TLT

Ethics, User Policies, and Civility

2006-03-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Another topic of concern raised during the workshop is the development and implementation of user policies to guide the use of these communication tools. Equally challenging is the guidance of ethics and civility in the use of these tools.

This post will serve as the discussion point for these issues. If you have questions, resources or information please post a comment.

Server Software

2006-03-27T21:32:00.000-05:00

There have been several questions asked about what type of software is available to install on campus systems for these communications tools. We are starting this post for questions, recommendations, and technical information.

3rd Synchronous Session

2006-03-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the 3rd synchronous sessions for the Web Communication Trends: Blogs, Wikis, and Newsfeeds. I would like to recommend a few resources that you can visit and read prior to the session:

This Canadian website developed Quentin D'Souza, an Elementary Resource Teacher for Academic Communication and Information Technology at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, provides great resources for all the topics we have been discussing. In particular I would recommend that you visit his resource page at - http://www.teachinghacks.com/resources/ and take a look his resource document RSS Ideas for Educators - http://www.teachinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/RSS%20Ideas%20for%20Educators1.pdf.
2. "Pssss... Have You Heard About RSS?" from Alan Levine, of Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction.
3. "RSS Quick Start Guide for Educators" from Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed.

I am Back!

2006-03-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

I actually took a day off and spent the day with my husband justing out and about. Last summer we built a house out in the middle of a valley in the middle of the plains in South Dakota. Having grown up in Southern Cal this has been quite the change for me. We love the beauty and the peace we have living here. Once and awhile we do break loose and head for the "big city".

Here is a photo of the "Star Ranch" as we call it - this is where I am during online sessions and while blogging about the country!

Hope all of you are taking some moments to enjoy life and also to spend sharing those moments with your colleagues in this workshop.

Happy blogging this week!

Lisa

List of New Blogs!

2006-03-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

I am going to use this post to show new blogs that are appearing. Feel free to continue to join as the week progresses.

#1 - Ethics and Use of Blogs - http://tltblogethics.blogspot.com/

#2 - Integrating Blogs into the Curriculum - http://integrating-blogs.blogspot.com/

#3 - Reusing Objects - http://reusingobjects.blogspot.com/

#4 - Faculty Engagement for Libraries/http://thediamondring.blogspot.com/

#5 - Self Directed Learning/ http://selfdirection.blogspot.com/

Blog #6: Teaching Manners/Ethics in Blogs

2006-03-20T13:11:00.000-05:00

Author: Lisa Star

Topic: I am interested in discussing how we can teach students to use online tools such as blogs with appropriate standards. Ethics?/Standards?/Community Rules? do all these issues need to be retaught in online blogs forums and other such mediums?

Blog #5: Integrating Blogs in the Curriculum

2006-03-20T13:10:00.000-05:00

Author: Karen Wahl from Mercer County Community College,

Topic: I would also be interested in a blog on How Blogs could be useful in Distance Learning (online courses). Do blogs serve the same purpose as an online discussion board? Do they have other advantages? I'm not quite clear.

Blog #4 Using Wiki's for Faculty Engagement

2006-03-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

Author: Elizabeth Dellavedova, NVCC Annada

Topic: We are looking into a wiki as an outreach tool to our faculty. As a community college, the big problem is reaching the adjunct population.

Blog#3: Using Blogs to Engage Self Directed Learning

2006-03-20T13:05:00.000-05:00

Author: Vicki Robinson/National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology & Beth Dailey/Nicolet Area Tecnical College

Topic Summaries from both: Beth Dailey said... I would love to participate in the blogs being suggested. I'm especially interested in how to incorporate blogs in an online course. We have been exploring the concept of self-dircted learning: how to assist students in the development self-directed learning skills. I would be happy to host a blog on that subject

Vicki Robinson said...A major frustration for a lot of college instructors is that many of our students are not at a point where they see themselves as constructors of knowledge. They see themselves as receivers of the instructor's knowledge, which leads to a certain passivity in their approach to their studies. A wiki seems to me to be the perfect vehicle to make the true nature of learning concrete; at the end of the quarter/semester, the class ends up with a coherent record of their communal experience, constructed by the class with expert guidance from the teacher.This is a nice vision. But how does one get there from here?

Blog #2: Learning Objects

2006-03-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

Author: Kelly Stack from UC Santa Cruz.

Topic: I'm interested in looking at reasons why learning objects tend to not be re-used in higher education instruction, particularly at research univesities. What are the cultural, technical, psychological, and temporal barriers to use of learning objects by faculty at colleges and universities?

Blog #1 - ACRL Information Literacy Standards & participatory technology

2006-03-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

Author: Serge Danielson-Francois
Topic: I would be interested in a blog on ACRL Information Literacy Standards and participatory technology (blogs, Wikis, feeds)

Instructions for new Blogs

2006-03-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

Here are the instructions for the next step of the blogging process based on the topics that were suggested in the posts:

1. Each topic is now listed in a separate post.
2. Each topic has at least one assigned based on the person who suggested the topic.
3. The author(s) should add a few comments expanding on the purpose of the blog.
4. Everyone involved in this three week workshop should select at least one of these blogs to work on either as an author/moderator/or particiapant.
5. I recommend that 2-3 people manage the blog and the others sign up to participate as students.
6. Please post your name, title and email address as a comment in the post of the blog you wish to participate and please indicate what role you wish to have moderator/participant.
7. The person assigned as the author of the blog can select the online tool to use. You may use Blogger.com or any other tool.
8. Author and moderators should setup the blog, invite the participants and start the instructions.
9. Be sure to post the location of the blog, how to login, and when discussion will start.The purpose of this exercise is to give you an introductory experience at setting up, hosting, and moderating a short blog.

If there is not a topic you are interested in, it is not to late to add - just respond with a comment to this post and I will add more blog topics.Any questions send them my way.

I hope to see the blogs running in the next day and can remain running throughout the workshop or longer...

Group Blogs

2006-03-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

In this post you need to only 3 questions:

1. Your Name and Institution
2. Are you willing to host a blog?
3. What topic would you like to suggest for the blog?

This post will remain active for 48 hours as people step forward to respond. As the close of that time - we will divide off the groups and merge partners so that the new blogs can get started.

Working solely online without communicating in a classroom setting can be confusing - so please email with questions if you need to know what direction to go in next.

Your task for today is to use the comment link to respond to this post answering the three questions above.

star@tltgroup.org

Open Space Learning in a BLOG???

2006-03-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

The process we are following for the division of our online groups is a moderated version of "Open Space Learning".

Here are some brief quotes from the open space process:

Open Space is based in the belief that organizations and communities run on passion and responsibility. It allows groups of any size to self-organize around what they really care about to get things done. It's been called passion bounded by responsibility, the energy of a good coffee break, intentional self-organization, spirit at work, chaos and creativity, evolution in organization, and a simple, powerful way to get people and organizations moving -- when and where it's needed most.

There are 4 principles:

"Whoever comes is the right people"
"Whenever it starts is the right time"
"Whatever happens is the only thing that could have"
"When it's over, it's over"

If you would like to read more on open space visit - http://www.openspaceworld.org/.

The post following this information will help you to start forming groups! Post comments about Open Space to this section.

Start of Group Blogs Instructions

2006-03-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

We would like to have a number of you form your own group and start working on individual blogs. Here are just a few parameters to get you started:

The Blog does not have to reside on this Blogger.com server. If you would like to highlight another service that would be great.
The focus of the blog would most useful if it provided a forum for discussion and exchange of information in a topic related to the workshop - but any topic that help the group ingage in a blog is OK.
Groups should be of around 2-3 people at the post for those moderation the blog - this is to help everyone get the chance to work on the administration of the blog.
The post following this one will give people the opportunity to post topics that they are interested in pursuing and we will help divide you out for the groups.

Archives and Links

2006-03-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

The archives for the slides and the synchronouse session are now posted at -http://www.tltgroup.org/blogworkshop/archives.htm.

If you would like to view just the links - you can see them at http://www.tltgroup.org/blogworkshop/links.htm.

If you have a link or resource to contribute we would be happy to add it to the site.

If there are resources you would like to see addressed, please use the comments link and respond to this post.

Different Shared Blog Services

2006-03-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

Blogger.com is only one of many blog sites available for you to use. Use this post and respond using the comment link to contribute other blog services.

Include information on the blog site, costs, and features. Be sure to leave a link so that other can visit.

If you visit the site and would like to comment if you have used the site or have information to support that application you can add that to the comments in the post as well.

Hi all

2006-03-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Hi all, this is Yasemin Tunc from Ball State University. I am the director of technology training there. My unit is made up of 3 training specialists and myself. We provide workshops and one-on-on training for faculty and staff on all Microsoft, Adobe/Macromedia software plus Blackboard and a few home grown educational technology products. It's a very busy place.

I am looking forward to working with you all. I am currently in the process of crating a training session for our faculty on creating and using blogs in their courses, so this workshop came at the best possible time. Thank you!

I am willing to work/partner with anyone who does not have a group for the exercises. Pls let me know.

"See" you Tuesday

2006-03-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

Millie Werner 3 Months
Photo by paul werner

Interesting Blogs

2006-03-15T11:58:00.000-05:00

Do you host an interesting Blog? Have you found a certain Blog useful in your teaching? Use the comment feature and reply to this post to submit some information on a blog you would recommend is worth taking a look at. Can be academic, serious, or one just for fun!

Lisa

how to post your message

2006-03-15T09:24:00.000-05:00

Please click "Comments" under the "Introduce Yourself" topic to post your message. From there you can publish your comments to this specific topic. Hope this makes your life easier :-)

Shouhong

2006-03-14T19:04:00.000-05:00

I hope I'm doing this correctly. I'm Elizabeth Dellavedova. Don't bother with the last name. It's a tongue twister. I'm a part-time librarian working in Collection Development and Reference at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale. Nice to meet everyone!

Introduce Yourself

2006-03-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

Use this post area to introduce yourself and tell us about your background. Use this post to experiment with the features of the blogger interface. You can use the text editor or the html editor to compose - add an image if you like!

2006-03-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

We look forward to working with you all during this next 3 weeks!

Steve Gilbert & Lisa Star & Shouhong Zhang
3/13/2006

Welcome to TLT Blog Workshop

2006-03-13T14:21:00.000-05:00

This blog has been created by the TLT Group for the workshop exploring Web Communication Trends: Blogs, Wikis, Newsfeeds, & Aggregators.

Please feel open to explore, read, post, and edit throughout the blog.

Enjoy!