Welcome

January 23, 2009 · Posted in Introduction 

Welcome to Advanced Blogging, a way to learn Web 2.0 tools online and in your own time. The goal of this course is to expand on the foundational blogging course you’ve already taken by looking more closely at the “behind the scenes” parts of a blog. The focus will be on what is most useful for educators about these tools and how you can implement it in your job to positively affect learning. You will also be given an opportunity to expand your “Personal Learning Network” by interacting with other people across the district, and with experts around the globe.

The Basics

The course is a three week course with 7 staff development hours being earned upon completetion. Each Wednesday you will be given a new set of tasks to help you learn about advanced blogging features. These should be completed by the following Tuesday. An outline of each week is available in the course syllabus.

Assignments and Time Commitment

We are expecting everyone to spend at least 2 hours a week on the given tasks. The first week you’ll comment on this blog and adjust many of the settings on your blog to complete the assignment. During the second week you will learn about the wonderful world of widgits, jazz up your blog, and share some of your favorites. While a majority of the course requirement includes you working on your blog, we also encourage you to cheer on other members of the class and invite them into your Personal Learning Network (PLN). We also ask that you check into the course at least three times a week. Since this is an online class, the only way we can see you is for you to post a comment or participate in the forum. So no lurking, be an active part of the class!

Communication

Questions can be asked at any point by using the Forum section of the blog. You are encouraged to help answer other people’s questions if you can. All communication should flow through the blog. If you have a question about something, chances are several other people do as well. If you need to contact a facilitator directly, refer to the emails listed on the Course Facilitators page. Please allow 24 to 48 hours for an email response and 72 hours on a weekend.

New this session, we are offering a live chat once a week. This will take place on Monday evenings from 8pm-9pm. You can access the facilitator that’s on duty through a private chat room (no screenname needed!). See the Support page at any time for directions on logging into the chat session.

To get the process of getting to know each other started, please leave a comment to this post introducing yourself. Please let us know:

  • Your name
  • Your blog’s address- this was created in the last class as a personal reflection blog. If you’ve modified the blogs purpose and are using it for your educational role, then feel free to create a new blog for this
  • What your job is
  • Some bit of personal info
  • What you hope to learn from this course

 

 


In case you haven’t noticed, Edublogs.org, the platform we initially recommended for blogging has increased advertising on it’s sites. Words within the blog post are highlighted and link to outside ads, because of this, this course will use the Blogger platform. You get to decide if you’d like to switch platforms, or continue with Edublogs. The examples, ideas, and assignments are universal to blogging.

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Comments

8 Responses to “Welcome”

  1. Emily Gardner on July 14th, 2009 6:40 pm

    I’m the librarian at Caldwell Heights Elementary. I took the first district Web 2.0 online class last summer. Since then I’ve had fun exploring blogs and wikis and teaching others what I’ve learned. I’m looking forward to learning some new ways to use my library blog with students.

  2. John Kaatz on July 15th, 2009 10:29 am

    Hi, I am John Kaatz, math teacher and department chair at Westwood High School. I just finished the district June online basic blogging course and am now ready to expand the small amount that I know. I am still in search of exactly the best way (if there is a way) to use blogging in my Algebra II classes this fall.

  3. Jennifer Hutchcroft on July 15th, 2009 4:41 pm

    Hi all! My name is Jenn. I teach 5th grade ESL at Berkman Elementary. I am a dedicated Longhorn fan, very much looking forward to football season. I’m the proud momma of 2 blue heelers- Gaiska and Gerte. I took the beginning blogging class this past spring, and created my blog used Edublogs. I have already created a blog using Blogger, and will say that I like it much better. It is easier to navigate and I like the fun gadgets:) I just finished the wiki class and I’m looking forward to learning more blogging tricks and being more comfortable with how to use them. I want to leave this class with a better sense of how to effectively incorporate this technology into my classroom and professional collaboration.

  4. Irma Bauer on July 15th, 2009 7:45 pm

    Hi, I am Irma Bauer. I have been a 6th Grade Science Teacher at Ridgeview Middle School for the past 4 years. Before teaching I was the Library Assistant at Ridgeview. Starting this school year I will be an ITS, location to be determined. Right now I am vacatioing at Purgatory Village in Colorado. I am attending Music in the Mountains Festival. My sister is performing with the orchestra and so we came to enjoy cooler weather and listen to some great music. I will catch up with you all by the middle of next week.

  5. Will Waghorne on July 15th, 2009 8:22 pm

    Hi. My name is Will Waghorne, I’m going to be a 7th grade math teacher at Hopewell Middle School next year. This is my third year, and I’ve been in Intervention and ESL classes the last two years. I took the Web 2.0 class last summer as well, and I hope to learn some more ideas for incorporating a blog into my class. I learned a lot of ways to use blogs and other web 2.0 tools, but there really are tons and tons of really cool widgits that I see on other blogs I’d like to try out as well. I hope to have a system in place for the beginning of the year and I can make the class website more functional by incorporating class materials into daily postings.

    http://math2point0.blogspot.com/

  6. orteganic on July 18th, 2009 5:31 pm

    Hey everyone! Welcome to advanced blogging! My name is Nicole Ortega, I’m the ITS at Cedar Valley and one of your facilitators for this course. It’s good to see both familiar and new faces. I’ve added your links to the blogroll… (Irma, send me your link when you get a chance.)

    So, I must confess that I’ve been quietly stalking you all week… (remember that silver car at the end of your block?) So far, it’s been pretty quiet on the blog front… what questions do you guys have? Are we covering areas that are new to you? or is it all review? What kinds of things would you like to see during week three when we’ve allocated some space for your requests?

    I hope everyone is enjoying their last bit of summer!

  7. Robin Young on July 21st, 2009 1:27 pm

    Hello all! I am Robin Young, ITS at Ridgeview and the other facilitator of this course. I too have been watching from afar to see how it is all going. This course is hopefully going to be flexible enough to allow for your input on what you want to learn. I look forward to learning with you these next few weeks!

    Robin

  8. Charlotte Hanna on July 21st, 2009 2:57 pm

    Hi! I am the ITS for Great Oaks Elementary which is really special because my granddaughter also attends Great Oaks in the 4th grade.
    We just returned from a Mediterranean cruise with our children and grandchildren. It was awesome seeing so much history and varied architecture.
    I want to learn more about managing blogs and options for using blogs.

    http://mimihanna.blogspot.com/

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