block3

=Block 3 - Playing in the Sandbox =

Objectives of Block 3
This week you will: • create a Google Account that provides a variety of online tools • create your own “sandbox” in the form of a personal blog and make your first posting • learn how to subscribe to blog feeds which will come to you • create a social bookmarking resource and network with others in finding the gems in the Internet • explore how blogs are being used by educators and students in education This week's Brain Blurt

1. Create a Google Account
“ A Google Account functions as a single Google login, made up of an email address and password of your choosing. It gives you access to various Google services…” ([|more]) This free account will provide you access to some online tools that you will use within this class.

[|Create your free account]

Once you have established your account you can customize the content of the page to suit your needs. Click Save on the right click on the “**My Account**” at the top right hand corner of the page and make this your “**Home Page**” on your browser (Use the browser Preferences menu to make this change). The benefit of this is that you can customize the page with various tools that you want to use. More on that later. By the way, if you already have a Google account, great! You are set to go! [|Harness the power of your Google Account with Google Docs]

2. Build Your Own Sandbox
a.) Well we’ve already begun to take a look at other educators’ sandboxes so now it is time to build your own sandbox. Your blog will provide you space to share your learning and a portfolio of your work throughout and beyond this class. Your construction will be unique to you as your context and your prior knowledge and experiences will feed your reflections in your sandbox.

Use the blog resources to help you get your blog started. Again, if you already have a blog that you have created at another time, you are set to go! If you need to refer to the blog resources in the future, the link is also found in "Resources" on the wiki menu.

b.) Last week you selected one (or more) blog of an educator(s) that is involved in the world of educational technology. Following one of these blogs each week provides you with “grains of sand” for your sandbox or food for thought as you ponder the use of the Internet within the curriculum.

Now your task is to post each week to your blog. Reflect on your learning, your reading of your chosen educational technology blog and the connections you are making to your work in your context. **Build sandcastles! Be proud!**

Google Reader
Now that you have begun to follow the blog of an educational technology blogger, bring that blog feed into your Google Account. Setting up a Google Reader Account (this uses your Google Account that you made earlier). Using this service within your Google Account you can subscribe to the blogs you want to follow and new posting will come to you.
 * **Setting up a Google Reader Account** || **Google Reader in Plain English** ||
 * media type="youtube" key="9thcD3cS1so" height="344" width="425" || media type="youtube" key="VSPZ2Uu_X3Y" height="295" width="480" ||

Social Bookmarking
This is another way of bringing the pails of water to you sandbox. Learn about Social Bookmarking and then //**choose one**// of the services below to create your own. Share your social bookmarking page on our wiki. media type="youtube" key="x66lV7GOcNU" height="344" width="425" 1. Create a [|Delicious account] 2. An Introduction to del.icio.us Using Firefox - [|Video Tutorial] 3.[|Adding tool bar buttons on your browser and other helpful tips from Delicious] 4. Add sites that can be useful to your work. Each bookmarked page must be tagged with a "**oneword**" label to categorize the site. Learn more about tagging and the background of [|Folksonomies]
 * Social Bookmarking in Plain English -** from Common Craft
 * Bookmarking with Delicious**

This is another social bookmarking tool but with features that are especially useful for researcher. You can join different groups in Diigo and subscribe to posting up dates so that they arrive in your email (daily, weekly or monthly). //“More exclusively, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within Diigo or a special link forwarded to someone else. The name "Diigo" is an abbreviation for "Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff".”// ([|source]) 1. Create a [|Diigo account] 2. [|FireFox Browser Add-ons for Diigo] 3. User Viewpoint “[|7 Reasons Diigo Tastes Better than Delicious]”
 * Bookmarking with Diigo**

4. Classroom Sandboxes
So, what's up with blogs? Some reading, writing, reflecting, connecting, communicating. Article: [|Footprints in the Digital][|Age] by Will Richardson

Okay then! Let's get the kids involved. The following resources will help you explore how blogs are used in a few classrooms. [|Class Blogmeister] is the creation of David Warlick. The teacher creates an account and writes blog postings that appear in the center of the page. Links to other blogs or resources appear on the left as well as links to some of the student blog postings. The class list of student bloggers is on the right. You may have to click on the name of the class in order to see the expanded list. In working with teachers at the elementary level, I encourage them to use pseudonyms rather than the actual student names promoting Internet Safety. Within this tool, the teacher determines the security level and student postings are not made public until the teacher has approved them through his/her email account.
 * **Blogging Tool - Class Blogmeister**

You will note the Cluster Maps on these blogs. Click on them to see from where in the world these blogs have been accessed. Also check the number of reads on the teacher posting andon some of the student postings. Are there any comments left for the teacher post or the student posts? Can you tell their origin? || [|Grade 1]in Moose Jaw Sk.

[|Grade 6 and 7]in Regina

[|Grade 7 and 8]in Regina

[|Junior High in Snow Lake Manitoba] Thin Walls blog is a collaboration with a classroom in Los Angeles now in it's 2nd year. The teacher here is [|Clarence Fischer]

[|High School in Australia] ||

As you examine these class blogs, ask yourself, "What is going on here?" "How are the students learning?" and "What difference, if any, does the use of blogs make in terms of student learning?" This week we will use the Discussion Tab at the top of this wiki page to begin sharing our ideas and insights to the use of blogs in the classroom. Remember that your participation in the weekly discussions of each block (located in the Discussion tab at the top of this page) are an important part of your participation in this learning community.

From where you are standing, how are things looking now?

5. Conclusion
Make sure you have: • created a Google Account • created your own “sandbox” blog and made your first posting • subscribed to at least one blog feed of an educational technology leader • created a social bookmarking account in Delicious **or** Diigo and shared your link on the wiki page • explored how blogs are being used by educators and students in education • shared your thoughts and reflections on the Discussions tab of the wiki

You have had a busy week and we hope this block has you helped you begin to make connections to your own work, provided "grains of sand" for your thinking and reflection, and has you excited about new possibilities in using the Internet to support learning.