Thing #5- Dipping My Toes Into the Blogosphere

It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I feel over loaded with the information that is coming into my Google Reader. It would be nice to find a web site that contains a index (or would it be bibliography?) of blogs containing descriptions, links and critiques of many blogs in a certain field. It takes me a lot of time just to skim through a single site and it would be convenient to be able save time searching the web for sites that interest me, but then the search is part of the fun.
I thought the blog site Student 2.0 would be really cool, and opportunity to get some insight to the inner workings of the adolescent brain (that’s a scary thought) but I find that the site has had little updating in the past year.
I'm liking the site Tech & Learning as a place to get information about specific applications of technology to the educational field. I just wish that I had been following it last week before I bought Adobe Photo Shop Elements 7 and Adobe Premier 7, this just days before Adobe offered an educational software bundle containing version 8 of these applications, plus some other related applications, all for significantly less than what I paid.

I like my space and astronomy sites best, I'll post some links to them later.

Thing #4 Blogging Begins With Reading

I consider myself a literate person, perhaps not an avid reader, but I usually have at least one book going and I subscribe to a few too many magazines. But I had never read blogs before today.

Blogs are personal and they should be interesting to the reader. As you start scanning a blog, and it doesn't interest you there is no reason to linger, just go on to the next. Blogs seem to be all about finding ideas, personalities and stories that you find interesting. Magazine content will focus on particular fields of interest; think about what you might expect to find in Time, National Geographic, Sky and Telescope, Vermont Life, or Wine Spectator. But Blogs are focused on whatever maybe the interests of the author(s). The topics will be eclectic but they all flow from the same source, be it one author, a particular student class, or or some other group.

Many of the bloggers I read tended to be opinionated. I guess that makes sense, the people drawn to blogging would be those that feel compelled to share their ideas. Educational blogging can also be about creating a space were students are encouraged to share their reactions to their learning in the classroom. I thought Scribe Post was a cool idea and I was impressed with the quality of the posts.

Unlike this post. And this too exemplifies more of the qualities of some of the blogs that I read today. I noticed that blogs tend to be personal, transparent, unpolished, often a work in progress.

Thing 2 A Day in the Life of Web 2.0

I have an unusual teaching assignment. I teach at the Planetarium. Believe me when I say that I am fully aware of what a great gig I have; but I do miss not having my own students. I miss the regular, daily conversations that teachers have with their students. I feel it is the teacher/student relationship, built through regular communication in a school building, that facilitates authentic learning.

I do not know what potential may exist on the Web 2.0, but I am looking for ways to initiate and sustain communication with the students that visit the Planetarium. Perhaps unrealistic, I can see not without risks, but at least this is an avenue that I feel I must explore.

This will be a stretch for me. Communication has never come easily and I feel quite comfortable being a private person. The thought of opening a Face Book account makes me uneasy and I suspect that a Twitter account would be a waste of time. I get my pod-casts listening to NPR. But I will be open minded and I'll be keeping my eyes open too, and perhaps I'll find a really useful tool I can use to benefit the students in this district.

Thing 1

71/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners

I know the purpose of this assignment is just to get us writing a blog and I suspect that the actual substance of the assignment is not very important. Never the less, I think this particular list was pretty lame. Don't get me wrong, I like numbered lists as well as the next person, I just think the traits in this list, while perhaps important for adults beginning to explore some of the tools on the Web 2.0; are not as important as some of the traits that come to my mind when I think of what makes a successful “LLL”. So please bear with me as I offer my list....

71/2 Habits (Generalized), of Successful Life Long Learners

Listed in no particular order….

1. Be curious. The world is a strange and wonderful place. It is a blessing to be here. Be sure to open your eyes, breath deeply, you will not be here forever.

2. Be open-minded. Do not let preconceived notions blind you to unsuspected possibilities and solutions. A receptive state of mind is crucial to gaining insight and to encouraging those “ah ha” moments.

3. Be aware of the goodness in the world. It is my experience that learning comes easier and is more fun for people that believe in the basic goodness of the world, including a belief in the basic goodness and worth of all people.

4. Be patient with yourself and others. Change takes time and learning can be difficult. Sometimes having patience with a teacher will pay rewards in the end- it may be worthwhile to invest the time required to understand what a teacher is communicating.

5. Be open to mystery. Some things are, in essence, mysterious and rightfully should be perceived as such.

6. Know that true beauty is real and absolute. Beauty and truth go hand in hand; the presence of one is an indication of the other.

7. Envision your ideals. Set your goals. Make your plans. Learn as needed.

7^1/2 Have fun, play; I suspect it is a big part of why we are here.