Tool 1: Blog Set-up & Registration

A blog is a webpage that is set up in a series of posts which are like entries in a journal. Blogs are a part of the social networking online world, and in the case of blogs used in schools, a part of the larger educational networking online world.

Having students write in blogs (online journals) is a good way for them to share their knowledge with others outside of the classroom. Blogs allow students to have a wider and more authentic audience for their ideas. To quote David Warwick of 2¢ Worth, "students become information artisans instead of merely information consumers."

You will use a blog to record your reactions to the various 11 Tools activities and to post ideas and samples of the tools that you will bring to your classroom for your students to use in learning.

For your Tool #1 Assignment:There are 4 things you need complete for the Tool 1 activity:

1. SET UP YOUR BLOG.
2. CREATE AN AVATAR
3. WRITE A BRIEF POST ABOUT GETTING STARTED
4. REGISTER YOUR BLOG with the 11 Tools for 21st Century Learners project management.

1. SET UP YOUR BLOG

1. If you have little experience with blogs, view this video from the Common Craft guy Lee Lefever that explains what a blog is.


2. View these slides for an overview of the key parts of a blog.
Parts of a Blog
Dashboard of a Blog
Post Box of a Blog

3. Because SBISD is going to start using many Google products, these activities will include many of the same items. Therefore, Blogger is the blogging software of choice for 11 Tools.
If you do not already have one, create a Google account and then go to Blogger to set up your blog.
If you already have a Google account, then proceed to Blogger.

4. Blogger has a step-by-step guide for setting up your blog.

5. Things to consider when creating your blog:

• The url (address) of your blog will be unique. The url you create should be short and easy to remember. ALL Blogger blogs urls start http:// and end with blogspot.com
  You will create the middle portion.
  For example, the url for the 11 Tools blog is http://11tools.blogspot.com/ The "11tools" portion is the unique portion of that url. You can never change the url (address.)
• The title of your blog can be different from the url. You can choose a title now for you blog. Later down the road, you can change the title of your blog if its focus changes or if you change how you use it. For example, the title of this blog is 11 Tools for the 21st Century Learner. It can be changed to anything the blog owner wants it to be.
• There is a public side and a working side to your blog. The public side is what the readers see after you have completed your posts in the working side of the blog. Readers will need a link to your blog or the url (address.) YOU will need to remember the email address you used to create your blogger account AND the password you set up so that you can get to the working side of your blog. Put those two pieces of information in a safe and convenient place. You can get to the working side of your blog from your blog's url or any other Blogger blog!

For more help with creating and setting up your blog:

• Blogger has several help features.
• Blogger has a YouTube channel with video tutorials (Caution: some of them may be a bit out-dated)
• Use the SBISD subscription to Atomic Learning which has many video tutorials about Blogger and blogs. (This will require a district-provided login and password.)
  

2. ADD AN AVATAR TO YOUR BLOG

Now you need to start learning how to add gadgets to your blog.

When working online, teachers and students often create characters to represent themselves. They often decide to become alter egos or cartoon extensions of themselves. Often times, the act of creating avatars has been described as digital paper dolls. Making avatars are often a way to combine creativity, personality, and a bit of fun while learning a skill. Adding avatars often increase the effectiveness of an online lesson or information posting. They are also useful in situations where it might best if students do not put individual photos of themselves.

There are several sites for avatars. Some are merely pictures while others have motion and voice. You will use the Voki site to create a character, have it make a statement, and add it to your blog.

To complete this task:

You will need to register at the Voki site so you may save your avatar. You can use the same email that you used for your blog.

Create your avatar using the various add-ons like clothing and backgrounds. Be sure you create a message. You can type a message and the site will create a voice. SAVE your avatar so you may capture the code.

Go to the Layout screen of YOUR blog.















Select the HTML gadget.













Paste the code and SAVE.
















When you go to the public view of your blog, your character should appear where you placed it on your layout screen.

3. WRITE A BRIEF POST on YOUR BLOG ABOUT GETTING STARTED

You will be writing posts about each of the Tools you investigate. For Tool #1, briefly describe the process you just underwent and how you might incorporate blogs in your classroom.

Please include Tool #1 as part of the title of your post.

4. REGISTER YOUR BLOG

You have created a blog. You have created a Voki avatar and uploaded it to an HTML gadget. You have written a short post about your experience with Tool #1.

Now you need to register your blog with the 11 Tools management.
Email vaughn.branom@springbranchisd.com and include the following information:
1. Your name
2. Your campus
3. Your blog's url (address) -- it will look like this http://thepartyouchose.blogspot.com/
4. Your blog's title
5. Your identity in your blog -- you selected this when you created your blog. It could be your name, your initials, an alias you created, or even the same as the title.
Help

You will know your blog is officially registered when you get an email back from the 11 Tools team AND your blog title appears on the list of participating blogs. If you do not receive an email within 3 days of sending the above information, please contact vaughn.branom@springbranchisd.com again.

Tool #1 has been pretty intense. There was a lot to consider in getting started. The rest of the tool investigations should be a little less intense. You will be concentrating on learning about them and how to use them in transforming your classroom and integrating the new technology you are getting.

Enjoy your learning!

Credits:
Common craft video sharing policy

Tool 4: Cool Google Tools

Google is more than a search engine. You can do much more than just find information with all the cool Google tools that are available.


Other than the search engine feature, probably the most well-known Google tool is Google Earth, a mash-up of photographs and maps. It is loaded on your SBISD laptop and other district computers, so you will not have to download it to use it. There are lots of uses for Google Earth.

There are Google images, Google videos, a Google news service and more!

For this Tool experience, the 11 Tools project managers would like for you to concentrate on Google Docs and Google Reader.

In another Tool further down the list, you will have the opportunity to explore Google Sites if you wish.

GOOGLE DOCS

Take this tour to learn more about the Docs and how to use them. The Common Craft video will also quickly explain the value of using them.



This video will give you some insight to using the forms included in Google Docs



Listen to educators who use Google Docs. They describe many ways Google Docs can be used for their professional needs AND for student products!


Atomic Learning contains some videos on creating and using Google Docs if you would like to have more information. (This will require the district-provided login and password.)

GOOGLE READER

The Common Craft guy Lee LeFever explains what a reader is. You will want to create one of these for the 11 Tools blogs you are following and any other online resources that update regularly.


You have probably seen the little orange RSS feed icon on many online resources. RSS or Really Simple Syndication is the means by which you can connect to online resources that consistently update their information, i.e. blogs, newspapers, news services, etc. If you want to learn more about RSS feeds you can start here.

Your Google Reader will make keeping up with new information really super simple! You will simply subscribe to your choices by adding the url (address) of the site to your reader. Take a short tour of Google Reader.

This video will show you how easy it is to set up your Reader and add blogs and other resources.



For your Tool #4 Post in you blog:

1. Create one document in Google Docs and share it with at least one other person in your PLN. It could a team member, a department colleague, or another teacher with whom you plan a collaboration. It could even be a family member---maybe you are planning a reunion or trip!
2. Set up your Google reader and subscribe to at least five 11 Tools blogs that you will be following. You are welcome to add other subscriptions that you want to follow. Maybe you have hobbies or other interests that you would like to follow.
3. Briefly discuss how you think these 2 Google tools will aid you in your particular classroom or benefit your students in their learning process.

Note:
Please be sure you include Tool # 4 in your post title.
Please hot link any online resources you include in your post.




Images:
Google icon - screenshot created by VWB
Google Earth - screenshot created by VWB
Google Reader - screenshot created by VWB

Tool 5: Tagging and Social Bookmarking

You probably have been bookmarking web sites since shortly after having your first computer put in your hands. With the educational networking that has come about on the web and the need to share information 24/7, bookmarking web sites one computer at a time is no longer efficient and effective.

How many computers do you use the same set of bookmarks? How many different groups are going to access all the information you have found? Social bookmarking to the rescue!

Click here to view the Common Craft video about social bookmarking.

You can build a list of bookmarks, organize them into groups, and update your bookmarks with online services such as delicious and diigo. And you can do all this arranging on one computer and walk over and use the information on any computer!

The key tool in having a well-oiled bookmarking machine is the tag. Tagging your information is like identifying the subjects or key words covered in the information you want to share.

DELICIOUS

On Delicious, you can save and share your bookmarks. You can also see what bookmarks are currently popular on the hotlist. Explore what you can find by doing a search for tags such as education or web2.0. Look what comes up if you search for tools and see how you can narrow your search. Even fun searches for things like frogs and fishing bring up some interesting results. Here is the tag cloud of popular tags .

To join Delicious, you will need a Yahoo ID/account. If you don't already have, it is a simple sign-up. After you sign up, you can explore creating a network or arranging your own tags.

Here is a silent video on how to sign up for delicious.


Here is a silent video on how to set up bookmarks in delicious.


DIIGO

Diigo is another social bookmarking site even more powerful than delicious in what it can do for you and your learning circle.

Look at this video of the basics of diigo. Then take the tour to see the special details in depth.

Click here to see the groups that are available in Diigo. There are over 1300 Education & Schools groups and 240+ k-12 groups, including one about using Diigo in schools. There are many groups about fun things, too, like PaperToys. Go here to see the most popular sites and tags.

To add to Diigo, you will need to register. You can use your Google or Yahoo information.

For your Tool #5 assignment:
1. Browse through both sites and use tags to find two websites new to you. You may choose to find educationally -related items or personal interests.
2. Join one of the sites so that you may add and share information of your choice. Consider joining or even creating a group that fits your needs.
3. In YOUR blog post for Tool #5, include the two webistes you discovered. Be sure to include hot links so that participants can visit them easily. Discuss what tags you used to locate your information. Briefly describe how social bookmarking will be useful in your classroom.

Have a few extra minutes?
This video discusses both delicious and diigo with emphasis on how diigo allows you to highlight and save portions of a webpage and how to set up groups. It is 9 minutes long, but worthy of your time after you have had a chance to get comfortable with the two sites independently.

Are you collecting lots of usernames and passwords for all your tools? Try hard to use the same information as much as possible. You may want to keep a record close by. What about a Google Docs so that you can access the information from any computer?

Credits:
Purple marker photo from FlickrCC by cambodia4kidsorg. Adapted using Jing.
Workman from MS ClipArt