Learning Labyrinth

Thing 5 – Learn about RSS and set up Google Reader

Thing 6 – Feed your reader: find & subscribe to feeds and build a reading habit

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Ok, I think I had too much fun with these “Things”. Namely because while browsing through the list of blogs I came across David Pogue’s blog, Pogue’s Posts,
within the NYTimes.com RSS feeds list. I attended the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) in November 2007 where David Pogue was brought in as a keynote speaker. He was hysterical! I had never heard of David Pogue before attending his keynote, but now, it is a name I will never forget. Anyways, David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. He is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News and an accomplished author of many how-to books.

After subscribing to Pogue’s Posts, I found it impossible to just scan and skim his entries. I HAD to read them all! He has a way of presenting the truth in a very real, “call it like it is”, hysterical manner. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as I read many of his posts, while at the same time, experiencing many “ah ha” moments and “I completely agree” thoughts. While David often targets certain groups, like bad tech-support reps in his post Today’s Tech-Support Nightmare, I think readers (even those belonging to the targeted group) will find it hard to be offended by his articles. He recently posted an amusing article, Tech Support Gets a Reprieve While Users Take a Hit, that turned his attention to the technology USERS rather than his usual targeted group of tech support reps.

In his post, Readers Respond to the Debate Over Responsible Downloading, David blogs responses from his readers regarding the many shades of gray that exist in the law and in human ethics surrounding copyright-morality situations. I found the responses to the series of hypothetical questions he posed incredibly interesting. Another post I found on David’s blog referenced the Frontline documentary, Growing Up Online, that I recently blogged about and shared with the technology team at school. (You can read my blog post here.) His article, How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children?, reflects on an article he was asked to write a few years ago for a parenting magazine. He quotes his chief message for the article was this: “Sure, there are dangers. But they’re hugely overhyped by the media. The tales of pedophiles luring children out of their homes are like plane crashes: they happen extremely rarely, but when they do, they make headlines everywhere. The Internet is just another facet of socialization for the new generation; as always, common sense and a level head are the best safeguards.” This was not at all what the editors of the magazine where looking for, rather, they wanted another scare tactic message for parents.

Anyway, if you have never heard of David Pogue, or would like to enjoy a laugh or two sometime in your crazy-busy life, I would highly suggest checking out and subscribing to his blog feed. I have a feeling you will really enjoy reading his posts and finding them incredibly easy to relate to. J Enjoy!

Thing 4 – Task:

Read at least five of the suggested blog posts.

As you read, consider the following questions (feel free to adapt and expand on any of these or add your own):

• What do you notice about the genre of blog writing in general?
  
• (How) is blog reading different from other types of reading? How is it similar?
  
• (How) is blog writing different from other types of writing? How is it similar?
  
• How does commenting contribute to the writing and meaning-making?
  
• Is there a “blogging literacy?” How does blogging affect the way we read and write?
  
• (How) can blogging facilitate learning?
  

Create a blog post in response to the exploratory reading and questions listed above. Feel free to reflect on anything that struck you about the posts themselves itself or the genre of blogging in general. Be sure to include a link to any post(s) you refer to and include “Thing 4″ in your post title.

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To me, what makes blogging unique from other types of reading and writing is its informality. It’s reading or writing the way we speak in conversation. I love that! I am someone who requires complete silence and the ability to reread countless times in order to comprehend and make sense of what I read. I am also someone who struggles to write anything of sustenance as formulating clear ideas that can be translated to paper or complete thoughts that are coherent to the audience of my words is a difficult task for me to accomplish. I have always struggled to express myself clearly without the intended audience getting the wrong idea or taking my words the wrong way. This has been a challenge for me my entire life…it’s very frustrating. Therefore, the informality of blogs…with the incomplete sentences (written more as a string of thoughts much like our minds work in daily conversation versus measured and carefully formulated statements that appear in more formal writing), misspellings, and the ability to immediately send your message out to a massive audience of potential readers for their response or input…is an ideal writing and reading platform for me. The ability to comment allows deep (and sometimes “shallow”) conversations to develop and grow. It allows for individuals and groups to share and collaborate on a variety of topics, ideas and discussions. We can now include people from all over the world in a conversation we would normally have just within a small group of colleagues at the school. How perfect is that?

In terms of teaching and technology, many of the greatest thoughts, ideas and discussions have originated in blogs. Blogs allow ideas and thoughts to be formulated now…today…in present and real time. They promote conversation and the ability to collaborate amongst our peers. Whereas, we have to wait for weeks or months to read the next magazine article or book on the same topic. Both of which are very one-sided conversations or points of views. Yes, we could send a letter to the editor or author…but who else would see that beyond you (the writer) and the editor (the reader). Even if you are one of the “lucky ones” whose “letter to the editor” becomes published, it is already a month later and the context of the discussion (the original article or book that sparked the desire to respond) is missed by a large percentage of that month’s audience.

I enjoy reading many types of blogs, but mostly those relating to technology and how it is altering the face and heart of education – teaching and learning. Vicki A. Davis’ post,
Spies Like Us, on the Cool Cat Teacher blog, reminded me of an incident that occurred very recently in our Tablet program where two students were recording a teacher’s lesson without her knowledge or consent. When the teacher became aware of the activity, and uncomfortable with the situation, she asked the group of teachers involved with the program (Tableteers) if this type of activity was addressed in the AUP. We have yet to discuss this in detail during our next meeting. Although, ultimately, I feel that while currently it is not addressed in the AUP, we will be looking at the possibility of altering our AUP to include this type of activity. Additionally, while we cannot always control access to these activities and capabilities, we can teach students ethical use and behavior. That is where our focus needs to be turned, I feel.

I did read most of the other blogs presented and enjoyed many of them. Some in particular that I feel have immediate application to an elementary classroom (promoting student involvement) include:

• Duck with a Blog: Where second graders blog about the whereabouts of a missing duck. How adorable is that!
• A Final Good-Bye: Where third graders post their thoughts about a funeral for overused words. What elementary school teacher has never had the desire to “trash” certain words from our students writings? What a great way for students to become involved in the writing process!
• Imagine Turning On the Faucet and Nothing Coming Out: From
  Extreme Biology where students are encouraged to blog about topics relating to the study of biology and then participate in the discussion. This particular discussion on the situation of Georgia’s water crisis is compelling enough to spark a teacher’s interest in replicating the model within their own classroom.

Thing 3 – Set up your blog at Edublogs and write your first posts.

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Here it is! You are visiting it right now!

Enjoy!