Weblogg-Ed

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Comments by: YACCS

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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

Tuesday, May 21, 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

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