It's time to celebrate the one year anniversary of my blog! On July 15, 2007 I opened shop, as it were. What a better way to celebrate than to share an idea that came up in conversation today.What Web 2.0 Tool Would You Show First
I came in to Twitter today and saw a question from Chad Lehman asking about first web 2.0 tools for new teachers. My answer was that Classroom20.com is a great tool. I think it alone can be overwhelming for anyone new to the idea of collaborating online. I mentioned in passing that if I like a particular forum topic I've taken to copying its URL into Google Reader so that I can easily keep up with where the discussion goes.
Steps That Make It Happen
I signed back on to Twitter later in the evening an saw a question from Chad. He liked the idea and asked if I had steps written down to accomplish the task. Here is the way I use Classroom20.com to get the most out of the forums.
- When I join a Ning group, such as Classroom 2.0, I click on the Forum tab then highlight the URL (for example: http://www.classroom20.com/forum)
- I copy and paste the URL into the Add Subscription link on my Google Reader page.
- When I see a question that interests me in my reader, I click the link and go directly to that question over on the ning. In this case, classroom20.
- I can read the entire question, respond if I have more information, and decide if I would like to have easy access to any other responses.
- I copy the entire URL of the forum question and paste it into Google Reader. Now anytime someone answer the question I can scan through the response.
A few questions have caught my eye over time. One question relates to using a projector in the classroom. A second question asks for suggestions on using Scratch with the seventh grade. A third question asks for suggestions on using name plates in computer class. In each case, I was curious to see the results that would be generated.
The next time you see a forum topic in a ning that catches your interest, copy and paste the message URL into your reader. It will look something like this: http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topic/show?id=649749%3ATopic%3A160798. It's become one of the ways I make the most of the time I take from my family to participate in teacher communities online. One year into the blogging process I can promise that the effort I make is worth every moment.
Image Citation:
Sohlström, Britt-Marie. "Birthday One year old - no puppy any more." YIvas' photostream. 2007 Sep 2. 2008 Jul 14.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1074/1304642463_060c31dbe8.jpg?v=0
Congrats, Ann, on your blogiversary! (A word that gets 182 000 results in a Google search, yet I had never heard it before.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on Google Reader--I believe I can do the same in Bloglines. To this point I have just selected "keep new" if there was a forum topic or blog I am interested in, and have gone back periodically to check for comments. Seems obvious to have the traffic come to me.
So, how do I keep my reader from becoming one continuous scroll-fest? Ah, the challenges of the digital life!
Jan:
ReplyDeleteI've only come across the word blogiversary over the last year. I keep my reader in check by being careful with the number of blogs I subscribe to. I don't mind scroll-fests through ning forums, but I do get guilty when the blog posts pile up. I had a major rework of my reader at the end of May. I'm feeling so far, so good about it since then. I do like having the forum topics that I'm interested in come into my reader. I hope it works for you too!
Ann