To Blog or Not To Blog
A while back, I did a posting on What Is A Blog. That was followed up by Where Is That Blog. I have been addressing the idea from the point of view of going out to look at OTHER people’s blogs. But what about YOUR point of view? Should YOU have a blog of your own? The answer rests solely with you.
There are a couple of big blog questions to ask yourself. First, and foremost, is what is your purpose for doing a blog? The reasons are as numerous as there are blogs. The reason for THIS blog, for example, is to provide information about learning online from several people’s perspectives. Our goal is to be a resource to those that are considering it, while at the same time being a sounding board for people that are in the midst of it. While I am seeing the results of that first goal, (I feel that there have been several great postings from Henry and Lauren), I am still looking forward to the blog becoming more interactive with people responding to the postings. When I was teaching a 2nd Grade class in the computer lab, I used a blog as a way for students to post their writings in response to questions about Native American Indians. In my original post, I included links for them to go do their research and come back with the answers. I had them create pictures in KidPix, saved them to a shared drive, and I went in and edited posts to include their pictures. It was a great experience. I encouraged them to include questions in their responses so that others would respond to them. I am hoping to do something similar to that with my current 5th Grade class. The common thread here, though, is that it should be a purpose that is not static. If you just want to give information and not get responses, create a simple Web Page, not a Blog.
There are varying degrees of difficulty in creating a blog of your own. At the most basic level is to use a site like Blogger. It is very intuitive and easy to use. It is a great place to start. I have not used Thoughts.com, but it is free, which makes it worth checking out. This site is created using WordPress. It is probably the most complex way to go, but the management of it once it is set up makes it well worth it. There are a couple of ways to go with WordPress. You can sign up for a free blog at Wordpress.Com. If you already have your own website and place to host it, you can download the WordPress software and set it up yourself at Wordpress.Org. I have used WordPress for my actual website for my students for a couple of years now (MisterMeeker.com). I love being able to handle all of my postings and maintenance from any computer with Internet access.
Whichever way you go, make it fun. Make it informative. Make it interactive.
If you use a blogging site that I have not mentioned and would like to recommend it others, or if you have questions about getting started, please post it here so that we can get everyone out there talking…about whatever you want.
Stretch Your Dollar: A College Degree For Less
WGU was recently featured on CBS 2 in Chicago.
“So, you want to go to college, but don’t have the time or the money to attend a traditional campus? There’s a cheaper, more convenient option that’s gaining credibility and helping you stretch your dollar…….”
For the full story and video, click here.
Where IS that Blog?
***Disclaimer*** The Internet is a minefield. Travel at your own risk. ***
Sad, but true. I’m not sure what the ratio truly is, but it feels like the junk far outweighs the good stuff sometimes. But when you DO find the worthwhile sites it is a joy to sit there and soak it in. There are lots of ways to find blogs. Of course, we have the ubiquitous Google. (Google: How to do a blog search). Another good search engine to use is Best of the Web. This link focuses on Blogs and tends to weed out the junk. Wendy Boswell at About.com has written a great article about finding blogs that fit her interest. She lists a good number of starting places, such as Technorati. You won’t find everything you need at one particular site. ReadWriteWeb has put together a nice comparison of Pros and Cons for some of the main blog resources, such as Technorati and Del.icio.us.
You know the old chestnut about a journey of a 1000 miles beginning with a single step. The same can be said of looking for Blogs and RSS feeds (which often go hand in hand, but not always). All you usually need to do is find ONE good starting point. The best blogs will provide you with links to other worthwhile places on the web. In an earlier post, I shared a link to the Top 100 Education Blogs. I also urge you to check out the blog roll located on our own page. Take off running and enjoy the trip. Just remember to share your experiences with us.
That’s a Relief
Stress. We all have it. We all hate it. Thinking about it causes more stress. What can you do to get rid of it? Well, we all know that the answer is “nothing”. There will always be sources of stress in our lives. What can we do to RELIEVE it momentarily, though, is a better question.
There are all kinds of websites out there that will give you recommendations on how to relieve stress. Sites like 25 ways to relieve stress, 25 MORE ways to relieve stress, and even 99 ways to relieve stress. (That last one would have done me in.) I have taken the time to cull through some of these, increasing MY stress level, so that you don’t have to.
There were some common themes that I saw building as I read through them. The first dealt with time management. Get up early. Get organized. Don’t procrastinate. Getting control of your time will greatly reduce your stress level. I know that one of my most stressful times is getting my wife and 4 daughters to pull together and get out the door on time. If I can get things started early…diaper bag packed, snacks for in the car…and loaded in the car, my mornings can be much more relaxed.
Will Rodgers said, “Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” And so, the second theme that jumped out at me was to start something new. Learn something new. Plant a garden. Try a new activity.
The third theme was to create a distraction for whatever is stressing you out. Listen to music. Write a journal. Write a story. Doodle! I love that one. I know that when I am just sitting with my 2 and 3 year olds and doodling mindlessly, it is VERY relaxing. Henri Matisse said, “Drawing is putting a line (a)round an idea.”
And so, I guess I can sum it up this way. Organize your time to get done what needs to be done. Get out and do something. After you’re done, take time to reflect on it. It’s in the reflection that I find my most relaxing moments.
What is RSS?
What is RSS? You see it on a lot of web pages these days. It’s even on this one. Take a look up at the top right hand corner. Do you see the icon that looks like little soundwaves radiating out? That indicates that this web page has an RSS feed. Real Simple Syndication. It is a way of aggregating your news information into a useable format. There are a number of ways to handle this. Firefox and Internet Explorer handle them differently. Internet Explorer will put it in your favorites under feeds. Firefox creates what it calls “Live Feeds”, which allows you to add them as buttons to your toolbar for easy access. Another option for Firefox is to use an add-on like Sage or NewsFox. These add-ons turn your browser into a newsreader. Visually this makes it easy to read. The real benefit, though, is that it will automatically add new blog posts or news items to your list to read. There are two other browsers out there that are worth mentioning, as they both handle RSS very well. The first is Opera. This had long been my browser of choice. From its Speed Dial front page to the RSS reader built in, this browser is fast and has a lot of customizable options going for it. The second one is a new one to me called Lunascape. This one has some pretty neat options, as well. The first thing that jumps out about it is that it is the only browser that I know of that uses the Trident Engine (IE), Gecko Engine (Firefox), and the Webkit Engine (Google Chrome). It probably can handle any web page that you can throw at it. As far as RSS goes, it allows you to create a scrolling ticker tape of your RSS feeds on the toolbar. You can also go the stand alone route by using programs such as Feed Demon or KlipFolio. If you use Vista and you use the sidebar, there are also RSS feed gadgets for you to add. Of course, Google has an online reader service.
So now that you have got yourself set up to receive news and blog posts on a daily basis, get busy. Read up on what’s happening. Participate in the discussions and get involved. Online education. Online communication. Social Networking. It’s not the future. It’s now. If you use RSS feeds regularly, what do YOU use? Do you have any great suggestions for me about some that I have missed?
