"Creativity is contagious, pass it on." ~Albert Einstein

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I was planning on posting something worthwhile for my 5,000th post on Twitter.  Well, I lost track of my Tweet count and noticed that I was in a “tweeting conversation” when my 5,000th tweet happened.  So much for planning to tweet something legendary!  I noticed about the same time I posted my 5,000th tweet that I was approaching 1,500 followers.  I thought it would be cool to offer that follower the opportunity to collaborate on a blog post about the power of building a Professional Learning Network (PLN for those of you new to Twitter).

Now I have blogged about the power of Twitter before.  It was actually my very first blog post that I composed this summer.  Well, I kept tabs on my followers for a couple of days and I finally got my 1,500th follower.  His name is Felix Jacomino  (@felixjacomino) and he is the Director of Technology at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School, a 1:1 iPad elementary school in Coconut Grove, Florida.  He is an amazing educator and we share some of the same passions when it comes to education.  
Most importantly to me, he is a member of my PLN!  

I asked Felix if he would like to collaborate on a blog post and he immediately responded a resounding, “yes!”  Long story short, we created a Google Doc and thought it would be a good idea to have our collaborative post focus on the power of creating a PLN.  As an educator, I have been able to provide some amazing, authentic experiences to my students.  I owe a 98% of the new and innovative ideas that I have tried to the educators, administrators and specialists that I follow on Twitter. I am able to learn from educators from all over the world!

Have you been considering Twitter as an educator, but have been dragging your feet because you just can’t see the benefits?  Here is some advice...Twitter style.  All of the information below will be in 140 characters or less, just like a regular tweet.
  • “Twitter allows you as an educator to take control of your learning” ~via @bethstill
  • Build a solid PLN, give it six weeks, be a lurker, start retweeting, when the mood strikes you start tweeting. It will be the best decision you have ever made as an educator.
  • Twitter leverages MILLIONS of educators.
  • Those educators tend to be passionate about their profession and love to share the best of what they find and implement.
  • Teachers tweet not because they have to, but because they want to.  That says a lot!
  • Twitter demolishes the walls in your classroom.
  • Twitter creates an authentic audience for the students in your classroom.
  • Twitter allows a teacher to create, mold and model a positive digital footprint.
  • YOU decide what information comes to you through detailed searches.
  • Find a hashtag or two, plug them in to visibletweets.com, sit back & have fun!
  • A sign of a great teacher is being a life-long learner. In this phase, you can’t ignore Twitter! 
Need a good hashtag to follow? Here are some basic suggestions for you:
OR you can always go to this MONSTER list of hashtags created by @cybraryman1 Jerry Blumengarten.

Feel free to contact us with what your interest/focus is, and we will get back to you with a hashtag or person to follow that will make your twitter experience well worth it! Good luck! 
 
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Thursday, April 19, 2012

I have been using KIDBLOG.org this year with grades 2-5 and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing our students have the opportunity to express themselves on a platform that is truly authentic.  The great thing about KIDBLOG is that it allows you the opportunity to embed HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

Many of the Web 2.0 sites out there today allow you to copy the HTML code of the product you created.    This is a great thing for not only the environment (saves paper), but for you as an educator (creates a paperless classroom).  Why not take that HTML code and embed it into your students blogs?

At the end of the year, your students will have a digital collection that they can review and reflect on what they learned.

Here is a very easy embedding activity to get you started using Wordle.

Create your Wordle 

Once you are done with your Wordle, click on "Save to public gallery":


I advise students to save the Wordle as "Untitled" or some other simple title:


When you see this prompt, scroll to the bottom of the page to get the HTML code:


Your HTML code will look something like this:



Copy the HTML Code, go to your KIDBLOG account and click on "New Post", which will lead you to a screen like this:

Make sure you click on HTML:
Paste your HTML Code into the body of the blog post


Make sure you title your Blog Post, and then after you have pasted your HTML code into the body of the blog post click on "Visual".  Be ready for this because your kids will be amazed when the Wordle appears!

Congratulations!  You have just taught your students how to EMBED.  What a truly authentic experience.  Instead of "turning it in" you just "embedded it!"








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