Weblogg-Ed

Note: As of 8/9/02, Weblogg-Ed has moved to www.weblogg-ed.com. Please update your links!

"The survivors will not be defined by the lives they have led until now but by the lives that they will lead from now on." --Michael Berenbaum

"Blogs are the biggest mass writing experiment ever undertaken." --J. Lawless

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:: What a day for reading the NYT: The unimaginable: 12 Million Could Die at Once in an India-Pakistan Nuclear War; the sad: Fighting to Live as the Towers Died; and the scary: Nuclear Nightmares. God help us. posted by Will Richardson 7:08 PM Link	Sunday, May 26, 2002
:: Another pretty good analysis of the weblog as journalism idea at ojr...As veteran journalist Murray Fromson put it at the University of Southern California's online journalism conference in March, "without newspapers and networks, who will cover a war in Afghanistan?"..."The end result is an understanding and depth that just is not possible in traditional one-direction journalism," Kuro5hin's Foster notes...Ultimately, the mainstream media will likely continue to cover enfranchised sources, and online media will continue to empower the disenfranchised while keeping the pros accountable by dinging them for every instance of superficial or careless reporting. And Quill attempts to answer the unanswerable: What is a journalist? Good starting point for next year's classes, I'd say. Another blogging reporter...is anyone keeping a list? posted by Will Richardson 3:18 PM Link
:: Another pretty rah-rah report on weblogs as journalism from the Guardian. "With the internet, we can now, as Instapundit.com's Glenn Reynolds puts it, 'fact-check your ass'. But more than that: the audience can loudly proclaim just how fact-checked you are - an unleashing of the reader that Gillmor calls 'both scary and liberating' for the professional journalist." posted by Will Richardson 5:17 AM Link	Thursday, May 23, 2002
:: Terry is a webdoggie and admits his secret desire to be "a total geek" with Radio. And I find it interesting/encouraging that he settled on Blogger for his student projects. (BTW, can you post from anywhere when using Radio, or does it have to be installed on the machine you are using?) Sarah weighs in for Manilla primarily for its community building aspects, and I agree with her that that is a huge hole in Blogger. I still come back to this, I know, but all I want is Metafilter, I swear. Give me a page where kids can make entry posts that automatically (much like Manilla here) start separate discussion pages for those posts. Kids can add comments easily, and those comments appear on the page quickly. So one of my journalists can post the lead to her story on the "front page", and then post the entire story for feedback on the "back page" where readers can then easily post thoughts and ideas. (I'm thinking Amazon here.) Or my essayists can do the same. Or my yearbook staff. Or I can throw out a topic for my media kids that they can jump to and argue about. It seems so easy...and I know my Manilla friends are going to say "WE CAN DO THAT!" But I have to tell you, Manilla just is not that easy. It's not. I "got" Metafilter first time. I still screw up with Manilla. Why is that? And I'll say it again (tell me if I'm ranting...) EASE OF USE is the key more for teachers than kids. You know, we (Terry, Pat, Sarah, etc.) are really INTO this stuff. Let's not kid ourselves and think that everyone (anyone?) else is even going to care about what it looks like or whether or not we can feed news or update through e-mail or hold chats. If the tool is going to gain acceptance, it's going to have to be easy. Something where teachers a) see the potential benefits clearly (in my case, audience, feedback, publishing etc.) and b) can learn it and start using it in a couple of hours. Blogger takes literally five minutes to set up and use. There is little or no maintenance if all you are interested in is getting kids publishing and creating a forum for discussion (albeit less than perfect). You don't have to have a tech person configuring your computer or your server. You don't need to understand .ftp, .html (well, maybe just a little), .cgi, .rss, .mouse. It just works. posted by Will Richardson 4:11 AM Link
:: Another journalist takes the weblogging plunge: "Since blogs also link to non-blog Web sites, they become a great filter for the overwhelming torrent of Web content. Regular visits to the blog of someone who is interested in the same stuff you are, or is just interesting themselves, can take you to pages that you may never have found on your own." Precisely. And just think of high school journalists with filtered interests of their own. posted by Will Richardson 5:54 AM Link	Tuesday, May 21, 2002
:: Karen's post at BW has me thinking. She says "I just really want to know what happens when teachers are given access to a web that lets them focus on content, not design." Something there really resonates, and I think it is that idea of content, not design. When I do web projects, I focus a lot on design. In my Web Pages and Portfolios class, we talk about creating friendly spaces. We put a lot of time into how it looks. Same when I do my own stuff. I like the way this page looks. I like the colors, etc. No major tweaks from the original Blogger template, but still mine. But I know .html. I CAN tweak it, and I know most classroom teachers can't. They don't have the interest or the time. They don't want to negotiate servers or passwords or designs or all that stuff; they want to focus on content. As I think about the motivation of the basic blogger, I think the content does come first. One of the reasons that Blogger has become so popular is because it is SO EASY. Fill in a form, click a few buttons, and your ideas and deepest darkest secrets are up there for the entire world to see. It's a powerful thing, that audience piece of it. When I first realized that people (however few) were reading my weblog, I got butterflies...really! And, I got a sense of purpose and desire to continue. I mean I know that I'm still mostly doing this for me, but I am starting to feel a part of a community of thinkers and writers and doers, and that audience is vital, however small it may be. Design and wide ranging capability is secondary. (It's like my wife (who, by the way, looks to be on the verge of signing a content contract with Gateway) says, the rule of 80/20: eighty percent of software users use 20 percent of the software, doesn't matter the package.) The point here is that I just don't think the average classroom teacher is going to want to do more than a) easily create a space for his/her classroom and b) have students easily create space where they can, as Karen says, "publish, get and give feedback, and [use] as a 'home base' for a community to develop." So the question then becomes what is the best/easiest way to do this. (And this is a relevant question for me as I'm going to be doing a 2-day workshop this summer in weblogs.) To me, the answer is Blogger, specifically Blogspot. It has its limitations, I know. But, can they publish? Yes. Get feedback? Well, with a little bit of setup, yes; kids can create a team (which I don't think is necessarily any easier to do in Manilla). Can they create a sense of community? Yes; my kids have proven that. Now I know there are ads to deal with, and it's not a perfect world. But IT IS EASY! And as someone who has a lot of experience training teachers on technology, that is paramount. Pat and Terry and I are into weblogs, but we're also to some extent into the technology. We like figuring out how to make it work and how to tweak it. The vast majority of teachers aren't. They just want it to work, and want it to be easy. And actually Blogger allows them to take that next step if they want and if they have the tech staff to make it happen. I admit, I don't know enough about Manilla and Radio to know for sure that it's not just as easy. But if my dealings with it are any indication... So let the debate begin... posted by Will Richardson 3:46 AM Link
:: Peter Ford is back Blogging and reports on some cool activities. His kids did a newspaper which is pretty cool. It's pretty straightforward, and something that I think we could implement here without too much trouble. (I was looking into Blogger at the ways to incorporate a number of blogs on one page, which might be a way to set up a paper in sections, much like p-machine. More work for the summer.) I still want to incorporate that NY Times idea of interactivity with audience. (As long as they have a school e-mail.) It seems like Radio has some great potential here, but what I really need is to get some exposure to it from a user standpoint. Again, maybe Pat or Terry would be up for a tutorial chat??? BTW, Blogger seems prepared for a major partnership statement that promises to make Blogger users very happy. I wonder... posted by Will Richardson 10:08 AM Link	Monday, May 20, 2002
:: Trying out ways to "syndicate" with Blogger, though not quite in the traditional sense. What I was really hoping for was a way to set up a class site and have update notices automatically e-mailed to "subcribers". Spyonit seems to do that. The thinking here is to use it with my yearbook staff next year so that we can chat and get easy notification of updates. Since it's not going to be a class, I'm going to have to find ways to keep in touch with all 45 of them. It would make it a bunch easier if they were just e-mailed automatically when stuff was posted. K-management 101. Spyonit is a pretty cool concept in that it'll do that for any page I register. Saves checking back to the site all the time. Yet if the kids want to participate, they can always get in there and do so. Maybe one of my Manilla/Radio friends can tell me if this is similar to RSS...I think that is probably a bit more flexible. And I know Blogger Pro supports XML. Help! posted by Will Richardson 6:42 AM Link
:: Added the link to the K-12 Blog Write site. Now just a matter of getting in there. Way too much going on...always it seems. And, I'm discovering, this aversion(?) to Manilla/Radio. Don't know whay exactly. It just doesn't seem that easy to navigate. I know the idea of threaded discussions is what I'd like to incorporate into my pages, but...just something about it that bothers me. I need to figure that out, and maybe if I start using it more, my qualms will be silenced (there's a thought!) Edublogs are everywhere! Salvor Gissurardottir who is at a teacher's university in Iceland has been using weblogs with his grad students. He says "I teach at a teacher´s university in Iceland and have been using weblogs in all my courses for more than a year now. This semester I administer and teach a course with 28 students, it is at a graduate level and it is through distance education, we meet three times during the semester but otherwise it is distance. All students have webblogs and we also have several group weblogs. Here is one of the group weblogs (on the left border there are links to all the individual student weblogs and teacher weblogs)." Now if only I could read it. Still, Salvor is interested in joining the discussion with us. posted by Will Richardson 5:25 AM Link	Thursday, May 16, 2002
:: Back from the Rockies...just a whole new dimension in geography. Was really nice to get away for a few days and get geared up for the final push here. Seems I missed a chat and that folks are getting together to start talking. Great! I'm looking forward to the discussion. Seems corporations are finding out about weblogs. Here's another article from Wired. "Macromedia calls this "the blog strategy," and some see the company's moves as the start of a trend. These days, it's almost unfashionable for a self-respecting Webophile to not have his own blog; if Macromedia's effort is any indication, soon a tech company that doesn't embrace weblogs may seem equally dated." Still think there is some application of this on a school-wide or department wide basis. posted by Will Richardson 3:46 AM Link	Monday, May 13, 2002
:: In response to my post about the teacher weblog, Pat says: "Question is, what's the point? I'd rather not do a repeat of SiT or Schooblogs, or the other sites that already do a superb job on far-reaching and general blog topics. I'd like it to be more concrete, in the way that a Writing Project teacher consultant's demonstration is concrete and useful and almost oppressively rooted in k-12 classroom practice. Sort of a "show, then tell," with commentary, feedback, critique, suggestion, and back and forth between the demonstrator and the audience." I agree; it should be more concrete and rooted in practice. That's my one big complaint about those other sites...there's little in the way of roll up your sleeves, get to the guts discussion of what works, what doesn't. Nowhere have I found teachers giving each other specific feedback on what they are doing...mostly just vague observations. Hell, I'd love to see more collaboration. Feedback, critiques, suggestion, back and forth...that's what I want too. (Note: I'm going to have to switch servers on the discussion site, which will be done next week.) (Now one aside to Pat...try as I may, and I'm pretty adept technologically, I cannot figure out how to "discuss" your post on your site. I've registered and reregistered and still I'm dumbfounded as to how to post a message. And that goes for most Manilla weblogs. Why is it so freakin' counterintuitive???? Just wonderin'.) posted by Will Richardson 10:33 AM Link	Wednesday, May 08, 2002
:: Time to do a new roundup of who's doing what edu-weblog-wise: (aside from the usual suspects) Lloyd's Tech in Classroom pages with lots of student weblog links. Some of his kids even continued writing (links at bottom). Found this workshop: “Weblogs for the Composition Classroom” Christopher Porter, U of North Carolina, Greensboro...someone else to contact? Blogging from the Bario looks like another educator (Albert DelGado) getting into weblogs. Jennifer Bay might also be someone to get into the loop. Dan Mitchell at DeAnza College is another. And how about this great post: Weblogging for schools? What a concept!!! Duncan Smeed in the UK! Todd Grundy from right across the river at Bucks County CC looks like he's been doing some thinking on weblogs as well. David Carter-Tod at seriousinstructionaltechnology is a valuable resource for weblogs in the classroom. Jim Stegman at the Finneytown School District looks like he's trying to get some teachers involved. But seems like a lot of starts and stops (which is pretty prevalent when looking at teacher weblogs...need to think about why that is aside from the time issue.) Perhaps Dale Pike of UNC-Charlotte has some ideas to offer. Pamela Wilkins at the South Seattle Community College Teaching and Learning Center has some input that might be worth following up on. John Robb has some interesting ideas on the uses of weblogs as a K-managment tool in schools. I'm really liking the idea of kids creating and keeping through school. Jason Nolan ad Edublog obviously has gotten some wheels turning, but I can't tell exactly how far he's gotten. Still, seems like a good resource. Maybe there's a bit more happening than when I started this. Wouldn't it be cool to get us all together in a virtual space and see what happens? Terry wants to get the conversation going at my other site and I'm thinking once we do that, maybe we should start inviting some of these guests? Gone to Colorado for the weekend, back on Monday. Thanks again, Terry and Pat for the kick in the pants. posted by Will Richardson 3:23 AM Link
:: New article on weblogs as journalism. Here's the quote: "Bloggers are independent columnists in that sense. They usually do less reporting and more opinion writing in their blogs, functioning as guides who point readers to interesting articles and sites on the Web. Bloggers also are masters of their domains; they might be useful in adding to or critiquing articles written about their area of specialty." Which again, goes back to the idea of filtering content. I feel like that's what I can do here for those who are interested in this topic, and in that sense, I am columnist, reporter, editor, etc. Web sources are not the best, but when dealing with esoteric material for small audiences, I think they tend to be more reputable. And, Dave Winer on the Role of Professional Journalists and How to Start a Weblog for Professional Journalists. posted by Will Richardson 10:36 AM Link	Tuesday, May 07, 2002
:: The Weblog Tool Roundup (via Sarah) posted by Will Richardson 5:41 AM Link
:: Nice couple of supportive comments to the last few posts...seems everyone is digging out from under. I think mine is just more along the lines of gathering strength. And like I said, not having an active class weblog makes it so much more difficult to stay with it. Pat's idea of a common site is a good one, one that I hoped to have gotten off the ground by now. If you read this Pat, I'd definitely be up for that, and you can take a look at what I started...I still have some great comments from Sarah to implement, but it might be a place to start. Terry is back with some really interesting thoughts, and it sounds like whatever energy I'm missing he still has. His senior service learning projects sound very cool, and the weblog integration seems natural. Even though he deals with kids who seem less technologically exposed, he is having success. Imagine the potential here. Still interesting to me how similar our thoughts are in terms of portfolios and service and weblogs...we may need to do some collaboration at some point (and with Pat, too, who expressed an interest in a newspaper project). At any rate, feeling a bit more motivation when I see the successes and ideas of others. I'd love to get back to it. posted by Will Richardson 4:55 AM Link
:: Let it rain! A monsoon outside! But, as they say, we need it. Finding this much more difficult to do when it's not an integral part of my classroom. When I'm in it, the ideas are flowing and I have some energy for it. Now, when the class weblog I'm keeping is basically there for kids who are absent, not as much to write. And still flooded by other stuff to do. Still doesn't seem like others are finding the energy either. Terry hasn't posted for a few weeks, Pat is kind of sporadic, Chris is drawing pictures...must be spring, or the end of the year, or fatigue, or...Not that I don't believe any more, but it is hard right now. And of course, there's the yearbook which though finished is still getting most of my creative attention. Companies are fighting over this account, even though I can't go anywhere for another year it seems. Might be just as well: First year to get my feet wet, second year to tweak, third year to create the masterpiece. I still cannot believe how far we came this year. And I really think we can take even more giant steps next year. I am so psyched! posted by Will Richardson 6:19 AM Link	Thursday, May 02, 2002

Links
Weblog Resources:
Weblogs Compendium*
Weblogs for Educators
Chris Lehmann
pMachine
Antville
UpSaid
History of Weblogs
Pitas (Blog Host)
Weblog Power
Pitas (Blog Host)
Moveable Type(Blog Host)
Weblogs as News
GreyMatter (Blog Host)
Weblogger(Blog Host)
Xanga(Blog Host)
Onclave
Weblog Articles
Swiss Army Website
Weblog Awards
Weblog Madness
Bloggar
Tinderbox
Targeted Serendipity

Weblogs I Read:
k-12 blogWrite
Pat Delaney
Sarah Lohnes
Joe Luft
Sebastian Fiedler
Seb's SOL Project
Terry ElLiot
David Walker
Educare
Greg Hanek
Ray Schroeder
Brian Fitzgerald
Chris Ashley
Stephen Downes
Lloyd Nebres
Schoolblogs.com
Peter Ford
SITech.
Rebecca's Pocket
Media Minded
Corante
Josh Marshall
Keep Trying
J.D. Lasica
Poynter Media Blog
News Trolls
Microcontent
Mark Bernstein
Kairosnews
Jay Cross

Weblogs in Schools/Best Practices:
Delano High School
Karen McComas
Barbara Ganley
Student Weblogs
Lincoln Pub. Schools
Beacon School
Dreamcatcher
Brit. Sch. of Amst.
Adv. Int. Class.
Coop. Reading Proj.
Kern County
Lloyd Nebres
SFEd Access
Centenary (La.)
I-Search (Pat)
Richard Stockton C
Emerson College
U. of Iowa
New School
Redwood City Library
Teachers LiveJournal
Internet Journalism
Esperero Canyon
EP
Dan Mitchell

Weblogs/Journalism:
Disaster Weblogs
Dan Bricklin
Weblogs & News
Blogging as J
Cyberjournalist
Media Weblogs
Glenn Fleischman
E&P Weblog Bandwagon
Journal. Pivot Points
Medill Sch. of J.
Weblogs & News

Weblogs/Teaching:
Online Discussions
Online Classroom
Weblogs as Community

Weblogs/Literature:
Dreamcatcher

Manila Related:
My Caxton Manila
Pat's Newspaper
Themes
Manila Home
Pat on Discussions
U. of S. Aust.
Hector's Tutorial
Bryan Bell
Ken Dow
RSC Space
Kern
Lincoln Tutorials

©2001/2 Will Richardson