Donnerstag, 6. Februar 2003

Weblogs and instruction - Brown Daily Herald. Quote: "Blogs -- the much−talked about Internet trend -- can serve as invaluable tools for their inventors, said Brian Weatherson, a Brown professor of philosophy and creator of a philosophy blog. " Comment: George Siemens is right.  A very brief piece.  The prediction at the end is way off however.  Who knows what we'll be doing in 5 years, let alone 20? ["David Carter-Tod"] 10:13:12 PM

Textbook was both outdated and expensive. A couple of weeks ago, David Geary brought to our notice a news release entitled Public Relations Students Prefer Internet Over Textbook, recounting his recent teaching experiences at the University of New Mexico - finding that the set textbook was both outdated and expensive, he discarded it and decided instead to make a judicious selection of Web-based resources, which were then arranged and woven into the framework of the course. These resources provided up-to-date materials presenting a diversity of viewpoints in a variety of genres and media; projects based on Internet explorations were assessed, replacing examinations. These innovations suited the students well, though they proved labour-intensive for the teacher; on the whole, the approach was judged to have much to offer to students and faculty alike... [via "David Carter-Tod"] I read this as another manifestation of the increasing problems with the traditional instructional design approaches. Knowledge domains develop fast and people simply cannot wait until course packages and textbooks are produced for their specialized needs and interests... ["Sebastian Fiedler"] 10:13:11 PM

Visiting Penn State. I have just arrived a State College, PA. The next 2 weeks will be dedicated to work on our pilot project here at Penn State. We are trying out some ideas on Weblog use in higher education. Some interesting days ahead... 10:13:10 PM

Weblogging Parents. I offered parents at our school a basic half-day weblogging course. Fifty have already signed up, an overwhelming but exciting response. Some of my Year Seven webloggers are going to assist on the course. This is how learning should be. Exciting enough for me to record it here for posterity :-) [Peter Ford] Though Peter Ford hasn't been feeding his Schoolblog's site for quite a while he still seems to be pretty active. [Sebastian Fiedler] 10:13:10 PM

Why Blog?. Why Blog? via Emergic Quote: "In general, though, the reason I have a weblog, and the reason I advocate to others that they ought to maintain weblogs themselves, is because I think it's important for people to have a place to express their opinions and thoughts, and to get feedback on those ideas." Comment: Yes! I would add one other point - I blog to learn...as I write, I self-evaluate, attempt to express nebulous thoughts...connect ideas, build on others' ideas...and grow in the process. [George Siemens] George Siemens comments on the power of personal Webpublishing for self-organized learning. To me the combination of self-driven content creation and human interaction is beating most of the polished packages the learning industry has on offer. [Sebastian Fiedler] 10:13:09 PM

Mooblogging in B-town. The blog I've been working on B-Villeblog has finally started getting some use. I got a Zonk board set up and I've got my students, tutors and parents actually accessing some of the information, now. Ok, ok...I offered a little incentive...posting school delays and closings before it's announced on the news stations...gotta get them to see this stuff anyway I can. But...It's working. The Dominoes are begin to fall...kids talking...parents looking...teachers paying attention and asking questions. Several kids have completed and emailed me practice writing responses to the activities. It's basic, it's not exactly where I originally planned to begin my blogging, but it's the entryway. Proficiency is on everyone's mind here...I'm giving them a place they can visit to ask questions, get answers and receive support. We're beginning...and in a rural area such as mine...that's a very big accomplishment! I've got them noticing and they like it...which means we can move forward and advance. Next on the agenda: I've got a third grade teacher ready to give blogging a shot and I've got the library information to begin to organize on the Library weblog. I also want to do a sorta cover blog to show my principal how her entry blog could be the portal for the entire school blogging infrastructure. Hmmmmmm....I've got big Mootown blogging Pie-in-the-Sky visions going on in my head here...hope I'm not being too much of a blog-brained dreamer. [Pam Pritchard] Quote from the B-Villeblog site: "Nothing fishy about it...our goals are to navigate the waters of good reading and writing, while also sailing smoothly into the world of technology. Try the waters out. There's an ocean of activities and information waiting inside." Take a look how Pam takes Weblogging from her private "fishtank" to the elementary school... [Sebastian Fiedler] 10:13:08 PM

Supervisor of Instructional Technology. Well...looks like I got the job. More later. ["Will Richardson"] Congratulations, Will! Nice to see that some of us get recognition for what they are trying to accomplish... ["Sebastian Fiedler"] 10:12:59 PM