WCS Technology Integration » Web 2.0

Weblogs vs. Message Boards

jamielpeters — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:35:15 +0000

I love this incredibly easy to read/understand graphic.

What are the Differences Between Message Boards and Weblogs? | Common Craft – Social Design for the Web

Web 2.0 Overload

jamielpeters — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:44:36 +0000

Wow, it’s been quite a while since I last posted…

I have spent the better part of the morning creating a workshop on Web 2.0 tools (or so I thought). Just as I was finishing I decided to check out Robin Good’s blog for a couple of new web 2.0 goodies. After 20 minutes, my Flock taskbar was inundated with open tabs, all ready for my perusal. I DON’T HAVE THE TIME OR ENERGY TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THESE TOOLS! Just as I think I’ve found the next cool thing, I stumble upon something else that is entirely new and just as great! When will it stop? Though its exciting, I worry about where this is all headed. How can we expect our faculty and staff to keep up with the tools when the integration specialist can barely keep up? Will people eventually get over it and quit looking for new tools? How many more social networking sites can possibly be created this week? What’s next?

Projects at WCS

jamielpeters — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:10:11 +0000

Lately, my afternoons have been consumed by workshops, inservice classes, and one-on-one sessions. With all of the technology integration happening at Williamson, I decided it was finally time to start posting about it. I have created a new page at the top of my blog aptly named, WCS Projects. Feel free to check out what’s happening at Williamson and post a comment letting us know what you think!

Teacher Podcasts

jamielpeters — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:14:05 +0000

What if we looked at podcasts in Williamson differently? Sure, the podcasting with students is great; it’s working out wonderfully and people are loving the idea. I know it’s still a relatively new idea in the district, but what if teachers were to start podcasting? Teachers could create short podcasts reviewing main ideas for quizzes, exams, and regents. Many of our students already have an iPod or MP3 player. They could download the data at night and listen to the review on the bus before school, on the track as they practice, or in the computer lab during a study hall. They could listen to their own teachers explain and describe difficult content before walking into the doors of their classrooms. Because we can name the files and give them ID3 tags, we can organize our WCS podcast content by subject area, teacher, narrator, grade level, curriculum content, or whatever! The possibilities are endless! What else could we do with our new digital voice recorders?

technorati tags:podcasting, ipod, mp3, williamson+central

Podcasting

jamielpeters — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:12:37 +0000

You may have noticed the new, “Listen to this podcast” link below each post. Courtesy of Talkr, my *dedicated* readers can now listen to all of my blog posts on their computer, MP3 player, or PDA.

Homework Casting

jamielpeters — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 18:21:11 +0000

homecast.jpg (JPEG Image, 725×550 pixels)

What a beautiful concept…

Blogs for Learning

jamielpeters — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 17:08:29 +0000

Thought this might be of interest to our Williamson Pilot group. It has case studies, tutorials, and other web 2.0 info.

“The goal of Blogs for Learning is to provide information and resources
as to the technical, legal, and pedagogical aspects of blogging in the
classroom.”

Blogs for Learning

Can teachers do it alone?

jamielpeters — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 16:37:32 +0000

I just read a post from Harry Tuttle’s blog about teachers and their dependency on technology staff is schools.

Have
teachers embedded technology-infused learning activities into their
curriculum so that they are self-sustaining and even constantly
improving? Or is technology use dependent on people outside the
classroom?

Education with Technology: Dependent or Self-Sustaining Technology-Infused Learning

It made me think about the blogging/web 2.0 transition Williamson is trying to make. I have met with each of the teachers and showed them how to login to their blogs and post. I have even shown a few how to utilize RSS and other web 2.0 tools. Once I leave their rooms or they leave my office, what happens? Will they need to contact me for more help? Are they ready to “run” on their own? I worry that pushing technology too fast can mean more work for the technology professionals and more headaches for the faculty attempting to use them. What’s your take?

Blogging Regulation

jamielpeters — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 13:34:49 +0000

It’s done! We finally have a bloging regulation at Williamson! Attached you will find the file for your perusal. Let me know your thoughts and comments.
WCS Blogging Regulation

Why blogging? & How can we control it?

jamielpeters — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:28:56 +0000

A few teachers have stopped me in the hall and asked “why the push for blogs?” I say, why not? What have blogs done to earn such a bad reputation thus far? Sure, a few employees (OK, maybe 36) have been fired over the content found within their blogs. But why? Probably because they were not following the rules and regulations set-forth by an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). These employees were posting confidential information, gripes about co-workers, and innapproriate photographs. Sure, all of these offenses warrant the given punishment. It would be no different than a student posting answers to an exam (confidential information), bad-mouthing a teacher or other students (gripes about a co-worker), or posting crude images (innapropriate photographs). If done, students would face immediate consequences and likely a pretty harsh punishment. So why is it a surprise that these employees were fired? Just as we need to make sure our students understand the severity of publishing for the world to see, so do corporate employees. How do we accomplish this? Through the use of an AUP. If a student were to post innapropriate pictures on his or her blog, how would we be able to appropriately punish if the offense was never deemed an official violation? Through the use of an AUP.

What would a blogging AUP do for Williamson?

It would list all accepetable and unacceptable uses of blogs in the district. It would also lay a framework for infractions and their respective punishments. The WCS Classroom Blog Policy would require both parents and students to sign before being allowed to actually blog within the district.

Classroom Blog Policy PDF