"Huh.... the course is just going to end soon". I think this is a 'relief' sentence that always comes to our mind whenever we have finished a course in our tertiary education. Most of the time, we only use only small of amount of knowledge that we have learnt (formal learning) to apply later in our employments. Students always lack of higher learning skills in the conservative learning environment. Because of new generations and the advancement in technologies, I believe that our students can benefits more from learning with technology, that is what is all about in the course - "NEW LITERACY ".
Although this is the first time I am exposed to online course, I find it is interesting, flexible and making me think deeper than I will just learn from the classroom. No doubt, in the classroom, there will be very interactive and spontaneous. What I see here is different learning environment will give rise to different learning outcomes.
From this course, I have learnt how to use and evaluate educational technologies tools that will benefit me and help me improve my PLE. I have built my own blogs and start to write something on it. I have learnt to use wiki in order to work collaboratively in small groups in jointly creating an online presentation, social bookmarking which allow me to tag and share my favourite website with others, to aggregarte some of the tools using Google reader/ snowflakes, to use RSS 'feed'/ send information to me.
Tools are only devices created by us but how we are going to utilize them need another skill. I have done quite a number of reading on the emerging tools for learning with technology through this course. From there, I have learnt about the functions and limitation of each tools. Now, with some of the 'seeding'/basic knowledge provided in this course, I going to apply some of these tools for my class in coming semester. I am thinking of blog, video presentation to explain some basic concept or theory (something like common craft), and may be create a social network site from Ning. Plenty of ideas and need some time to execute them. I think what I would like to explore later is to find/ learn a tool like "Moodle" to coordinate my course and allow me to assess some my students' assignments.
Physically, the course will end but my spirit to research more technologies for teaching keeps on burning....
Bye!
p/s: To all course-mates, do keep in touch and share what have learnt....
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Personal learning environment... what do I have?
After reading the article by Attwell (2006), I am agreed with the author that our learning environments are not just limited to formal or informal learning, but also how we use educational technologies to share, to gain and to create new information/ knowledge. Most of us are familiar with formal learning, which receives much recognition. This will help us in our employment indirect, however, most of us also know that informal learning environment is very important. In this course, I read and search for authentic information (theory and concepts) but indirect, I have learnt about self-discipline, time-management, exploring new tools to use for teaching. As this course is designed by professional educator, it has created a 'fun' environment for me to learn more. I believe I could do it by myself by exploring the internet and find the appropriate tools, but it may take me a much much longer time to do it or I might lose my interest in between .. :-) Thus, we should evaluate our PLE from time to time...
To create a life long PLE, I believe that we need to choose the style of learning that we prefer and suit to us. And with the helps of educational technology tools, our learning curves are exponential! But, as point out by Sha, everything goes back to availability and technology. I am totally agree with that.
Educational tools by themselves may not create an effective PLE but integration of different components as discussed in the article by Attwell (2006).
Let's me do some reflections of the tools that I have learnt from this course:
Delicious - social bookmarking (share popular and relevant bookmarks)
Facebook - social networking (connect almost everyone)
Blogger - multiple blogs with different topics (to voice out)
Google tools (i.e. mail, alert, iGoogle, Goole reader)
Solidcasts/Podcast - audio files hosting
Endnote- Management of references
Audacity - audio recording for podcasting
Skype - internet communication
Wiki - contribute various knowledge
Jing- screen capture video to create demos
Web brower - safari, firefox, opera
Search engines - Google
Mozy - online backup tool to save all your important data
Adobe suite - photo editing and other design works
All comments are welcome.. bye
Reference:
Attwell (2006) Personal Learning Environments. The Wales-Wide Web website. Retrieved on 4 December 2008 from http://www.knownet.com/writing/weblogs/Graham_Attwell/entries/6521819364
To create a life long PLE, I believe that we need to choose the style of learning that we prefer and suit to us. And with the helps of educational technology tools, our learning curves are exponential! But, as point out by Sha, everything goes back to availability and technology. I am totally agree with that.
Educational tools by themselves may not create an effective PLE but integration of different components as discussed in the article by Attwell (2006).
Let's me do some reflections of the tools that I have learnt from this course:
Delicious - social bookmarking (share popular and relevant bookmarks)
Facebook - social networking (connect almost everyone)
Blogger - multiple blogs with different topics (to voice out)
Google tools (i.e. mail, alert, iGoogle, Goole reader)
Solidcasts/Podcast - audio files hosting
Endnote- Management of references
Audacity - audio recording for podcasting
Skype - internet communication
Wiki - contribute various knowledge
Jing- screen capture video to create demos
Web brower - safari, firefox, opera
Search engines - Google
Mozy - online backup tool to save all your important data
Adobe suite - photo editing and other design works
All comments are welcome.. bye
Reference:
Attwell (2006) Personal Learning Environments. The Wales-Wide Web website. Retrieved on 4 December 2008 from http://www.knownet.com/writing/weblogs/Graham_Attwell/entries/6521819364
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Is everything under one roof?
Hi,
Frankly, I have learnt a lot of emerging communications tools from the CNEL2008 course. From social book marking to audio visual recording for podcasting, screen casting, ustream, simple bloging to microblogging. Then we move on to social networking tool like facebook which like a more 'advanced' twitter and finally, we are looking into aggregation tools that we hope to link and coordinate our works under one roof.
Like what have George mentioned, how can a person manage so many accounts at one time...? (Scratching my head) sometime, i need to memory couple of password and user name. Thinking..Can the website notify me when there is a new input. Aaa haaaa... When I see the assignemnt for this week, it really opens my eyes. Works can be simplified (sound ideally).
I know about google aleart and have a google account. I have been using goolge alert to track any new information or journals that are related to my research.
iGoogle and Google reader are new for me. So, I registered for an iGoogle and Google reader.... wow... Fantastic, everything seems to be under one roof. I tried to explore Google reader, added in my twitter and blog RSS feed. Then I arranged my iGoogle, yeap... I can now check my email, news and updates from blog or twitter and so on. I should say: Google simplify life ..:)
However, I found that the feed only applied to certain website (especially news, blog). I am thinking wether there is a software that create a RSS 'FEED' for other website that cannot be 'feed'. Wow.. sound very confusing with the word 'feed' here and there... :)
I could not make it for Face book. I have searched with google to find a solution, but not unsuccessful. I think there is a limitation for facebook (correct me if I am wrong). But, I need to use Google mail to faciliate all the RSS from different sites. And I use different email accounts for different things. Need to sort this problem out.
Pageflakes need a long time to log in. Hmm....I found that we can receive RSS feed from selected email account at one time but I am not sure we can receive RSS feed from few different email accounts at the same time.
I appreciated if anyone can 'enlighten' me with some helpful tips... :)
Ciao..
Frankly, I have learnt a lot of emerging communications tools from the CNEL2008 course. From social book marking to audio visual recording for podcasting, screen casting, ustream, simple bloging to microblogging. Then we move on to social networking tool like facebook which like a more 'advanced' twitter and finally, we are looking into aggregation tools that we hope to link and coordinate our works under one roof.
Like what have George mentioned, how can a person manage so many accounts at one time...? (Scratching my head) sometime, i need to memory couple of password and user name. Thinking..Can the website notify me when there is a new input. Aaa haaaa... When I see the assignemnt for this week, it really opens my eyes. Works can be simplified (sound ideally).
I know about google aleart and have a google account. I have been using goolge alert to track any new information or journals that are related to my research.
iGoogle and Google reader are new for me. So, I registered for an iGoogle and Google reader.... wow... Fantastic, everything seems to be under one roof. I tried to explore Google reader, added in my twitter and blog RSS feed. Then I arranged my iGoogle, yeap... I can now check my email, news and updates from blog or twitter and so on. I should say: Google simplify life ..:)
However, I found that the feed only applied to certain website (especially news, blog). I am thinking wether there is a software that create a RSS 'FEED' for other website that cannot be 'feed'. Wow.. sound very confusing with the word 'feed' here and there... :)
I could not make it for Face book. I have searched with google to find a solution, but not unsuccessful. I think there is a limitation for facebook (correct me if I am wrong). But, I need to use Google mail to faciliate all the RSS from different sites. And I use different email accounts for different things. Need to sort this problem out.
Pageflakes need a long time to log in. Hmm....I found that we can receive RSS feed from selected email account at one time but I am not sure we can receive RSS feed from few different email accounts at the same time.
I appreciated if anyone can 'enlighten' me with some helpful tips... :)
Ciao..
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Microblogging
Wow.. this is really a 'micro' blog, which every character is counted.. :) Easy to use and it is like updating everybody on what you are going to do everyday.. may be every hours or every minutes.
Twitter has few interesting features such as:
1. it can be embedded into blog/ facebook etc.
2. twittering on mobile phone
3. it promotes yourself and keeps your network growing- i guessed
I think it will be useful to use as a quick communication tool in education. Students can sort of "sit together' and discuss their matters among themselves and the educator. But, we have to create real-life or authenticate issue which can catch the interest of most students. Technology without good management does not have any meaning
Keep on twittering.. :)
Twitter has few interesting features such as:
1. it can be embedded into blog/ facebook etc.
2. twittering on mobile phone
3. it promotes yourself and keeps your network growing- i guessed
I think it will be useful to use as a quick communication tool in education. Students can sort of "sit together' and discuss their matters among themselves and the educator. But, we have to create real-life or authenticate issue which can catch the interest of most students. Technology without good management does not have any meaning
Keep on twittering.. :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Educational video
Catching up with assignment..
Huh... looking for relevant movies/ videos for my subject in the internet have brought me from one website to another website, but it was fun! because I can keep on searching and learning new techno gadget at the same time. I have learnt how to download video from Utube and what is screeningcasting and ustream. However, I could not find a "FREE" software for screencasting for Mac.. :( sob sob.. . For window OS.. there are plenty!
As recommended in this course, there are some very resourceful websites that offer great educational videos and conferences. They are not only prepared/ recorded from prestigious lecturers but also free. I have tried to download them but due to our LOW internet speed... I can view one or two with lot of buffering time... that make me frustrated!
Although I am using a Mac computer, but I am not good at multimedia. There is something called iTuneU in itune, There, you can find couple of good video made by educators from different university such as Oxford, Yale.... but you need to have iTune in you comp.
The lessons I have learnt here is that we need HIGH speed connection to make all these things possible and applicable. If not, low downloading internet speed will only hinder us to look at this technology.. ! But no doubt, I will adopt some of this video in the class and use screencasting for my teaching :) I am sure students will benefit from it... :)
Huh... looking for relevant movies/ videos for my subject in the internet have brought me from one website to another website, but it was fun! because I can keep on searching and learning new techno gadget at the same time. I have learnt how to download video from Utube and what is screeningcasting and ustream. However, I could not find a "FREE" software for screencasting for Mac.. :( sob sob.. . For window OS.. there are plenty!
As recommended in this course, there are some very resourceful websites that offer great educational videos and conferences. They are not only prepared/ recorded from prestigious lecturers but also free. I have tried to download them but due to our LOW internet speed... I can view one or two with lot of buffering time... that make me frustrated!
Although I am using a Mac computer, but I am not good at multimedia. There is something called iTuneU in itune, There, you can find couple of good video made by educators from different university such as Oxford, Yale.... but you need to have iTune in you comp.
The lessons I have learnt here is that we need HIGH speed connection to make all these things possible and applicable. If not, low downloading internet speed will only hinder us to look at this technology.. ! But no doubt, I will adopt some of this video in the class and use screencasting for my teaching :) I am sure students will benefit from it... :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Podcasting, here I come.. ...
Hi,
Let me talk more on my experience on podcasting! I have been struggling with my computer hardware and software some time before I could make my first podcast uploaded in my blog last few days.
Because of this assignment, I need to look for the built-in mic in my laptop. I never use it since I bought my laptop three years ago and I was afraid that it is not functioning anymore... huh... I tested it and luckily, it is fine.. then I looked for the audio software to make MP3 file. I downloaded audacity and MP3 converter for recording purposes... But actually, I found out later that I can use my Garage Band software to do it... That is not a problem... the problem is to start talking in front of a mic in a quiet room make me feel uncomfortable.... .. I found that I was hesitate to talk and when I re-play my recorded voice.... ohhh I can believe that.. is that my voice ? sound horrible...... ha...ha.....
After forcing myself to speak a couple of words, I saved the file in MP3 format. I then registered an account in solid cast.com to upload my MP3 file... The registration was simple, what confuse me was the podcast's name and episode's name in the solid cast website.. With lot of try and error, it was uploaded and I copied the link and inserted in my blog.... I tried it and it worked.... yoooh! Task completed
Then I think of how it can be use in education. I have checked with the internet and see their educational applications... wow... out of my expectation... there is plenty. It is not only can use for tertiary education, but also for primary education. One issue I think we need to considered is the attendance of a class (as discussed by Shaz). Podcasting will promote absenteeism.
Whether we like it or not, some students will take advantage of this. But, what we hope is to help/benefit the majority of students who want to gain knowledge or understand the topic we are going to teach!
Nothing is perfect in this world ....
Ciao....
Let me talk more on my experience on podcasting! I have been struggling with my computer hardware and software some time before I could make my first podcast uploaded in my blog last few days.
Because of this assignment, I need to look for the built-in mic in my laptop. I never use it since I bought my laptop three years ago and I was afraid that it is not functioning anymore... huh... I tested it and luckily, it is fine.. then I looked for the audio software to make MP3 file. I downloaded audacity and MP3 converter for recording purposes... But actually, I found out later that I can use my Garage Band software to do it... That is not a problem... the problem is to start talking in front of a mic in a quiet room make me feel uncomfortable.... .. I found that I was hesitate to talk and when I re-play my recorded voice.... ohhh I can believe that.. is that my voice ? sound horrible...... ha...ha.....
After forcing myself to speak a couple of words, I saved the file in MP3 format. I then registered an account in solid cast.com to upload my MP3 file... The registration was simple, what confuse me was the podcast's name and episode's name in the solid cast website.. With lot of try and error, it was uploaded and I copied the link and inserted in my blog.... I tried it and it worked.... yoooh! Task completed
Then I think of how it can be use in education. I have checked with the internet and see their educational applications... wow... out of my expectation... there is plenty. It is not only can use for tertiary education, but also for primary education. One issue I think we need to considered is the attendance of a class (as discussed by Shaz). Podcasting will promote absenteeism.
Whether we like it or not, some students will take advantage of this. But, what we hope is to help/benefit the majority of students who want to gain knowledge or understand the topic we are going to teach!
Nothing is perfect in this world ....
Ciao....
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Podcasting.... not that easy....
Hi,
Let's me try this.:
RSS
Will write more about my experience when get this correct.... huh.. quite tiring but worth it :P
I am testing to upload my recorded podcast.. see whether it works or not! fingers cross
Let's me try this.:
RSS
Will write more about my experience when get this correct.... huh.. quite tiring but worth it :P
Friday, October 10, 2008
Never ending story, sharing and learning ......
The world is keep on changing and whether we like it or not, we have to learn and 'evolve' (not biologically) to be digital literate in order for us to adapt ourselves to this new world. Blogging, which is considered to be an essential media tool for people to share and communicate), is widely used and has changed the direction and power of audience.
I read blogs and know what is blog about as discussed by George Siemens (The art of blogging). However, when I was asked to build a blog for myself, it is not that easy as I think. First, I need to find a blogging host service, then I need to learn to set the layout of the webpage. Then, I learn how to use some of the available gadgets to put in my blog, posting and so on. Finally, what is so exciting is not having a blog of my own, but something that I have created - my blog, as an endless communication tool for me to link, share and discuss my writing to anybody. This is what I get into my mind when I send my blog website address to the course moderator.
I will try to explore more on how blogs can be used as an effective educational tool. I am still new in blogging and any suggestions are welcomed... ciao
The Art of Blogging - Getting Started, "How To", Tools, Resources
The Art of Blogging - Part 2
Getting Started, "How To", Tools, Resources
George Siemens
December 6, 2002
Part Two of Two-part Article on "The Art of Blogging"...Part One
Getting Started
Examples
How to blog
Tools for blogging
Extending blogs - aggregating
Conclusion
Getting Started
The best way to learn to blog is to blog. Fortunately, getting started is fairly simple. Three main options exist: hosted, remote server, and desktop.
A hosted service is the easiest and quickest way to start. Services like Blogger allow new users to set up an account (for free or a premium version for $35 per year) and begin posting literally in a matter of minutes. Blogger can host the blog, or the user can post to his/her own site.
A remotely installed blog is perhaps the most involved to setup. Movabletype allows users to install on a server (free for non-commercial, $150 for commercial). Some technical skills are required to configure the blog and database. Documentation, however, is excellent for Movabletype. Installation is also offered for a fee.
Desktop blog programs are installed on a user's computer, and posts are then uploaded to a host. Radio Userland is a desktop program for $35.95, which includes hosting and upgrades for a year. Start up process for desktop blogs is almost as simple as hosted services like Blogger.
Blogger, Movabletype, and Radio Userland are only a sampling of available blog programs. Webcrimson, greymatter, Drupal, and Tinderbox are also available. For a complete listing of blog resources, visit Blogroots.
Once your blog has been setup, you're ready to start blogging! Getting your blog noticed takes some time...but linking to other bloggers, posting comments on their sites, engaging in dialogue, and "pinging" (an option available on most blogs) sites like Weblogs help to increase recognition. How to Publicize Your Blog offers some great concepts for increasing readership. Interesting, provocative writing, however, is the best way to get noticed.
Examples
Reading other blogs is an excellent way to learn - not only about the content being blogged, but about the process of blogging. Selecting a variety of blogs and writing styles affords a broad perspective of how to use the medium. Some bloggers of note:
News: Online Learning Update, Scripting News, Doc Searls
Links/Commentary: elearnspaceblog, OLDaily, SiT
Art: 101-365
Editorial: InstaPundit
Technology: Bluetooth
New Media/journalism: JD's Blog , Hypergene Media Blog
Reform: Lessig Blog
Audio: Audioblog News
Sports: Baseball News Blog
Education: SchoolBlogs
Faith: blogs4God
Community: Kairosnews, Slashdot , Kuro5hin
Personal: kottke.org , overstated
This sampling of blogs reveals an important issue: blogs are used as a tool (replacement?) for virtually every type of traditional media, communication, and interaction. Blogs have infiltrated broad areas of the Internet and appear to be poised for significant, "overnight" success and adoption. Where the Internet is about availability of information, blogging is about making information creation available to anyone.
How to blog
Writing effective blogs is similar to effective writing for traditional media. While sentence construction, basic grammar, and spelling are important, bloggers are often more concerned about communicating concepts. Writing rules are employed (and broken) to the degree that they support effective communication of a message.
However, some differences do exist. Traditional writing is audience focused. Bloggers often write primarily for themselves or for a small group - as a way of organizing thoughts, sharing information, or creating a personal resource of links (as compared to a monolithic "Favorites" folder). The Internet is also more dynamic and media-rich than traditional media. Bloggers can incorporate audio, video, animations, and pictures...hyperlinks are also used to create connections between information and ideas.
The following is a list of guidelines for beginning bloggers:
Start. As stated earlier, blogging is best learned by blogging...and by reading other bloggers. So...start.
Know your motivation. Why are you blogging? What do you hope to achieve?
Link. The heart of blogging is linking...linking and commenting. Connecting and communicating - the purpose of the Internet.
Experiment. Developing a writing style is an evolutionary process. Try different approaches and formats until you find one that fits your message, audience, and personal motivations.
Use life and your experiences as your "idea generation" file.
Get an opinion. Then express it.
Express your personality...let your humour, your perspective on life, and your values shine in your writing.
Post regularly. This is important - readers drop off/lose interest with irregular blogs (syndication and aggregators allow blog readers to stay in touch with infrequently updated blogs - more on that in the section "Extending Blogs").
Keep writing clear and concise. Avoid jargon...but utilize the unique aspects of the medium (visual, links, sound). Focus on communication (function) before form.
Write for a reason, not recognition. Most bloggers have small audiences. Satisfaction is derived from the writing process, not the audience response.
Additional resources: How to Write a Better Weblog and How to Blog
Tools & Resources for Blogging
As you progress in blogging, you may find increased interest in additional tools to enhance your blog. Many resources are available...and the list is expanding continually. Here's a few resources to consider:
eatonweb - Extensive resource page, including definitions, tools, books, and courses
Microcontent News - Covers: "the microcontent sector: weblogs, Webzines, email digests, and personal publishing.. as well as how weblogs combine to form the Blogosphere."
Blogroots - An excellent resource listing tools, accessories, directories, and books
Blogging Software Roundup - You can get lost in this list! Lots of information
Weblogs Compendium - Tools - Extensive list of blog tools
elearnspace - blogs - Listing of blog resources and articles
Library Weblogs - Link-rich resource, focused, but not limited to, libraries
Weblog to Moblog - Nice overview article of mobile blogs
Code of Ethics - Short article addressing an important consideration for all bloggers - ethics
History of Weblogs - See also Dave Winer's take on blog history
Extending Blogs - Aggregating
A few days (or even hours!) of searching the blogosphere can overwhelm newcomers. The amount of information is incredible. How can a user keep track of various blogs? It seems impossible to stay in touch with more than a hand full of bloggers each day. Fortunately, a solution exists to simplify the process of reading large numbers of blogs: RSS (rich (or RDF) site summary).
Some articles detailing RSS/syndication and aggregators:
"RSS is a way of creating a broadcast version of a blog or news page. Anyone who has frequently updated content and is willing to let others republish it can create the RSS file. Typically called syndication, the RSS file is an XML formatted file that can be used at other sites or by other intermediary software such as news aggregators. The original incarnation was to use RSS to include several headlines on a personalized portal page. But an RSS feed can also be easily pulled into other functions, such as an aggregator." The Blog Realm: RSS, Aggregators, and Reading the Blog Fantastic
"Content developers make their RSS files available by placing them on their web server. In this way, RSS “aggregators” are able to read the RSS files and therefore to collect data about the website. These aggregators place the site information into a larger database and use this database to allow for structured searches of a large number of content providers.
Because the data is in XML, and not a display language like HTML, RSS information can be flowed into a large number of devices. In addition to being used to create news summary web pages, RSS can be fed into stand-alone news browsers or headline viewers, PDAs, cell phones, email ticklers and even voice updates.
The strength of RSS is its simplicity. It is exceptionally easy to syndicate website content using RSS. It is also very easy to use RSS headline feeds, either by viewing a news summary web page or by downloading one of many free headline viewers. Though most RSS feeds list web based resources, several feeds link to audio files, video files and other multimedia." An Introduction to RSS for Educational Designers
Portals, Blogs, & RSS: why they are your future - a thorough, link rich exploration of portals, blogs (history, software) and RSS.
Through the use of RSS, bloggers can keep up to date with a large number of blogs. The link to the RSS file can simply be added to an aggregator (for example: Amphetadesk or Aggie). The aggregator then searches the RSS files and generates a page listing posts and topics since the last visit. A user can view large amounts of news/information in a very short period of time.
Conclusion
The simplest innovations are often the most effective in responding to ground swells of trends and change. The potency of the blog phenomenon is two fold: perfect match for its medium and ease of use.
Getting Started, "How To", Tools, Resources
George Siemens
December 6, 2002
Part Two of Two-part Article on "The Art of Blogging"...Part One
Getting Started
Examples
How to blog
Tools for blogging
Extending blogs - aggregating
Conclusion
Getting Started
The best way to learn to blog is to blog. Fortunately, getting started is fairly simple. Three main options exist: hosted, remote server, and desktop.
A hosted service is the easiest and quickest way to start. Services like Blogger allow new users to set up an account (for free or a premium version for $35 per year) and begin posting literally in a matter of minutes. Blogger can host the blog, or the user can post to his/her own site.
A remotely installed blog is perhaps the most involved to setup. Movabletype allows users to install on a server (free for non-commercial, $150 for commercial). Some technical skills are required to configure the blog and database. Documentation, however, is excellent for Movabletype. Installation is also offered for a fee.
Desktop blog programs are installed on a user's computer, and posts are then uploaded to a host. Radio Userland is a desktop program for $35.95, which includes hosting and upgrades for a year. Start up process for desktop blogs is almost as simple as hosted services like Blogger.
Blogger, Movabletype, and Radio Userland are only a sampling of available blog programs. Webcrimson, greymatter, Drupal, and Tinderbox are also available. For a complete listing of blog resources, visit Blogroots.
Once your blog has been setup, you're ready to start blogging! Getting your blog noticed takes some time...but linking to other bloggers, posting comments on their sites, engaging in dialogue, and "pinging" (an option available on most blogs) sites like Weblogs help to increase recognition. How to Publicize Your Blog offers some great concepts for increasing readership. Interesting, provocative writing, however, is the best way to get noticed.
Examples
Reading other blogs is an excellent way to learn - not only about the content being blogged, but about the process of blogging. Selecting a variety of blogs and writing styles affords a broad perspective of how to use the medium. Some bloggers of note:
News: Online Learning Update, Scripting News, Doc Searls
Links/Commentary: elearnspaceblog, OLDaily, SiT
Art: 101-365
Editorial: InstaPundit
Technology: Bluetooth
New Media/journalism: JD's Blog , Hypergene Media Blog
Reform: Lessig Blog
Audio: Audioblog News
Sports: Baseball News Blog
Education: SchoolBlogs
Faith: blogs4God
Community: Kairosnews, Slashdot , Kuro5hin
Personal: kottke.org , overstated
This sampling of blogs reveals an important issue: blogs are used as a tool (replacement?) for virtually every type of traditional media, communication, and interaction. Blogs have infiltrated broad areas of the Internet and appear to be poised for significant, "overnight" success and adoption. Where the Internet is about availability of information, blogging is about making information creation available to anyone.
How to blog
Writing effective blogs is similar to effective writing for traditional media. While sentence construction, basic grammar, and spelling are important, bloggers are often more concerned about communicating concepts. Writing rules are employed (and broken) to the degree that they support effective communication of a message.
However, some differences do exist. Traditional writing is audience focused. Bloggers often write primarily for themselves or for a small group - as a way of organizing thoughts, sharing information, or creating a personal resource of links (as compared to a monolithic "Favorites" folder). The Internet is also more dynamic and media-rich than traditional media. Bloggers can incorporate audio, video, animations, and pictures...hyperlinks are also used to create connections between information and ideas.
The following is a list of guidelines for beginning bloggers:
Start. As stated earlier, blogging is best learned by blogging...and by reading other bloggers. So...start.
Know your motivation. Why are you blogging? What do you hope to achieve?
Link. The heart of blogging is linking...linking and commenting. Connecting and communicating - the purpose of the Internet.
Experiment. Developing a writing style is an evolutionary process. Try different approaches and formats until you find one that fits your message, audience, and personal motivations.
Use life and your experiences as your "idea generation" file.
Get an opinion. Then express it.
Express your personality...let your humour, your perspective on life, and your values shine in your writing.
Post regularly. This is important - readers drop off/lose interest with irregular blogs (syndication and aggregators allow blog readers to stay in touch with infrequently updated blogs - more on that in the section "Extending Blogs").
Keep writing clear and concise. Avoid jargon...but utilize the unique aspects of the medium (visual, links, sound). Focus on communication (function) before form.
Write for a reason, not recognition. Most bloggers have small audiences. Satisfaction is derived from the writing process, not the audience response.
Additional resources: How to Write a Better Weblog and How to Blog
Tools & Resources for Blogging
As you progress in blogging, you may find increased interest in additional tools to enhance your blog. Many resources are available...and the list is expanding continually. Here's a few resources to consider:
eatonweb - Extensive resource page, including definitions, tools, books, and courses
Microcontent News - Covers: "the microcontent sector: weblogs, Webzines, email digests, and personal publishing.. as well as how weblogs combine to form the Blogosphere."
Blogroots - An excellent resource listing tools, accessories, directories, and books
Blogging Software Roundup - You can get lost in this list! Lots of information
Weblogs Compendium - Tools - Extensive list of blog tools
elearnspace - blogs - Listing of blog resources and articles
Library Weblogs - Link-rich resource, focused, but not limited to, libraries
Weblog to Moblog - Nice overview article of mobile blogs
Code of Ethics - Short article addressing an important consideration for all bloggers - ethics
History of Weblogs - See also Dave Winer's take on blog history
Extending Blogs - Aggregating
A few days (or even hours!) of searching the blogosphere can overwhelm newcomers. The amount of information is incredible. How can a user keep track of various blogs? It seems impossible to stay in touch with more than a hand full of bloggers each day. Fortunately, a solution exists to simplify the process of reading large numbers of blogs: RSS (rich (or RDF) site summary).
Some articles detailing RSS/syndication and aggregators:
"RSS is a way of creating a broadcast version of a blog or news page. Anyone who has frequently updated content and is willing to let others republish it can create the RSS file. Typically called syndication, the RSS file is an XML formatted file that can be used at other sites or by other intermediary software such as news aggregators. The original incarnation was to use RSS to include several headlines on a personalized portal page. But an RSS feed can also be easily pulled into other functions, such as an aggregator." The Blog Realm: RSS, Aggregators, and Reading the Blog Fantastic
"Content developers make their RSS files available by placing them on their web server. In this way, RSS “aggregators” are able to read the RSS files and therefore to collect data about the website. These aggregators place the site information into a larger database and use this database to allow for structured searches of a large number of content providers.
Because the data is in XML, and not a display language like HTML, RSS information can be flowed into a large number of devices. In addition to being used to create news summary web pages, RSS can be fed into stand-alone news browsers or headline viewers, PDAs, cell phones, email ticklers and even voice updates.
The strength of RSS is its simplicity. It is exceptionally easy to syndicate website content using RSS. It is also very easy to use RSS headline feeds, either by viewing a news summary web page or by downloading one of many free headline viewers. Though most RSS feeds list web based resources, several feeds link to audio files, video files and other multimedia." An Introduction to RSS for Educational Designers
Portals, Blogs, & RSS: why they are your future - a thorough, link rich exploration of portals, blogs (history, software) and RSS.
Through the use of RSS, bloggers can keep up to date with a large number of blogs. The link to the RSS file can simply be added to an aggregator (for example: Amphetadesk or Aggie). The aggregator then searches the RSS files and generates a page listing posts and topics since the last visit. A user can view large amounts of news/information in a very short period of time.
Conclusion
The simplest innovations are often the most effective in responding to ground swells of trends and change. The potency of the blog phenomenon is two fold: perfect match for its medium and ease of use.
The Art of Blogging - Overview, Definitions, Uses, and Implications
The Art of Blogging - Part 1
George Siemens
December 1, 2002
Introduction
What is blogging?
Uses for blogging
Benefits
Implications
Introduction
Innovations build on existing perceptions and structures - at least until the new ideas are fully manifested. Then, the innovation discards the shackles of the old model and stands on its own merits and strengths. The development of video is often used to support this phenomenon. Video was initially used only to tape existing live stage performances - a new concept built on the perceptional structure of the existing. True innovation in this medium did not occur until someone recognized the uniqueness of video, and the limitations of live stage shows. Through utilizing the characteristics of the new media, new approaches to entertainment and communication were realized. One dimensional stage presentations were replaced with rich multi-angle, close up, edited, polished video enhanced through the use of special effects.
The Internet is still in the embryonic stages of standing on its own characteristics. Communication and content presentation strategies still mirror existing models, particularly newspaper and magazine publishing. Email, for example, is merely an extension of existing mail systems. As such, it is about bending a new medium to an existing process.
Blogging is using a new medium for what it is good for - connecting and interacting. Blogging is a first generation tool built on, and taking advantage of, the unique attributes of the Internet. It has been dismissed as a self-centered passing fad...and as the new model of interactive journalism, communication, and learning. This article explores the the uses, benefits, implications, and art of blogging.
What is blogging?
Blogging, as with any new (or in transition) concept, is difficult to define - it has not yet fully become what it will be. Here are some attempts to define blogging:
"If we look beneath the content of weblogs, we can observe the common ground all bloggers share -- the format. The weblog format provides a framework for our universal blog experiences, enabling the social interactions we associate with blogging...These tools spit out our varied content in the same format -- archives, permalinks, time stamps, and date headers." (Meg Hourihan)
Dave Winer defines weblogs as being: personal, on the web, published, and part of communities.
Halley Suitt details multiple characteristics, including: last place on earth to tell the truth, watching brains at work, a love letter, a diary, an open head - for the reader's convenience.
"But what bloggers do is completely new - and cannot be replicated on any other medium. It's somewhere in between writing a column and talk radio. It's genuinely new. And it harnesses the web's real genius - its ability to empower anyone to do what only a few in the past could genuinely pull off. In that sense, blogging is the first journalistic model that actually harnesses rather than merely exploits the true democratic nature of the web. It's a new medium finally finding a unique voice." (Andrew Sullivan)
"The best description I’ve read regarding blogging is that “it’s somewhere between writing a column and talk radio.”" (Cass McNutt)
"A blog is defined as a Website with dated entries, usually by a single author, often accompanied by links to other blogs that the site’s editor visits on a regular basis. Think of a blog as one person’s public diary or suggestion list. Early blogs were started by Web enthusiasts who would post links to cool stuff that they found on the Internet. They added commentary. They began posting daily. They read one another’s blogs. A community culture took hold." (Jay Cross)
Blogging, as detailed above, is a format constant (archives, links, time stamps, chronological listing of thoughts and links), personalized, community-linked, social, interactive, democratic, new model innovation built on the unique attributes of the Internet.
Uses for blogging
As an emerging tool, blogging uses have still not been completely explored. Some current uses:
Knowledge sharing and knowledge management - see Bottoms Up KM Development
Customer service - see Blogging Goes Corporate
Interactive journalism - see Instapundit
Communication
Self-expression
Learning - see SchoolBlogs
Self-marketing
Campaigning/social reform - see Tara Grubb
Community building
Experience tracking - A K-log Pilot Recap
Storytelling - see Grassroots KM Through Blogging
Most common uses for blogging are personal and, considering its origins as a personal web publishing forum, this makes sense. Emerging uses promise opportunities in corporations and education. Further application will also be realized as existing uses (communication, learning, knowledge management, interactive journalism, etc.) are adopted by various industries - notably entertainment, health care, government.
Benefits
Benefits of blogging are numerous (which explains its rapid growth!). An overriding benefit is the democratization of information. In classic models, knowledge flow was "stopped" and administered by news sources (paper, magazines, TV). Ideas in keeping with current zeitgeist or political agendas received top billing, while unpopular (though necessary for innovation and social transformation) ideas were ignored. Many of the benefits of blogging are listed above in "Uses for Blogging"...other benefits include:
Fostering the fringe - ideas are evaluated based on merit - not on source of origin.
Filtering - ideas with merit are filtered through various blogs. Significant thoughts or posts receive multiple-links and spread viral-like across the blogosphere.
Multiple perspectives - one-sided perspectives of newspapers are replaced by passionate debates exploring virtually every facet of an idea or concept.
Barrier elimination - society is about barriers - actual or unspoken. For example, I don't run in the same circle as Bill Gates - a socio-economic barrier (at the absolute minimum!). In society, this generally means that I do not have the benefit of Mr. Gates' wisdom...blogging, however changes that. Opportunities now exist to hear regular thoughts from people like Ray Ozzie, Mitch Kapor, and Larry Lesig.
Free flow - any idea can be expressed...and accessed by any one. The process of blogging separates good ideas from poor ideas. The process itself has built in quality control - try that in traditional media!
Real time - discussions and interactions happen right NOW. Waiting for tomorrow's newspaper or radio program seems like an eternity compared to real time blogging.
Links and connections - the complexity of an information heavy society requires specialization. Yet specialization is futile if a process is not created to link specialties. Blogging serves this purpose extremely well. Disparate fields of interest and thought are brought together (and dissected) in the machinations of bloggers.
Implications
As a disruptive technology, blogging is altering (or perhaps responding to?) many aspects of information/content creation and use. These changes are not without impact. What are some of the implications of a tool that functions at the same speed as the medium it serves? Here's a few:
Content creation and consumption on the Internet has finally caught up with the Internet itself. Traditional suppliers of content (publishers, media, news organizations) will face substantial pressures to respond appropriately, or cease being relevant.
Decentralization of content and distribution. This is a trend well underway on the Internet as a whole. Napster capitalized on it...and blogging is the "canary in a mine" reacting to (and reflecting) it.
The user is in control. The end user (or audience) of a service or product has acquired a central (rather than previous fringe) role. Disagree with a blogger? Tell him/her via "comments links", and initiate a dialogue with not only the author, but other readers as well. Disagree with a newspaper columnist? Throw out the newspaper...
Conversation vs. lecture...I have a mind...I have an opinion. It counts. Just like yours.
The pipe is more important than the content. By various estimates, bloggers number between 750,000 and 1 million. The ecosystem of blogging is more important than the content being generated. The content has a life (i.e. new technology becomes obsolete)...but the process for content acquisition (blogging) stays continually fresh.
Shared meaning and understandings. Knowledge is acquired and shaped as a social process - resulting in spiraling: I say something, you comment on it, I evaluate it, comment and present a new perspective, you take it to the next level...and the process repeats until a concept has been thoroughly explored.
Ideas are presented as the starting point for dialogue, not the ending point.
This article details blogging as a tool needed to respond to the uniqueness of the Internet, its uses, and implications. Part 2 details getting started, "how to" blog, tools, and resources.
George Siemens
December 1, 2002
Introduction
What is blogging?
Uses for blogging
Benefits
Implications
Introduction
Innovations build on existing perceptions and structures - at least until the new ideas are fully manifested. Then, the innovation discards the shackles of the old model and stands on its own merits and strengths. The development of video is often used to support this phenomenon. Video was initially used only to tape existing live stage performances - a new concept built on the perceptional structure of the existing. True innovation in this medium did not occur until someone recognized the uniqueness of video, and the limitations of live stage shows. Through utilizing the characteristics of the new media, new approaches to entertainment and communication were realized. One dimensional stage presentations were replaced with rich multi-angle, close up, edited, polished video enhanced through the use of special effects.
The Internet is still in the embryonic stages of standing on its own characteristics. Communication and content presentation strategies still mirror existing models, particularly newspaper and magazine publishing. Email, for example, is merely an extension of existing mail systems. As such, it is about bending a new medium to an existing process.
Blogging is using a new medium for what it is good for - connecting and interacting. Blogging is a first generation tool built on, and taking advantage of, the unique attributes of the Internet. It has been dismissed as a self-centered passing fad...and as the new model of interactive journalism, communication, and learning. This article explores the the uses, benefits, implications, and art of blogging.
What is blogging?
Blogging, as with any new (or in transition) concept, is difficult to define - it has not yet fully become what it will be. Here are some attempts to define blogging:
"If we look beneath the content of weblogs, we can observe the common ground all bloggers share -- the format. The weblog format provides a framework for our universal blog experiences, enabling the social interactions we associate with blogging...These tools spit out our varied content in the same format -- archives, permalinks, time stamps, and date headers." (Meg Hourihan)
Dave Winer defines weblogs as being: personal, on the web, published, and part of communities.
Halley Suitt details multiple characteristics, including: last place on earth to tell the truth, watching brains at work, a love letter, a diary, an open head - for the reader's convenience.
"But what bloggers do is completely new - and cannot be replicated on any other medium. It's somewhere in between writing a column and talk radio. It's genuinely new. And it harnesses the web's real genius - its ability to empower anyone to do what only a few in the past could genuinely pull off. In that sense, blogging is the first journalistic model that actually harnesses rather than merely exploits the true democratic nature of the web. It's a new medium finally finding a unique voice." (Andrew Sullivan)
"The best description I’ve read regarding blogging is that “it’s somewhere between writing a column and talk radio.”" (Cass McNutt)
"A blog is defined as a Website with dated entries, usually by a single author, often accompanied by links to other blogs that the site’s editor visits on a regular basis. Think of a blog as one person’s public diary or suggestion list. Early blogs were started by Web enthusiasts who would post links to cool stuff that they found on the Internet. They added commentary. They began posting daily. They read one another’s blogs. A community culture took hold." (Jay Cross)
Blogging, as detailed above, is a format constant (archives, links, time stamps, chronological listing of thoughts and links), personalized, community-linked, social, interactive, democratic, new model innovation built on the unique attributes of the Internet.
Uses for blogging
As an emerging tool, blogging uses have still not been completely explored. Some current uses:
Knowledge sharing and knowledge management - see Bottoms Up KM Development
Customer service - see Blogging Goes Corporate
Interactive journalism - see Instapundit
Communication
Self-expression
Learning - see SchoolBlogs
Self-marketing
Campaigning/social reform - see Tara Grubb
Community building
Experience tracking - A K-log Pilot Recap
Storytelling - see Grassroots KM Through Blogging
Most common uses for blogging are personal and, considering its origins as a personal web publishing forum, this makes sense. Emerging uses promise opportunities in corporations and education. Further application will also be realized as existing uses (communication, learning, knowledge management, interactive journalism, etc.) are adopted by various industries - notably entertainment, health care, government.
Benefits
Benefits of blogging are numerous (which explains its rapid growth!). An overriding benefit is the democratization of information. In classic models, knowledge flow was "stopped" and administered by news sources (paper, magazines, TV). Ideas in keeping with current zeitgeist or political agendas received top billing, while unpopular (though necessary for innovation and social transformation) ideas were ignored. Many of the benefits of blogging are listed above in "Uses for Blogging"...other benefits include:
Fostering the fringe - ideas are evaluated based on merit - not on source of origin.
Filtering - ideas with merit are filtered through various blogs. Significant thoughts or posts receive multiple-links and spread viral-like across the blogosphere.
Multiple perspectives - one-sided perspectives of newspapers are replaced by passionate debates exploring virtually every facet of an idea or concept.
Barrier elimination - society is about barriers - actual or unspoken. For example, I don't run in the same circle as Bill Gates - a socio-economic barrier (at the absolute minimum!). In society, this generally means that I do not have the benefit of Mr. Gates' wisdom...blogging, however changes that. Opportunities now exist to hear regular thoughts from people like Ray Ozzie, Mitch Kapor, and Larry Lesig.
Free flow - any idea can be expressed...and accessed by any one. The process of blogging separates good ideas from poor ideas. The process itself has built in quality control - try that in traditional media!
Real time - discussions and interactions happen right NOW. Waiting for tomorrow's newspaper or radio program seems like an eternity compared to real time blogging.
Links and connections - the complexity of an information heavy society requires specialization. Yet specialization is futile if a process is not created to link specialties. Blogging serves this purpose extremely well. Disparate fields of interest and thought are brought together (and dissected) in the machinations of bloggers.
Implications
As a disruptive technology, blogging is altering (or perhaps responding to?) many aspects of information/content creation and use. These changes are not without impact. What are some of the implications of a tool that functions at the same speed as the medium it serves? Here's a few:
Content creation and consumption on the Internet has finally caught up with the Internet itself. Traditional suppliers of content (publishers, media, news organizations) will face substantial pressures to respond appropriately, or cease being relevant.
Decentralization of content and distribution. This is a trend well underway on the Internet as a whole. Napster capitalized on it...and blogging is the "canary in a mine" reacting to (and reflecting) it.
The user is in control. The end user (or audience) of a service or product has acquired a central (rather than previous fringe) role. Disagree with a blogger? Tell him/her via "comments links", and initiate a dialogue with not only the author, but other readers as well. Disagree with a newspaper columnist? Throw out the newspaper...
Conversation vs. lecture...I have a mind...I have an opinion. It counts. Just like yours.
The pipe is more important than the content. By various estimates, bloggers number between 750,000 and 1 million. The ecosystem of blogging is more important than the content being generated. The content has a life (i.e. new technology becomes obsolete)...but the process for content acquisition (blogging) stays continually fresh.
Shared meaning and understandings. Knowledge is acquired and shaped as a social process - resulting in spiraling: I say something, you comment on it, I evaluate it, comment and present a new perspective, you take it to the next level...and the process repeats until a concept has been thoroughly explored.
Ideas are presented as the starting point for dialogue, not the ending point.
This article details blogging as a tool needed to respond to the uniqueness of the Internet, its uses, and implications. Part 2 details getting started, "how to" blog, tools, and resources.
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