoiceThread is a powerful new way to talk about and share your images, documents, and videos.” There is a section for K-12 education. The K-12 solution offers a secure network for students and teachers to collaborate and share with classrooms around the world. Furthermore, educators can create a basic account for FREE.

Play this VoiceThread to learn more about the tool. (Go to the site to view it in a larger format.)

Curious about what a VoiceThread presentation can look like when created by kids? Then check out this presentation about Denmark being developed by a group of students that has been viewed over 10,000 times and that includes nearly 200 comments.

Here is a library of ideas on using VoiceThread in the field of education.

Discovery Exercise:

Explore VoiceThread.
Create a free account. (You must have an account to use any of the commenting tools. This is important to know if you are thinking about using this with students.) Consider making a comment on a VoiceThread. This is a popular VoiceThread of over 1700 comments. Add your helllo. Here is a VoiceThread of a colleague.
Tell us how you might use this tool in your personal or professional life in a blog post.

Optional Activity -
Create your own VoiceThread and share it in your blog.

<--Thing 13 Main Thing 15-->

13: You Too Can YouTube

2010-02-21T19:27:00.009-05:00

YouTube is the top dog for sharing videos on the Internet. The good, the bad and the ugly are there for all to see. Before we go on, let's get a brief history (~3 min.) of this remarkable tool.

History of YouTube

YouTube reports people are watching hundreds of millions of videos a day on their site and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. A staggering 20 hours of video is uploaded every minute to YouTube. Not only are users able to upload video, they can easily embed clips into their own sites.

Do some investigating within the YouTube site. It’s funny but many people watch videos on YouTube without exploring the site to see all that it has to offer. Of course, like any free site you’ll also find a lot stuff not worth watching too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore and see for yourself what the site has to offer.

Here is another method to find some valuable videos. A blogger on Classroom 2.0 (a Ning—see Thing 6) lists the top 100 educational YouTube videos. Take a look at these; note, some of the videos have been removed due to copyright issues.

Creating a YouTube account lets you "bookmark" your favorite videos and upload videos if you wish.

Discovery Exercise:

Explore YouTube and find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog. (You might also consider signing up for an account. Since YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, it’s easy to sign up.)
Create a blog post about your experience. What do you like or dislike about YouTube and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to your professional practice? OPTIONAL: Try embedding a video inside your blog post using the code next to "Embed.” See image below. You'll need to use Blogger's "Edit HTML" tab to paste this code into your blog post.

Optional Extension:
Compare YouTube to TeacherTube, SchoolTube, and/or Discovery Streaming. You might also like to review youtube.com/edu.

<--Thing 12 Main Thing 14-->

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If you have time, An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube is worth viewing. It's not short, but it's extremely interesting.

12: Your Choice of Web 2.0 Tools

2010-02-14T23:59:00.013-05:00

In honor of being halfway through our 23 Things program, Thing 12 lets you choose from a multitude of Web 2.0 tools and applications. You will share your favorite in a blog post.

Photo credit: mantasmagorical from morguefile.com

Discovery Exercise
Explore the list below. Pick a tool (or two, or more if you are so inclined), see what it does and see what you can do with it. While you are exploring and experimenting, consider whether the tool may have a practical application for personal, classroom or professional learning or productivity. Also pay attention to any social aspects of the tool -- is it collaborative, sharable, does it allow comments, discussions, ratings?

Many of these tools are completely free, and all offer at least a free version. Also, most are embeddable in a blog, wiki or webpage. Feel free to experiment with embedding them in your blog.

The Tools

BeFunky - http://www.befunky.com/
"Turn your photos into incredible artwork with one click."
Blabberize - http://blabberize.com
Turn any photo into a talking cartoon.
Box.net - http://www.box.net
Free online file storage. Organize and share files. Access from anywhere. Embed "box of files" into any website.
Doodle - http://www.doodle.com/main.html
Doodle helps scheduling meetings and other appointments. Doodle is simple, quick, free, and requires no registration.
Gliffy - http://www.gliffy.com/
Collaborative concept mapping tool (like an online version of Inspiration).
Glogster EDU - http://www.glogster.com/edu/
Create a digital "poster wall" to share images, text, music, video and links. This is not your Mama's book report!
JigZone - http://www.jigzone.com/
Digital jigsaw puzzles - upload your own photos, graphics or scanned artwork.
MixBook - http://www.mixbook.com
Create interactive books using original photos or artwork.
Picnik - http://www.picnik.com/
Edit digital photos in your browser.
Pikistrips - http://pikistrips.com
Create custom comic strips using your own or Flickr Creative Commons photos.
PollDaddy - http://polldaddy.com
Create custom polls and surveys to embed in any web page. Results displayed in a graph.
Quizlet - http://quizlet.com/
Create and share interactive study materials. Keep track of your progress automatically.
SimplyBox - http://simplybox.com/
Clip and share portions of web pages in an easy-to-use visual format. Great for collecting, organizing and sharing resources on specific topics.
Ta-da List - http://www.tadalist.com/
Easy to use to-do list. Add items, sort them, share them, check them off as you complete them.
Timetoast - http://www.timetoast.com
Use text, images and links to easily quickly create a dynamic timeline.
ToonDoo - http://www.toondoo.com/
Create and share your own comic strips using an array of characters, settings and custom speech balloons.
Weebly - http://weebly.com
Create a drag-and-drop website in minutes -- no technical expertise necessary!
Wordle - http://wordle.net/
Create colorful, graphical 'word clouds' from text that you provide. Apply custom layouts, fonts and colors. Super cool.
Writeboard - http://www.writeboard.com/
Create a collaborative document that you can share with anyone by sending them the URL and password.
Xtranormal - http://www.xtranormal.com/
"If you can type, you can make a movie!" Use characters, backgrounds, props, sound effects and animation tools to turn your script into an animated movie. Some content may not be appropriate for K12 education.
Find Your Own -
Find your own Web 2.0 Tool to share on your blog. Perhaps you are using a Web 2.0 tool that you think people should know about.

For Your Blog Post
Create a blog post discussing the Web 2.0 tool you selected. Provide a link to the tool and include any ideas you have for using the tool to support learning or productivity. Also comment on any "social" features you may have noticed and your thoughts about their value. Include "Thing 12" in your post title if you like.

<--Thing 11 Main Thing 13-->

11: Social Bookmarking and Tagging

2010-02-14T12:04:00.009-05:00

Delicious is an online bookmarking manager. It allows you to add your favorite web sites and share them with others. It's great if you want access to your bookmarks from multiple computers. Just like Flickr, where you can organize your photos using tags, using Delicious you can also organize your bookmarks with tags any way you want to. What makes Delicious attractive to its users is the social aspect. You may think you have found some great web sites and then you tag them, but you are also able to see what other people have bookmarked and see what else they have tagged that may be of interest to you.

To learn about bit more about social bookmarking and Delicious, please watch this short (~3 min.) video from the people at Common Craft.

For this exercise, you need to visit Delicious and type something of interest into the search bar. Spend some time discovering the interface.

Here is a sample search with the term "chemistry":

Find another user's trail and you may just discover a new wealth of information. Create a blog post discussing what you find and what you think of social bookmarking on your blog.

Optional (but recommended): Sign up and become a Delicious user; it's a great way of keeping track of interesting websites, especially if you are someone that works from a few different locations or you want to share links with others.

In your blog post, you may address any of the following questions.

Do you think that using tags is a good way to organize your bookmarks/favorites?
Were you able to find sites which you were previously unaware of through Delicious?
What do you think is the biggest advantage/disadvantage of using Delicious?
Do you think you will be able to use this in your professional or personal life? Why or why not?

<--Thing 10 Main Thing 12-->

----------------------------

Delicious Tips:

Yahoo account users can login to Delicious without creating a new account. This can be a big time saver when getting started with Delicious and it's one less username/password combo for you to remember.
Have the computer remember your username and password for Delicious so you don't need to type it in each time you use the Web 2.0 tool.
Tags in Delicious are separated using spaces. So, if you wanted to tag something as expensive and as a cool toy, you would enter the tags as:

expensive cooltoy

10: Mashups

2010-02-07T23:46:00.005-05:00

Wikipedia defines a mashup as "...a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service. " This video (5 min.) will give you a greater appreciation for these marvels:

Discovery Exercise:
Explore some of the fun mashups that are shown below. Blog about one of the mashups that catches your eye. (It's that easy.)

Flickr (Thing 9) has some fun mashups:

Spell with Flickr - spells out your word or phrase with Flickr photos.
Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find photos in Flickr that match a specific color.
Big Huge Labs - offers a round-up of Flickr tools.
Flickrbits.com - many more Flickr mashups to explore.

Optional: Many of the Flickr mashups allow you post your creations as part of your blog post. This would give others a better idea of the mashup you are discussing.

Here are some non-Flickr related mashups to explore:

HousingMaps - a good mashup for anyone in the market for a new home, HousingMaps takes information from Craigslist and combines it with Google Maps to create a great utility for finding a house for sale or one for rent.
SpotCrime - is a mashup that plots recent criminal activity onto Google Maps
Windowshop - A destination for discovering what’s new in the world of movies, music, and more. Intuitive 3D interface, slick in-window audio and video previews.
HealthMap - This map utilizes feeds from the World Health Organization and others to provide the latest updates on diseases and outbreaks in the different regions of the world.

Your blog post can address any one of these mashups. Alternatively, you might want to find one on your own and give us your review. Provide a link if you select this option.

<--Thing 9 Main Thing 11-->

-------------------------------

"Mashup (web application hybrid) -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 07 Feb. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29>.

Note: The term mashup also refers to combining media in new ways. For instance, combining two audio tracks. (Click here if you want to see a stunning example of this from DJ Earthworm.) This is different than our Web 2.0 definition; although, people are making media mashups with Web 2.0 technologies.

9: Flickr

2010-02-07T23:41:00.008-05:00

Photo sharing websites have been around since the 90’s, but it took a small startup site called Flickr to catapult the idea of “sharing” into a full blown online community. Flickr has arguably become the best photo sharing site on the Web and is known as one of the first websites to use keyword “tags” to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site.

Before we take a look at Flickr, let's look at the value of online photo sharing (~3 min).

The best way to learn about Flickr is to create an account and upload some photos. But here are some protocols to follow before we get started:

When posting identifiable photos of a person, it is advisable to get the person’s permission before posting his/her photo if you plan to make it publicly accessible. In terms of students who are minors, parents would need to give permission.
Don't upload pictures that weren’t taken by you (unless you have the photographer’s consent).
Respect the rights of the content creator when considering using the photo of someone else on your blog or another public place on the Web. Searching for photos licensed under Creative Commons makes it easy for you to know what you can and cannot do with an image. Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators.

Discovery Exercise:
In this discovery exercise, you have two options…

Option A

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer but you don't have to sign up for an account. Learn about tags, groups and other interesting features of Flickr. Take the Magical Feature Tour. Explore the site.
In your blog post discuss any aspect of Flickr that interests you, and discuss how Flickr might be useful to you personally or professionally.
Optional--Find a Flickr image to include in your blog post. Used the advanced search tool and then check the box to only search within Creative Commons-licensed content. Download the image. Then use Blogger's photo upload tool to add your image to your post. Give attribution as required by the Creative Commons license in your blog post. (It's easier to include photos in your blog post if you have a Flickr acccount. See the next option.)

– OR –

Option B

Create a free account in Flickr. (Note that Flickr is part of Yahoo! If you have a Yahoo! account, log in with that. Otherwise, you will need to create a new Yahoo! account.)
Upload some of your pictures to your Flickr account.
Add one or more of your images to your blog. Flickr has a "Blog This" button (right above a picture) to add a photo to a blog post.
In your blog post discuss your photo and Flickr experience. How might you use Flickr in your personal or professional life?

Bonus Material--Photos for Projects

Compfight - allows you to search for Flickr images that are "Creative Commons." Be sure to set the creative commons toggle to "only" at the top of the page.

Morguefile - provides free to use images as long as you credit the photographer when possible. They have a tool to allow you to add photos to blog posts.

<--Thing 8 Main Thing 10-->

8: Customized Start Pages

2010-01-31T23:16:00.003-05:00

Now that you have explored RSS feeds in Thing 7, it's time to apply some of this knowledge to a new situation. Customized start pages use RSS feeds to bring Web content such as blogs and news stories to your browser. But in addition to this, you can add widgets (or small tools for your page) to create a truly useful, personalized page just for you.

Two of the best start pages out there are Pageflakes and Netvibes. You can choose one or the other for this Thing. Both of these services are free. You can try both start pages before you sign up. Note that you don't actually need to set either of these web sites as your home page; but, making them favorites or creating shortcuts to them is a good idea.

Tutorial Videos
Watch these videos if you need help setting up the start page of your choice.

Netvibes

Pageflakes

Discovery Activities:
1. Create a customized start page using Pageflakes or Netvibes.
2. Add at least 5 feeds or gadgets to your page.
3. Create a post in your blog about this Thing. Examine any of the following questions in your post.

What do you think of customized start pages? How might they be useful in your life?
Could students benefit from such a tool?
What kind of feeds or gadgets did you add to your start page?
How does Pageflakes or Netvibes compare to Google Reader?
Optional: add an image of your start page to your post or create a public page to share on your blog post. (Advanced)

<--Thing 7 Main Thing 9-->

7: Subscribe to Blogs

2010-01-31T20:01:00.028-05:00

As soon as you start reading other people's blogs, you realize it's a hassle to continually go to each blog and check to see if a new post has been added. Luckily we are using Blogger and it has an easy way for you to connect to other blogs on Blogger. There is a "Follow" link at the top and/or side of most Blogger blogs. Clicking the follow link will let you follow the blog publicly or anonymously. When you log into Blogger, you can read all of the recent posts of the blogs you follow by going to the Dashboard. (Many of you are already following colleagues' blogs without even being asked to. Awesome!)

Here is a sample "Reading List" which is found on the Dashboard as soon as you log into Blogger.

This is all good and fine. But there are millions of blogs that are not Blogger blogs. What if you want to follow a blog that is not part of Blogger [insert gasp here]? That's where RSS and Google Reader come into play. RSS stands for real simple syndication. The symbol is for it is: . Let's learn a bit about RSS with our friends from CommonCraft.com.

Good news! If you have a Blogger account, you already have access to Google Reader, one of the best RSS readers. And the blogs that you are following in Blogger will automatically appear in Google Reader. You can easily access Google Reader using the link in the dashboard.

Discovery Exercises:

If you haven't already done so, follow some of your colleagues' blogs using the "Follow" link found on their blogs. The number you follow is up to you. Use Blogger's Dashboard to read their blog updates for a couple of days. (It's a good idea to regularly read about the "Things" your colleagues are experiencing during this program. It can help you with your Things.)
Next, use Google Reader to keep track of the blogs you follow and see how it's different from Blogger's tool.
*** If you are feeling overwhelmed, you can now skip to exercise 3 below. Otherwise, continue. ***
Once you are comfortable following colleagues' blogs, add more content to your Google Reader. You can add RSS feeds from blogs, news sites, etc. It is easy to add the feeds. Click the "Add a subscription" link in the upper left of the screen and and paste the URL into the box. Watch this quick video (1 min.) to learn more ways.

You can add news feeds from CNN or NPR by just typing their names in the subscription box. You might look back at Thing 3 to find blogs to follow. Here are some other blogs you might want to follow:

Instructify - http://blogs.learnnc.org/instructify Instructify is where teachers can stock their toolboxes with practical, time-saving classroom ideas and cutting edge methods of instruction.
Blogboard - http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/blogboard/ A round-up of "what's new and noteworthy in educator blogs," from Education Week's Teacher Magazine.
Successful Teaching - http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com Veteran classroom teacher Pat Hensley (a.k.a loonyhiker) offers "strategies and tips for successful teaching." Her blog embodies the Web 2.0 spirit of sharing.
.
Create a post in your blog about RSS and Google Reader. Address any of the following questions.

What do you like about RSS and news readers like Google Reader?
How do you think you or others might be able to use this technology? You could respond in terms of professional and/or personal life.
Find any great RSS feeds we should consider adding to Google Reader?

<--Thing 6 Main Thing 8-->

--------------------------------------------------------
Why doesn't our 23 Things site have an easy to get to RSS Feed?
This web site does not have an RSS feed because some of the Things are published multiple times for reviewing purposes before they become publicly available.

6: Nings

2010-01-25T00:45:00.004-05:00

Ning.com is a platform site that lets you build interactive networks quickly and easily. If you have a profile on Facebook or MySpace, Ning’s functionality will seem very familiar. All the hallmarks of interactive online activity (a.k.a. Web 2.0) are here: once you’ve joined a Ning.com network, you can post pictures and videos, have discussions on the network’s forum page, write to the network’s blog, post events, and even form your own interest groups within the network. From your personal page, you can add friends and keep folks informed of your whereabouts and activities via a short status message.

There is only one Facebook but there are many Nings. Each Ning has its own focus and list of members. In this sense, Ning is more like Moodle than Facebook. Some popular Nings are:

The Flat Classroom Project
The English Companion Ning
Classroom 2.0 (which is a Ning all about Web 2.0)

The nice thing about Ning is that once you create an account for one Ning, it’s easy to join other Nings.

Although Ning.com lets you create your own social network, we are going to simply look for Nings to join as part of Thing 6.

Discovery Exercise:

Go to the main page at Ning.com, and you will see a "Discover More" link. Visit some Nings of interest. Most Ning networks allow you to view some content without becoming a member. Ideally, for whatever network you choose, you’ll be able to view a list of members, see photos and videos, and read forum and blog posts. If you don’t find a Ning to your liking, try using Google to search for “Ning” and a topic of interest. So, if I'm a math teacher I might try “ning” and “math.”
If you find a Ning you would like to join, sign up for a Ning account. (Note, some Ning networks require a moderator’s approval of your membership.) Read some of the blog posts and discussions that you find. How many members are within the Ning? How active or current is the Ning?
Make a new post in your blog for Thing 6. Record your thoughts and observations about Nings. You might discuss the Ning you reviewed and/or joined. Why would one blog in a Ning and not use Blogger? Starting your own Ning is free. Do you think teachers could create Nings for students?

<--Thing 5 Main Thing 7-->

5: LinkedIn

2010-01-24T21:12:00.010-05:00

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking site. Since it's the first time we have discussed social networking sites, let's watch a short video about them in plain English.

LinkedIn enables professionals to connect from a wide range of fields. It also allows users to maintain a list of contacts they know and trust. Users can invite anyone to become a connection. However, all relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent.

Of all the Web 2.0 tools we will examine in our 23 Things project, LinkedIn could be the tool most underused by the educational professional.   This is unfortunate because educators and staff members need professional contacts just as much as any other profession.

Another aspect of LinkedIn is that people typically don't know the value of the connections they make. This video should give you an idea of what you can do with your network on LinkedIn.


Discovery Exercises:

Join LinkedIn! A basic LinkedIn account is free. It is very easy to join LinkedIn. When you join, you are asked to create a public profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by current and former colleagues, business associates, and former classmates. Tips:

If you use "Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills" as your company name, you will be able to quickly connect with some colleagues.
You can skip the step of importing your email contacts. You can do this later or not at all.
Use the Settings link in LinkedIn in the upper right to access what personal information, such as your name, is public. (It's always a good idea to review your privacy settings with any Web 2.0 tool.)

Build Your Network! Use the "Contacts" menu to "add connections." Also, you can build and add to your connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to them. If you are interested, you can join Groups in LinkedIn. You can use the search box to find groups of interest.
Add a post to your blog about your LinkedIn experience. Address any of these questions:

Do you see LinkedIn as a valuable resource? When/How might it be useful?
Why do you think the field of education is under-represented on LinikedIn?
What other social networking sites do you belong to, if any? How is LinkedIn different?

<--Thing 4 Main Thing 6-->

4: Commenting on the Blogs of Others

2010-01-24T08:10:00.005-05:00

This week we are going to connect with one another now that we have our blogs established. One way that online connections are made is through comments. Commenting is a very important feature of many Web 2.0 applications, including blogs. For new bloggers, it can be thrilling to receive that first comment from some random, unknown reader. It suddenly changes the way we feel about our blogs and our writing. We become more invested, more careful of what and how we write, because now we know someone is reading. Think about what this means for students.

While you may be doing this 23 Things project independently, you are a member of this online community who have come together to learn about Web 2.0. What are your fellow learners doing? How do they feel about this project? What new things have they discovered? For this Thing, you will reach out to other members of your community and make connections. Hopefully you will continue to connect with you colleagues as the project progresses.

Some of us are blogging anonymously. So, you might not know exactly whose blog post for which you are commenting and who is commenting on your posts. This is certainly part of the fun of our 23 Things program.

Discovery Exercise

To complete Thing #4, you are to:

Read these two online articles on commenting:

How to Write Intelligent Comments on Blogs
How to Comment Like a King (or Queen!) -- Written by an avid blogger, Vicki Davis, this post makes some great points. Some of it is for advanced bloggers -- okay to skim those parts.

Take some time to explore a few of your fellow participants’ blogs (listed on the right). Leave a comment on 3-4 different blogs.
Post to your blog. What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online? Are you a member of any online learning communities?

<--Thing 3 Main Thing 5-->

3: How are others using blogs?

2010-01-18T01:57:00.033-05:00

Blogging Begins with Reading

Like other Web 2.0 technologies, blogging connects people and ideas. There are blogs addressing pretty much every topic imaginable: personal interests and family, education, politics, news, entertainment, arts, culture, sports, hobbies, social causes, technology, business, self-help, etc... Technorati's "State of the Live Web" for April 2007 reported tracking over 70 million weblogs and counting. If you can think of it, someone's most certainly blogging about it.

Blogging is more than writing. Blogging is reading, reflecting, questioning, researching, synthesizing, linking, conversing, teaching, sharing and expressing ideas. Blogging is about writing, but blogging begins with reading.

Discovery Exercise: Voices in the Blogosphere

Read at least five of the blog posts below. They are intended to give you just a tiny sampling of a few voices and blogging styles of teachers and students in the "edublogosphere," which is the category encompassing education-related bloggers and blogs. Take some time to read the comments as well, as commenting is one of the most significant aspects of blogging. In a future Thing, you will set up an RSS reader and subscribe to a few blogs that spark your interest.

As you read, consider the following questions (feel free to adapt and expand on any of these or add your own):

What do you notice about the genre of blog writing in general?
How is blog reading different from other types of reading? How is it similar?
How is blog writing different from other types of writing? How is it similar?
How does commenting contribute to the writing and meaning-making?
How can blogging facilitate learning?

Sample Blog Posts

Bud the Teacher: What’s “Print?”
This high school teacher shares a bit about teaching, politics, and pop culture. Should we require students to have "print resources" when they do research? This teacher thinks not in this post.
Mrs. Edmison's Class: Questions for One of Our Favorite Authors: Grace Lin
Third grade students receive a special blog comment from a beloved author answering their questions about writing.
Twenty-Five Days to Make a Difference (Laura Stockman): It Doesn't Matter if You're 6 or 26 or 106
On December 1, 2007, ten-year-old Laura Stockman decided to honor her grandfather's memory by helping to make a difference in the world every day for twenty five days. She did "little things that kids can do." And she blogged about her efforts. Years later, Laura's message and blog have inspired thousands of people to make a difference every day. If you are not convinced that blogs and other social media have the potential to change the world (and to empower our students), I hope you will take time to explore Laura's site.
Mark’s Edtech Blog: Is this SSR 2.0?
A third grade teacher describes a "new" kind of Sustained Silent Reading.
Betchablog (Chris Betcher): The Myth of the Digital Native
Teachers often make the assumption that our students, who have "grown up digital" are technologically fluent. It's not necessarily true.
dy/dan (Mr. Meyer): Why I Don’t Assign Homework
There are 240 comments and trackbacks (comment showing when another person has linked to this post in their own blog) on this post as of January 17, 2010. (You don't have to read them all!) This says something about the provocative nature of the post!
SP-817 Math Blog: Boeun's Scribe for December 4th
This is an example of a "Scribe Post," as "invented" by calculus teacher Darren Kuropatwa, in which a student (8th grader in this case) reviews the classroom learning for the day or week. The teacher sets guidelines for the quality of work and students who exceed the requirements have an opportunity to be nominated into the "Scribe Hall of Fame."
CoolCatTeacher (Vicki Davis): Spies Like Us
Vicki Davis talks about the realities of teaching in a society where every cell phone is a recording device. Vicki Davis is someone you want to know about!
Creating Lifelong Learners (Mathew Needleman): Energize Your Classroom: How Jim Cramer Made Me a Better Teacher...>> Teachers can make challenging concepts "engaging and comprehensible" to students by applying techniques gleaned from CNBC's "Mad Money," with wacky, high-energy host Jim Cramer.
Extreme Biology: 09.09.09 Homework: Observations and Inferences
Classroom blog of a high school biology teacher in an Atlanta-area private school. Students post about different topics related to the study of biology. This was her beginning of the year post.
EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging
Anne Davis, an edublogging pioneer from Georgia State University, has been blogging with elementary school students since 2002. In this post, she enumerates her reasons for blogging with students.
Learning is Change (Ben Wilkoff): The Ripe Environment
An proposal for getting 'beyond the tools' to create an environment for real, collaborative teaching and learning. Ten strategies are featured.
Students 2.0: Teaching Brevity
The author of this post is a fourteen-year-old. The Students2oh blog is collaboratively written by a group of outspoken, articulate high schoolers from across the U.S. and beyond.
Bit by Bit (Bob Sprankle): The Time is Now
In an engaging metaphor about television "rabbit ears," Sprankle makes a case for rethinking "analog" teaching practices and moving into the digitally-driven 21st century.
NeverEnding Search: PowerPoint Reform - A First Chapter
High school librarian Joyce Valenza shares highlights from her presentation for senior English classes on how to stop making miserable PowerPoint presentations. Good points and good resources.
Patrick's Update: 5th Grade
This post was written by an at-risk fifth grader who struggled with writing and school success in general. Anne Davis shares it as an example of the importance of comments in blogging.
A Really Different Place (Carleigh): One Family's Story of Survival
A sixth grader who blogs as part of a classroom community of writers shares a story about the recent plane crash on the Hudson River.
Weblogg-ed (Will Richardson): What Did You Create Today?
Prolific edublogger Will Richardson shares some questions he hopes his children might be able to answer about their school experiences.
Andy Carvin / Learning NOW: An Open Letter About Cyberbullying
Andy Carvin responds to a nerve-striking "humor" article in Wired Magazine.
Pair-a-Dimes (David Truss): Students, Information and Schools
A brief but provocative post that asks us to think about how information access has changed for our students. Read it -- the image is amusing.
A Simple Desultory Dangling Conversation (Skydaddy): The Upside Down Pop Quiz>>
A teacher rethinks and reworks the traditional "pop quiz" to provide an incentive for students to really learn what he wants them to learn.
Wandering Ink: How To Prevent Another Leonardo da Vinci
An argument about the ways in which the current education system and adolescent culture discourage creative thought. (If this interests you, you may want to view Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk: Do Schools Kill Creativity?)
Duck with a Blog: Second graders Write About Our Missing Duck
Award-winning elementary blog about an unexpected guest. Be sure to click the duck to read the students' stories.

Task

Create a blog post in response to the exploratory reading and questions listed above. Feel free to reflect on anything that struck you about the posts themselves or the genre of blogging in general. Be sure to include a link to any post(s) you refer to and include "Thing 3" in your post title.

NOTE: When linking to a blog post, you need to use the post's Permalink. Because blogs are frequently updated, as posts "get older" they are pushed off the "front page" into the archives. However, each post has a unique URL (web address), called a Permalink, typically containing the post title and date, or a unique post number.

Examples:

http://weblogg-ed.com = the main address (URL) of Will Richardson's blog.
http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/working-together-to-make-a-difference/ = the permalink to his February 3, 2009 post entitled "Working Together to Make a Difference."
http://blog.mrmeyer.com = the main address of Dan Meyer's blog
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=213 = the permalink to his May 3, 2007 post entitled "Graphing Stories."

The sample blog posts presented in this Thing are all permalinks; so, you can simply copy the URL from your browser's address bar when using one in your post.

HELP Videos:

How to locate a blog post Permalink (Important!) (2:20)
The Permalink is the direct link to a specific blog post. It will include the date and title of the post, or a post number. You must use the Permalink when linking to a blog post -- you can't just link to the main address of a blog.
Adding links from other blogs (3:21)
A more thorough explanation of the Permalink concept

IMPORTANT Notes About Making Links CLICKABLE!

Sometimes when you paste a URL into a post, it doesn't create a hyperlink. It depends on the version of the Blogger editor you are using.
If you have the default "Older Editor", you need to highlight some text and then use the button with the globe and chain link to insert a clickable hyperlink.
If you have the "Updated Editor" (You can select this by going to Settings-->Basic), you can press the space bar after you paste the link if using Internet Explorer. If you want to embed the link into the post, you need to use the "Link" button in the Blogger toolbar. Highlight you text first, click the "Link" button, and paste in the URL.

Optional Extension

Checkout Technorati
Technorati is the leading blog search engine. You can use Technorati to search for blogs or blog posts. Take a look at what the blogosphere has to offer you beyond education blogs.

<--Thing 2 Main Thing 4-->

2: Building Your Blog

2010-01-10T21:15:00.030-05:00

Now that you’ve done some exploring around this website and understand how this program will work, it’s time to setup your very own blog to begin recording your discoveries as you progress through the 23 Things. For this program, I recommend that you use Blogger*, a popular free online blog hosting service that is extremely easy to use.

Creating a blog using Blogger takes just three steps:

Create an account. Use your school email address. The "Display Name" can be anything you want. How you choose to identify yourself on your blog is your choice. You can blog under a screen name, anonymously, or as yourself.
Name your blog. Be creative.
Select your template.

Once you’ve created your blog here are two important things to know:

To add posts: The interface that you will use to add posts, edit or change the step-up of your blog is accessed online at http://www.blogger.com. Be sure to write down your login and password.
To view your blog: Your blog address is http://(xxxx).blogspot.com. (xxxx)=the unique identifier you entered in Step 2. Be sure to also write down your blog address.

If you run into problems or would like more information about blogs and using Blogger here are some discovery resources you can use:

Blogger’s Quick Tutorial (Just follow the orange arrows to learn more about Blogger.)
YouTube Video on using Blogger

OK -- Now, it’s your turn...

Discovery Exercise:

Setup a blog for yourself through Blogger.
Add two posts. (This will cover Thing 1 and the current Thing--Thing 2.)
a). Your first post: As your first post, you can write about anything you wish. You might explain why you are participating in this "23 Things" project.
b). Your second entry: Blog about what interests you about Web 2.0. Go back to Thing 1 for ideas.
Email dvan@ashmi.org the name of your blog’s address. (For instance this blog is ash23things.blogspot.com.)

* Use of Blogger is only a recommendation. If there is another blog hosting site with which you are more comfortable, please feel free to use it.

<--Thing 1 Main Thing 3-->

1: What's this all about?

2010-01-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

Defining Our "23 Things" Program and Web 2.0

If you haven't already done so, please take some time to become familiar with our 23 Things program. Review the list of Things, read over the frequently asked questions, and note the tips for success. Key to the program is that you will document your learning through the use of a blog. We will delay blogging about this Thing until you have established your blog in the next exercise (Thing 2).

Defining Web 2.0

It's not easy to define Web 2.0. The best explanation I have found is part of a YouTube video. So watch this video to learn about Web 2.0 in less than five minutes.

Here is another, even shorter, explanation.

Discovery Exercise

Think about what interests you about Web 2.0 based on the YouTube videos above and the list of 23 Things. You don't need to record anything for this exercise yet. You will comment about this Thing as part of Thing 2. Use the link below to move on to Thing 2.

Main Thing 2-->

The 23 Things

2010-01-03T14:41:00.066-05:00

Listed below are 23 Things (or small exercises) that you can do on the Web to explore and expand your knowledge of Web 2.0. You are encouraged to complete all 23 items on this list.

Week 1: Intro to Web 2.0 and Blogging
1: What's this all about?
2: Building Your Blog
3: How are others using blogs?

Week 2: Social Networking & Commenting
4: Commenting on the Blogs of Others
5: LinkedIn
6: Nings

Week 3: RSS and Start Pages
7: Subscribe to Blogs
8: Customized Start Pages

Week 4: Photos and Mashups
9: Flickr
10: Mashups

Week 5: Bookmarking & Tools of Choice
11: Social Bookmarking and Tagging
12: Your Choice of Web 2.0 Tools

Week 6: Videos and VoiceThread
13: YouTube
14: VoiceThread
15: Screencasting

Week 7: Widgets and Wikis
16: Widgets
17: What is a wiki?
18: Create your own wiki

Week 8: Podcasts and Presentations
19: Podcasts
20: Presentations 2.0

Week 9: Catch Up Week
Take the time to work on anything you have missed.
Read a few posts of colleagues.

Week 10: Twitter and Your Turn
21: Twitter, tweets and retweets
22: Your Turn
23: Reflect on Things

FAQs

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Is this program open to all ASH Faculty and Staff?
Yes.
How long do I have to complete the program?
The program kicks off the week of January 18 and officially wraps up on April 19, 2010. However, faculty/staff that complete all 23 Things by March 30, 2010 will receive an MP3 player.
If I’m in the Mobile Technology Program, can I count my participation in this 23 Things project toward my 60 hours of technology professional development?
Yes.
How do I track my progress for each of the 23 Things?
Each faculty/staff member that chooses to participate in this program will be required to keep a blog to track his/her progress. Those that are recording professional development hours as part of the Mobile Technology Program will also need to record their hours in their OneNote binders. Since blog entries describe activities, in the OneNote binder the descriptions can simply state, "See blog." If recording your professional development in OneNote, do enter the Thing number and date along with the time spent.
How long do my blog posts need to be? Your discovery posts for each exercise must contain substance and provide insights into what you’ve learned. If you don’t know how to measure “substance,” then make sure your posts are no less than 100 - 125 words.
Will there be any training offered to show faculty/staff how to complete this program?
There will be an initial session during the first week to help you set up your blog. However, the majority of the program is self-directed. If you feel you need assistance with an item, you are encouraged to be resourceful and to find a colleague or Technology Coach who can help. Reading blogs of other faculty/staff members in the program can help as well.
I've seen the list of 23 Things on this site, but how do I know what to do with them?
Each week, two or three hyperlinks will be added to the 23 Things listed on this site. The hyperlinks will open up to an instructions page. The reason for this staggered approach is to allow participants the ability to focus each week on a different area without feeling overwhelmed.
Can I work ahead through the list of items on my own?
As hyperlinks become available, you can work ahead.
What if I need help - who can I contact?
You are encouraged to work with colleagues and Technology Coaches along your discovery journey.
When will the MP3 players be awarded?
If you complete all 23 Things by March 30, 2010, your USB/MP3 player will be awarded to you at the All-School Faculty/Staff Meeting on April 12.

Tips for Success

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Work at your own pace, but try to finish 2 – 3 things per week.

Blog about your discoveries as soon as you complete one of the 23 Things. If you are tracking your professional development hours, record the time spent in OneNote as well.

Record all your logons, usernames, and passwords as you create them, and keep them in a single place such as OneNote.

You may want to open the 23 Things blog in one window and the tool you are working with in another window (or tab) so that you can switch back and forth between them.

We have checked all of the “Things” to make sure they are working in Internet Explorer. If you have a problem with a Web 2.0 tool, make sure you are using Internet Explorer.

Be sure to use sites correctly — some will not like the back button and clicking it may mean lost data.

Check your browser settings — some sites might require you to allow pop-up windows and such. Make setting changes as necessary.

Most sites like Blogger, Flickr, and YouTube will have a Help or FAQ section. Use these to help solve any problems you encounter.

Ask a colleague for help and offer your expertise to others.

Type a description of your problem ("can’t change font size in blogger," for example) into a search engine. Odds are good that someone else had the problem and you might find the answer in a forum or group discussion.

When all else fails, move on to something else and try again later. Email or talk to a Technology Coach when you get a chance.

Many Web 2.0 tools are in frequently updated. If something looks different, disappeared, or has a new name, the functionality is probably still there. You just have to explore the site some more.