The Best of Web 2.0 Page 1 - Guides - Designtechnica

The Best of Web 2.0 Page 1 - Guides - Designtechnica
The awards are in - or at least one sites pick of awards for Web 2.0 applications. Many of the ones picked are the applications I have chosen as part of the Digital Media course (CEd534) that I will be teaching in May.

The only application I do not have familiarity with (yet) is DIGG - so guess what I'll be tackling.

Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » Podcast with ProfCast

Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » Podcast with ProfCast
As I explore ways to move forward with podcasts as enhancements to online learning, it is good to see additional tools that can easily help make this happen.

Wesley does another nice job in sharing information here.

What is a Blog?

What exactly is a blog?

We start out with a definition from Wikipedia - Blog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is a weblog? A weblog, or blog, is a personal journal on the web. Weblogs express as many different subjects and opinions as there are people writing them. Some blogs are highly influential and have enormous readership while others are primarily intended for a close circle of family and friends.

The power of weblogs is that they allow millions of people to easily publish their ideas, and millions more to comment on them. Blogs are a fluid, dynamic medium, more akin to a 'conversation' than to a library — which is how the Web has often been described in the past. With an increasing number of people reading, writing, and commenting on blogs, the way we use the Web is shifting in a fundamental way. Instead of being passive consumers of information, more and more Internet users are becoming active participants. Weblogs let everyone have a voice.
(From Technorati)

The missing Blog (locating Blogs)

A wonderful resource for finding Blogs is Technorati - as they describe:

Technorati is a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere — the world of weblogs.

Searching and Finding Blogs

Once you find a blog - and read it - and like it - how do you know when the author posts new information? The simplest way is to use an aggregator and RSS.

Wesley Fryer describes this quite well in his
Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » What IS RSS? post.

Some aggregators include:

• AmphetaDesk
• First Say
• Bloglines
  

Keeping up with Blogs - Using RSS

Once you find a blog - and read it - and like it - how do you know when the author posts new information? The simplest way is to use an aggregator and RSS.

Wesley Fryer describes this quite well in his
Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » What IS RSS? post.

Some aggregators include:

• AmphetaDesk
• First Say
• Bloglines
  

Tools to support Writing

CESA 12 offers Tools to Support K-12 Student Writing.

Blog Software (lets create)

Now it's time to think about creating your own Blog - or school Blog.

Packages may be purchased and run locally on a web server - some include:

• Manilla
• Moveable Type
  

Other free packages which run locally include:

• Wordpress
• Serendipity

And there are Web Hosting Services

• TypePad
• Blogger
• LiveJournal
• mySpace
  

Article - Free Blog Software / Hosting - Free Blog Providers & Services

Tools to enhance your Blog (or just use)

Many online tools exist to help your blog be stronger - more useful, enhanced..... you choose the word. A few that you should be aware of

Social bookmark managers:

• del.icio.us
• iKeepBookmarks
• SiteBar

Pictures:

• Flickr
• SnapFish
• Fotki

Podcasts and vlogs (way more than I am willing to cover).

Books and Articles

Some more reading to help you.....

Books (some)

• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
  
• The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog
• Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content

Blogs (some)

• Learn2Blog
• Educational Weblogs
  

Articles - Some

• The Online Edge - School Blogs
  District Administration
• Blogs: Blog to Learn - Learn to Blog
  

Shameless Plug - CED534 - Digital Media

Looking to learn more about all of this? Consider joining me in May as I teach a three credit course for Cardinal Stritch University.

CED 534 - Digital Media
We will cover:

• Blog Creation
• Create a Del.icio.us site
• Create a Flikkr site
• Create a CalenderHub site
• Create/locate educational podcasts
  
• and much much more!!!!

Contact Louis Loeffler for more information - ljloeffler @ stritch.edu