But, then again, what do I know?

General information about Podcasting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
http://www.cfbisd.edu/cfbisd_podcast_directions.htm
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/podcasting-101.htm
http://learninginhand.com/podcasting
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=970
http://www.addysg.org.uk/ipodined/news.php
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/10/10/how-to-podcast.html
http://www.teach42.com/2005/01/06/podcasting-its-easier-than-you-think

Some recommended Podcasts:

NOTE: Check out these podcasts! If you like one and want to subscribe to it, look for the XML or RSS chicklet or an RSS link on the page. Copy that address, then open iTunes. In the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast. Paste in the address and click OK. You'll automatically get the most current episode and all new ones, and if you want any of the back issues, click the Get button to download them too.

General Podcasts:
http://www.podcast.net/
http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_genres.php?pod_genre_id=7
http://www.pbs.org/podcasts/
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php

General School Podcasts:
http://epnweb.org/
http://davidwarlick.com/connectlearning/
http://www.browardschools.com/info/podcast.htm
http://www.eslpod.com/index.html
http://www.recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/channels/podchannels.php

Podcasts from Elementary Schools:
http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/shows/Willowcast12.html
http://www.austinisd.org/schools/website.phtml?id=092 (click on Technology)

Podcasts from Middle Schools:
http://www.mabryonline.org/podcasts/

Add comments to this post to let me know what you learned. Make sure to include the web address of the site and any new thoughts you gained.

http://www.blogsafety.com/
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/crunch/ (technically not a blog)

http://digikid.blogsome.com/

http://pedersondesigns.com/
http://learnerblogs.org/
http://edublogs.org/
http://www.classblogmeister.com/

http://english4040.blogspot.com/2006/01/blogging-as-good-conversation.html
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Plus ones in my blogroll:
Weblogg-ed News
David Warlick - 2 Cents Worth
blog of proximal development
iterating toward openness
techLEARNING.com
English 4040: The Mother Blog

And a great place to hunt for more:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/shareski

To write blogs:
http://www.wordpress.com/
http://www.blogger.com/start
http://www.bloglines.com/
http://www.typepad.com/
http://www.livejournal.com/

To read blogs:
http://www.google.com/reader
http://www.bloglines.com/

Sites about blogs:
http://technorati.com/blogs/
http://www.blogsearchengine.com/
http://search.blogger.com/
http://www.blogarama.com/
http://www.blogpulse.com/

It's all about communication. That's why we are looking at using blogging as a tool in the classroom. On http://www.techlearning.com/blog/main/archives/2006/02/oh_perfect_worl.html, I found the following quotes: "Simply put, the more ways we have to do what comes naturally, the more we do it." (Bonabeau, 2004). "One of the things that comes most naturally to humans is the desire to communicate; the internet amplifies our ability to do so" (Tyler, 2002).

Blogging is not an end unto itself; I don't believe that we should teach blogging for the sake of teaching blogging or even for the sake of creating bloggers. Rather, we want to help students communicate with each other - to learn how to express themselves - to learn how to evaluate the ideas of others and respond appropriately - to learn how to teach themselves, using the resources that they have available to them. We believe that students learn best when they discover things for themselves rather than when they absorb the things we try to pour into their heads.

So, as they communicate through blogging - as they think and express their own thoughts - as they reflect on the thoughts of others, they discover things for themselves. They learn.

Dale's note: We've gotten a good conversation going as a response to my original post. Since it's a great topic, I'm moving the discussion to the top level of the blog.

The question has come up - why are we moving away from face-to-face conversation and to something more distant, like blogging? (Michele, I hope I'm paraphrasing your question properly.) Shouldn't we be encouraging students to talk with each other more?

I don't feel that blogging will completely take the place of talking to each other, any more than I feel that online instruction will completely replace face-to-face instruction (but that's another topic altogether!). Like most things in life, it's not either/or but both/and. I love the synergy that goes on when people get to talking and the ideas start flowing, and I don't want to lose that. But, I do see that blogs have some advantages:

1. They broaden the audience. We all know shy people who will never speak up in class, but these same people might be willing to express their thoughts in a blog. Blogs also broaden the audience by opening the conversation up to people who were not in class that day and, possibly, to people in cyberspace.

2. They deepen the response. When engaged in a conversation (like ones I have with y'all), I don't always have the time to think through what I'm going to say. When I'm writing, however, I think it through more thoroughly and choose my words more carefully.

3. They provide a record. With blogs, you can always go back and read what others said or what you said. I don't know how many times I've pulled up an e-mail I saved in order to refresh my memory. That's kind of hard to do with a face-to-face conversation - especially if you're as forgetful as I am!

4. They expand the time. We're all so pushed with the things we have to cover in our limited time in class. When we can move the discussion outside of class - either in assignments where people are expected to post to a blog or in thoughts we just want them to read or think about - this eases the time crunch a bit. Of course, they may see this as just another homework assignment - but kids get more enthusiastic about blogging than about writing a paper, guaranteed!

If I keep going, I won't have anything to talk about Saturday morning! I'll hush now and let you post your comments.

On Saturday, February 18, I'll begin teaching a workshop to our school system's staff about how to use blogging and podcasting in an educational setting.

We're going to start with a brief overview about what blogs, podcasts, RSS, and wikis are. Then we'll spend a good bit of time digging around in the Interweb (I saw that term earlier today at http://english4040.blogspot.com/ and loved it as a description for Web 2.0) to hear what people are saying. We'll practice learning through the online conversation and see where it takes us. Then we'll set up our own blogs and put it into practice.

For the second session, March 4, we'll start in on podcasting...both as consumers and as producers. Should be a hoot!

Watch the comments on this post to see how it all turns out.

I believe that blogs are next big thing in communication between teachers, students, and parents. We are spending lots of time in teaching teachers how to use web pages and e-mail to communicate with parents, but I believe that if teachers learn how to blog, they'll never go back to doing web pages again. Why, you say? When you do web pages, you have to worry about formatting, pictures, and the like; with a blog, you can do text and text only. When you do web pages, you post them and hope people go to your site: with a blog, once you get your students' parents to subscribe, when you post it, they get it. Blogs are quick, clean, and simple -- all things that busy teachers need. During the next days and weeks, I'll be learning more about how to do this new thing of blogging. And hopefully, I'll learn enough that I can get some of our middle school staff blogging too! See ya!