Web 2.0: What Does it Mean to Me?

My journey through Web 2.0 is approaching the finish line. But how did the "journey" impact me as a student, as a teacher and as a person? Within this post I'll share with you what I know, what I have learned and what I plan to do with all of this newfound knowledge. Let's get started...


What I Know

Our world has changed profoundly over the last fifteen years due to the arrival and dissemination of digital technology. "Today's students - K through college - represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age". (Prensky, 2001)

As a teacher, I've had a front row seat to these unfolding changes over a fifteen year career. It's obvious to me that these changes have been massive in scope and that teachers and the education system are playing catch-up to some degree. This is the main reason for me to enrol in a course such of this as well as pursue a Masters in Education. I don't want to be left behind! I want to keep learning! I know that most students have more knowledge of this digital world than I do, thus I need to think differently and make some changes myself. I want to be an effective teacher and more knowledgeable in this new digital world in general.

I do see governments and schools "trying" to make teachers and "the system" more effective and better prepared to deal with this fundamental shift in society. We are on the right path but there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, "new technologies are still regularly used to provide more polished performances of traditional practices..." (Davies & Merchant, 2009, p. 2)

Many teachers learned and studied in an educational system that was "old-fashioned". Concepts were taught slowly, step-by-step. It was serious business and you certainly couldn't be distracted by listening to music or watching TV. You had to face the front and be quiet. However, this differs from todays students who are used to processing massive amounts of information and who are often multi-tasking while they do it. They like graphics, enjoy being networked, and prefer games over serious work. (Prensky, 2001)

As a teacher and as a professional, it is my duty to improve and adapt in order to be effective.


The Learning Process

It's been a busy three and a half months of learning and I'm tired! Learning new skills is challenging & time consuming yet very gratifying and rewarding. There were highlights and lowlights along the way that I want to share with you.

Learning how to use and implement Web 2.0 tools into my personal and professional life was the primary highlight for me. I am a firm believer in the usefulness & importance of these types of tools and I plan to continue using many of them. For example, I plan to continue using Flickr (photo sharing), Animoto (multimedia & mashup tool), and Google Reader (a blog aggregator tool). I will discuss which Web 2.0 tools I plan to use professionally later in this blog.

Another highlight for me was the network of teachers I was able to connect with during the course. The power of networking & sharing has become more apparent to me and I plan to keep in contact with a number of my colleagues in order to expand my professional network. I still keep in contact with my instructor and two classmates from my last grad-level course; combine these with those from this class as well as the connections I have made in twitter and Classroom 2.0, means that I have created an amazing network.

Along the way there were also some struggles. The major one for me was the short time period (approximately one week) to learn about, use and blog about a new Web 2.0 tool. Considering I had never used any of these tools before (except blogging), the process was stressful at times. In reality, learning something new can be difficult and I certainly was frustrated at various points. This was compounded by my need to have a certain level of mastery with each tool in order for me to demonstrate my learning within each blog post.

To add to this problem, I felt like I had to completely drop one tool in order to focus on the next one and repeat the process over again. I didn't mind learning something new, but more time to "play" and discover with my new found skills would have lead to a higher level of skill retention. I just hope that I remember the bulk of what I have learned next time I use a particular tool.

Also difficult at times was the lack of any face-to-face interaction. This was my first ever online course and it took some getting used to. While I enjoyed the asynchronous environment, I felt something was missing. Things like the smiles of my classmates, the banter, the connection on a personal level. I am a very sociable person yet socializing online is still a challenge for me.


What's Next??

How do I keep the learning going? For me it comes down to continued use of these tools in and out of the classroom. I won't use them all regularly but I do have my favourites. On the personal front, social bookmarking, photo sharing (Flickr) and RSS are all incredibly useful tools to me and I have already incorporated them into my routines. Bookmarking gives me a common place to file away useful and interesting "stuff", Flickr is a great way to safely back up and also easily share my photos with others (especially when traveling), and Google Reader allows me to sort through large volumes of information from the web quickly & easily.

I will also need to incorporate into my classroom a number of the Web 2.0 tools I have learned. My three favourite ones are blogs, multimedia sharing, and wikis. I see the use of blogs as one of the more powerful tools available. Not only is a blog a great place for students to express their thoughts & feelings, this information can be easily accessed by the teacher and even parents. I often ask my youngest daughter about her day and I usually end up getting a stock response; I really have to pry to get some kind of information out of her. However, when I read one of her blog posts, I got so much out of it! I see myself using a blog in my Phys. Ed classes, giving students an opportunity to express thoughts and feelings regarding the various activities within the course.

Animoto is the one tool that had an immediate impact on me as a learner. The fact that it was so easy to learn combined with the fact that videos are so popular, made me want to get creating immediately. Also appealing is the fact that almost anything can be made into a video. While I have only made three different videos (all for personal use) I can see myself incorporating this tool into my classroom. I already have an educator account ready to go.

The last tool that I have learned to love for professional reasons is the wiki. At first glance, the wiki came across as a bit dull to me. I did have access to a wiki at my last school but I never used it much nor was I encouraged to add information to it. However, I did shortly realize the power of wikis. In one regard, wikis are a great place to store data or search for data. The success of Wikipedia certainly supports this notion. I can see myself creating a PE department wiki where staff can search for, add and edit information for the benefit of all. Within specific classes, I can also envision the usefulness of a classroom wiki. As a teacher I can add supporting content, review questions/tips, and links to other helpful resources. Students can also add review questions, study tips, and other useful information they think is relevant.

I haven't used any of these tools in the classroom...yet, but I do look forward to giving them a try and seeing what my students reaction to them will be. It will be interesting!


What Would I Share With Colleagues?

There are a number of tools that I would introduce to colleagues in the hopes that they would incorporate them into their teaching practices. Why? Because students have changed and teachers need to change with them. Students "think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors". (Prensky, 2001) Prensky calls those who have grown up in the digital age as digital natives. The major problem in education that Prensky sees (and I concur) is that these so-called digital natives are being taught primarily by digital immigrant teachers who tend to speak a different language than their students.

There are four tools that I would most definitely encourage my colleagues to use. They are Google Reader, Social Bookmarking, Social Networking, and Wikis. Google Reader has been a great way for me to manage massive amounts of content available on the web. For any teacher using the web to get ideas for teaching and learning, a tool like Google Reader can definitely be a huge time saver.

Social bookmarking sites such as Delicious and Diigo are great ways to store content from the web in one place. Content can also be managed by the use of tags for easy referral and the best part is that this content is retrievable from any computer connected to the internet.

I was introduced to Ning at the beginning of this course and I ended up joining the Classroom 2.0 group. A large group of teachers are members here; all are interested and involved in technology integration to improve teaching and learning. Many interactive sessions are also available. Networking with other teachers in Classroom 2.0 is an easy way to learn about and implement new teaching practices.

The wiki is a powerful tool for sharing, storing, and editing information for any group to take advantage of. Wikis could be used by a specific class, by a group of teachers or an entire school. I definitely appreciate wikis more now that I have spent some time using them.

Here's another reason for me to share with my colleagues. As previously mentioned in this post, many young people have extensive experience using computers, MP3 players, mobile phones and social networking sites. These new "mediums" of communication are what students are knowledgeable with and comfortable using. It is imperative that teachers incorporate these tools into the classroom to not only take advantage of their usefulness but to also "teach" students in a language they understand. Also imperative is the fact that the "medium" of communication has more impact than the content within that form of communication. (McLuhan, 1964) The form of a message (print, visual, auditory etc.) determines the ways in which that message will be perceived. (McLuhan, 1964). If we as teachers attempt to communicate with our students in a language they don't understand, then our ability to be effective will be severely compromised.


What Did I Learn From Classmates and Other Sources?

Apart from learning about Web 2.0 tools, there has been other learning occurring courtesy of my classmates and various other sources on the web. Here is a summary of the of the material that has had an impact on me as a learner:

From Ed (classmate): I really liked Ed's use of the term "media locker" in his January 25th post on Flickr. Flickr has become a place to store important photos and it has also become one of many new "media lockers" for me.

From Brandi (classmate): Brandi talked about "breaking up" with blogs and tweets (January 29 message in eclass) that weren't providing anything useful to her. I also see the whole Web 2.0 world as being very fluid and one must regularly edit sources of content in order to get the best stuff without feeling overloaded. This girl can also write...wow!

From Pauline (classmate): Pauline's post (February 2010) about YouTube discusses the endless possibilities available but warns about the "slippery slope" of endless distractions; been there done that.

From Nicola (classmate): Nicola talks about "new learning" in her Feb. 2 post and how it "will take time to digest over the next 6-12 months". I agree that over time the learning I've experienced in this course will become more meaningful.

From Brad (classmate): Brad forwarded a great YouTube video to us all that gave me a lot of "perspective" in terms of technology in society today. I watch this video regularly; its a hoot. After you watch it you will know what I mean.


From the Classroom 2.0 group (Ning network): This group really showed me the sharing and collaboration power of networking of like-minded teachers. A number of interactive sessions are available online from members to partake in. I will continue to be a member and use this group as a powerful resource.

From CopyBlogger (blog): I picked up some great quotes that made me smile. The first: "Few appreciate brilliance but everyone appreciates clarity". I use this quote to guide me when writing my blog posts. The second: "Love your family but choose your peer group". Great advice that I will share to my students and my children.

From 2 cents worth (blog): The February 11th post on Matrix codes was very informative as I am seeing more and more of these codes in certain publications. Wouldn't it be great to use these in textbooks in order to allow students access to extra content?

From the Blue Skunk Blog: A post in February talked about E-books. While the post wasn't very positive I think that devices like these could lead to paperless learning. That would be cool.

From the New York Times: I love the material available in The Learning Network. I became a member because of the great content there.

From the U of A Libraries: I've learned how to research online from the comfort of my home. The staff at the libraries are always so professional and helpful; I took part in two great tutorial sessions that have helped me with my research skills.


Conclusion

It's been an intense journey into the world of Web 2.0 for me. I started out as a rookie with most of these tools but my desire to learn some 21st century tech skills provided the drive and determination needed to succeed. I'm no longer a novice and consider myself an "informed" user with some learning still to achieve. However, I am well on my way.

The big part of this process for me was becoming a learner again. I think at some point in the last fifteen years I stopped being a learner and just put life on "auto pilot". It's easy to do when there is so much going on: family, personal life, career. It's all very time consuming. Thankfully I challenged myself and decided to take the plunge into grad studies. For me, its about pushing the envelop and developing some new skills and being determined to make positive changes. I envision that this process will change me personally & professionally and open up some new opportunities in the future.

The beginning of this process was intimidating considering I have not been a student for the past fifteen years. That first grad level course was an eye-opener. The reading, the researching and the writing were new again and more work than I remembered. I was intimidated at first considering within this course (and my first course too) I had many incredibly talented and intelligent classmates. Their strengths and abilities impressed the hell out of me yet pushed me to be an active participant and a positive contributor. So far so good...the best part is that all my classmates and instructors have been incredibly positive and helpful.

I now feel more confident and knowledgeable both as a student and as a teacher. For me, I now understand the power of so many Web 2.0 tools, but I also understand that I can't hope to integrate them into my teaching if I haven't used them myself first. I have even developed a blogging voice (to some degree) that I didn't really have before. All in all it's been a great ride and although I'm ready for a well-deserved break, I am looking forward to continuing my learning in the area of Web 2.0.

Thanks to everyone who has been following this blog.


References

Davies, J., Merchant, G. (2009) Web 2.0 for Schools. Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York

McLuhan, M. (1964) Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, MCB University Press, Vol. 9, No. 5

Richardson, W. (2009) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press

Real Simple... Real Good

Do you recognize this symbol? I've seen it everywhere for a number of years now but I never knew what it symbolized until this past January. It's the symbol for RSS, abbreviation for "real simple syndication". What is RSS? Wikipedia describes RSS as "a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.[2] An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed",[3] or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place". (Wikipedia, 2010)


The Learning Process

The learning process was fairly... simple. The best part of RSS is that it is so easy to understand and to get up and running. I watched the commoncraft video on RSS which did a great job of explaining the concept behind RSS. What a revelation!!! Content comes to me rather than me having to go and get it. Whoever thought of this is my new tech hero.

The second step of the learning process involved getting my account. I was already a google user (gmail and blogger) so it made sense to sign up with Google Reader; I also didn't want another user name and password to remember!! Using the information from the commoncraft video, I quickly subscribed to the required blogs as well as the ones that were of interest to me. Voila, posts started flowing in immediately. For me, it was great having everything in one place; a definite time saver.

The next step has been ongoing: using Google Reader on a regular basis. I check my reader twice a week and I can get through 200-300 posts in approximately 40 minutes. This includes bookmarking the valuable ones to my Delicious account, commenting on blog posts of my classmates as well as posting other links to twitter. I have fallen into a comfortable routine with Google Reader and I don't feel overwhelmed by the volume of content at all.

The final step has not even been taken. There are a number of "tools" within Google Reader that are available that I haven't taken advantage of... yet. There is the ability to add tags to posts, allowing content to be stored in folders. Although this mimics the use of a social bookmarking site, it is still a great tool. As well, posts can be "starred" so that I can quickly refer to them at a later date. They last tool I think is awesome is the "shared items" page that I can create. I can put the really amazing stuff in here and others can subscribe to this page via a RSS feed. Some day...


My Personal Learning

There isn't much to report in this regard as I don't really visit enough blogs and websites (for personal reasons) to warrant the use of a RSS feed. I will check the Edmonton Journal online daily and then TSN online every couple of days... that's it. While it is true that I could still use Google Reader in order to get only the current content from these organizations, both of them do a great job of updating and keeping content current. Another reason for this is that I prefer to keep my "teaching" related feeds separate from my personal ones.

I do see a use a potential use of Google Reader in a more "personal" way. As I mentioned in my previous blog post on blogging, a local teacher was viewing posts from the blog I created while teaching overseas in Macau. What a great way to research a different part of the world. By using key words to search for specific blogs within Google Reader, I can find information that may have been difficult to locate via a regular Google search. As well, I believe a blog would offer much more information than the more "touristy" stuff I would readily find on the web.


RSS and Teaching & Learning

As mentioned, I have used Google Reader regularly to view a number of blogs that I am required and that I chose to follow. Without RSS, this would have been time consuming to say the least! As a teacher, one of the most crucial aspects of my professional life is "time". Teachers are a busy lot who are often unwilling to try new things or change their routines because they may be too "time consuming". However, RSS is a great time "saver" that teachers should take advantage of especially since technology integration within teaching & learning will only increase over time. Here are some wonderful uses of RSS in the classroom as told by Richardson (2009):
1. Read student blogs on your Google Reader. No searching folders or email for them. They all come to the same spot and you know when they arrived. Comments can be provided online leading to a paperless experience!

2. Have students create their own accounts to aid in information collection and research. Students can used the "advanced search" link to search news sources or other blogs. Careful, mountains of information can be accessed this way.

3. Students can see what others find interesting on certain topics by searching "tags" in social bookmarking sites such as Delicious and Diigo. I can search tags in Delicious via RSS: del.icio.us/rss/tag/(insert tag here).

There are so many uses for RSS in the classroom and I personally have just scratched the surface. I would certainly recommend this tool to teachers and students but I'm not sure if I would take it beyond the three points mentioned above. I am concerned about being "consumed" by the many options and features available.


Conclusion

I would define RSS as an extremely powerful "tool" that allows me to subscribe to content on the web that "I" find relevant. The best part, the content comes to me and I don't have to go looking for it. I can quickly skim & scan large volumes of content and tag, bookmark and/or share the "good stuff."

I have enjoyed learning about many Web 2.0 tools in this course, however I find that "new knowledge" often creates "more content" for me to view, dissect, and evaluate. I am always worried about information overload and I see this as a barrier to my ability to utilize the many new tools and the content they create. My Google Reader account goes a long way to help me "manage" more and more content which allows me to find the few gold nuggets amongst the mountains of slag that come my way. This has been one of my favourite tools to learn about about and one that I will use for the rest of my life.


References


Google Reader Help. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/support/reader/?hl=en

Richardson, W. (2009) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press

RSS in Plain English. Commoncraft. Retrieved from http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

Publish Yourself... Get Blogging

Blogging...one of the hottest tools one the web. Approximately two new blogs are added to the web every second. (Richardson, 2009, p. 19) What exactly is a blog??? Wikipedia defines it this way:
"A blog (a contraction of the term "web log")[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog". Since you have found this blog post and are reading it, you have an idea of what a blog is and how it works.


The Learning Process

Unlike all of the other Web 2.0 tools I have had to learn about over the past three months, I actually have experience using a blog. It started with a PD opportunity in 2007 while I was employed with Edmonton Public Schools. I spent a morning learning about blogs by creating a "practise" blog and adding content to it. The ease and simplicity of the entire process impressed me which is probably why I created my own personal blog and regularly added posts to it for a period of two years. You see, I was preparing to move overseas with my family in order to teach at the International School of Macau. I really wanted to be able to share my experiences with family and friends, albeit easily and in a way that they would enjoy.

As I was new to blogging at that time, my blog was quite basic. No widgets, gadgets, or add-ons; just regular posts of our experiences, many of them with pictures. I was quite proud of my creation and I enjoyed sharing so many different experiences with friends and family abroad.

Fast forward to 2010. I'm a grad student (swore I never would be) and I'm blogging again, although for educational rather than personal reasons. In fact, this blog has been a place (the only place) to demonstrate new knowledge, show evidence of research, and display my skills. Wow, I never thought a blog could do so much. My weekly posts have helped me discover my "voice" or my personal writing style that hopefully informs, engages, and keeps people coming back for more. It has been difficult at times considering my posts get evaluated for content, so I have tried to find a happy medium. It is a work in progress to be sure, but the process of regularly writing, reflecting on comments, and reading classmate's blogs has gone a long way to improving my posts.

The learning process has been primarily hands on and practical. I have done very little reading about and research of blogging. When I speak about blogging or introduce blogs in my classes, (which I plan to do) I want to be able to share my personal experiences and hopefully my excitement and enthusiasm will be contagious to others!!


My Personal Learning

Although I started blogging in 2007, I didn't realize the "power" of the blog until my return to Canada in 2009. So many friends, acquaintances, and previous co-workers mentioned that they "loved my blog" and the stories & pictures that came with it. Even last month someone commented to me about my blog. How many people actually viewed it I don't know, but I do know that many more viewed it than I thought ever would! I also heard (from a friend) about a teacher in Edmonton who found my blog on the web; she is planning to move to Macau to teach at the same school I did. How cool!!

While I did not appreciate the scope of the audience that ended up viewing my blog, I did quickly appreciate how much time my blog actually saved me. Early on in my overseas adventure, I tried to keep in touch with close friends via email. I wanted to make my emails unique for each friend but this translated into a lot of time at my computer. I began to dread writing another email, bringing my friend ______ up to date on things. Slowly I began to rely on email less and less and in turn began to rely on my blog more and more. I ended up putting more time & energy into one post that everyone could see. For me, that was huge!

I also learned that my blog is more than a communication tool, it is actually a historical reference for me and my family. I never considered this aspect when I first signed up, but looking back at our blog, we now have a record of so many aspects of our life overseas. Each post "tells a story" of an event or trip which in turn brings so many memories rushing back for all of us. Consider this. How many times have you looked at an old photo and asked yourself questions like: "Where was that?" or "What year was that taken?". I know I have. The blog remedies this problem for me. Even better, I was able to publish my entire blog into a hardcover book. It makes a great keepsake for the entire family to reminisce with and it is something easily shared with visitors into our home. If you are interested in this option, check out Blog2Print.

Blogs are also a great source of information not readily found on the web or any reference book. For example, I just interviewed for a job in India (two days ago) and while the schools' website and Wikipedia offer some interesting tidbits, I want to know what it's like living there and working there. Fortunately, many of the staff have their own blogs! Voila, instant information from people living and teaching in some small part of the world I might find myself someday. Here are a couple of blogs (1 & 2) that I have checked out. Looks like fun!!!

Lastly, I have learned how to improve the aesthetics of my blog over the last three months. As mentioned earlier, my first blog was quite basic. That was partly due to the fact that I didn't know how to imbed video, make use of widgets & gadgets, jazz up the layout etc. Now that I have learned some of these skills, my next personal blog will certainly be different.


Teaching & Learning With Blogs

Blogs as learning tools?? It's true. The great thing about a blog is its versatility. It can be used as a personal communication tool (as noted above) but it can also be used as a teaching and learning tool. However, for a blog to be educational, its use must become engaging and collaborative. Check out this definition by Will RIchardson:
"Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and to respond. They demand interaction". (p.18)

This definition raises the bar don't you think? Educational blogs require thought, analysis, questioning, sharing and refining. Teachers and students who use blogs in this way are on their well on their way to improving their teaching and learning. Here are some examples of uses of blogs as learning tools:

1) Using blogs to demonstrate knowledge.
This blog I've created is an example of this. My instructor requests evidence of understanding and learning of a tool or concept and I provide it via a blog entry. I can use text, links, pictures, video, or sound to show what I've learned. I follow a specific rubric in order to channel my thoughts. She uses the rubric to assign a grade.
The positive? Students can use a variety of different methods (the ones that suit them best) to demonstrate what they have learned.

2) Using blogs as a networking tool. For some teachers, teaching is something done in isolation. (Sad but true) I think most of us know that teachers improve when they can collaborate & share ideas, thoughts, successes, and failures with their peers. Blogging creates new ways to interact! Even if a teacher is the only English teacher in a school, blogging and following other English teachers' blogs is an easy and effective way to interact. Bloggers that connect and follow one another typically go out of their way to share and support one another.

3) Using a blog as a professional development tool. At my last school I was required to create and submit a professional growth plan each year. Typically I would think of one or two objectives for the year, jot them down, submit them and then file my objectives away. Most often I would get an email in late May reminding me about the need for me to reflect and discuss on my progress. Yikes!! I think a great way to document and reflect upon my growth plan would be via a blog. Regular posts would capture my experiences and peers or administrators could comment on my progress. Another positive it that I can maintain a record of my own professional development to share or reflect upon at a later date.

4) Blogging as a learning tool. "The public nature of a blog raises the stakes because it resembles presenting at a meeting or teaching in a classroom. In fact, many of the attributes of preparing and giving a classroom presentation apply to blogging". (Karrer, 2007, p. 21) This 'learning to present' or 'learning to teach' is really 'learning to learn'. This is probably one of the most important skills for students and teachers to master. Regarding students, they need to be able to adapt for careers that don't even exist yet. For teachers, they need to keep learning and adapting in order to be effective in the classroom.

5) Blogging for all. I recently attended a "student led conference" at my daughters school (she is in grade 2). I enjoyed following her around the classroom and watching her demonstrate her skills at using the whiteboard, her artwork, etc. But the high light of the conference was left for last. "Dad, you have to read my blog". We walked over to the laptops and she logged in and showed me all of her posts. Although her posts were quite basic, I was impressed with how she shared her thoughts about the many things she had been learning over the last few months. For some reason, these entries made her feel very proud. She couldn't explain why (all I got was "I don't know") but there definitely was something powerful going on there.

6) Teaching about online safety. For all of the positives that blogs present, there always seems to be a negative. Most articles and readings I've viewed do warn about the "risks" of having students post material online. There are issues of identity, online predators, and access to inappropriate material. These are legitimate concerns however the potential risk is often overblown I feel. However, by introducing blogs, teachers can start having conversations with their students about online safety. What information can be shared, what shouldn't be shared, involving a parent or a teacher, and using a "pretend" name are some examples. Learning about blogs should involve "how to use them" but also "how to use them safely". A common sense approach, communication with parents and administrators, and appropriate privacy settings will solve these concerns.

If safety and privacy are very touchy issues within your school, a more secure blog hosting site might be required. Edublogs is such a site. While there is a cost to setting up a "pro" account that offers many additional features, privacy and security can be very strict and content can be controlled by the teacher at all times.


Conclusion

Creating and using a blog has been one of the more enjoyable activities for me over the duration of this course. My knowledge of the many potential uses of blogs has grown and thus I feel comfortable creating and maintaining a blog for personal and professional use. The versatility and power of the "blog" is something to be encouraged and celebrated. I look forward to creating many more.


References

Edublogs. Retrieved from www.edublogs.org

Karrer, T. (2007) Learning and Networking With a Blog. American Society for Training and Development. September, Vol. 61, Iss. 9

Richardson, W. (2009) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press

wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog