Google Reader-Reading Blogs: Step Seven

Reading
Don't tell anyone...I follow my own blog on Google Reader. It is just to see how it looks when I update with new posts...but is it really? I am usually pleased to read the new post, and if I'm not it is simple to edit and update.

It was easy to find blogs to add to my list. Colleagues who read blogs willingly suggest those they follow and my TLDL instructors have offered suggestions too.  I follow some book reviewers, a number of podcasters and the blogs of my group members in TLDL Web 2.0. Presently, Joyce Valenza, Buffy Hamilton, Will Richardson, Dean Shareski, Doug Johnson, Judy O'Connell are some of my favourites.
Adding a new subscription is as easy as copying the URL from a chosen site and pasting it in the Subscribe box, clicking on the RSS button on a blog and pasting the code in the box, or searching using the Subscribe box and key words. Selection based on content and the average number of posts per week seems to make a difference. Google Reader keeps me in touch with the educational and educational technology writing of quite a few professionals in the field. I follow Google news feeds using the search terms: teacher, web 2.0 and Web 2.0, education.
Google Reader allows users to organize their feeds in folders. I have created four.

My remaining subscriptions appear alphabetically. I will need to use more files as my collection of feeds grows.
The number of unread posts is indicated beside the title of the feed or the folder. Once the updates have been read the number disappears. I enjoy finding bold numbers beside my feeds, skimming through the reading list and watching the numbers get smaller and smaller until they disappear. I have even used the Reader Play feed setting which is similar to a slide show of the feeds.No matter which setting I use I always find something I want to read more carefully.
Being Read
Clustrmaps keeps track of visitors to my blog. I am astonished to see that because I have connected Clustrmaps to Twitter the Twitter logo appears on my map when I am mentioned in a tweet.

As amazing as it seems the above chart shows the country totals of viewers of my blog between November 9 and November 16. Add my blog to your Reader and see your dot appear and help raise the numbers.

Five Blogging Fundamentals: Step Two

What have I learned about blogging?

My experience creating and posting to Steps to Web 2.0 has given me some insight into blogs and blogging.

1. Create a site with an interesting design:

    -preview as you play with the layout to see how things look

    -don't hesitate to change the design if it isn't working (most recently-November 13, 2011)

Blogger Design Page

2. Use interesting titles and tags:

    -play with words but be clear about the content of your blog and posts
    -tag each post to clarify content
    -be flexible and creative

3. Add images, screencasts or videos to create interest:

     -enhance using public domain, creative commons or original digital images

4. Include hyperlinks to internet sources:

     -include links to items you talk about and sources of further information. Reading on the Web includes hyperlinks which make your blog interactive and enhance content 

5. Share your passion

    -create a blog for your personal digital videos, photos, your interests, travels, or personal news or opinions

    -read, follow and comment on other blogs that interest you

   -if you want to introduce blogs to your students you need to blog yourself. Richardson (2009) states,"if we want our students to learn from blogs, we have to experience that learning first hand."(p.43)

Embracing a lack of knowledge

My Web 2.0 experience, although more than many of my generation is very limited. In the past I produced a number of school library web sites for the students at my middle school; the first used a template on a free site especially for teachers. Following professional development where I learned to use Dreamweaver MX I created another short-lived website. In early 2009 I attended the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Superconference and heard Will Richardson’s keynote address. I purchased Richardson’s (2009) book, Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms and avidly read the book, sticky-noting pages as I went. I marked pages referring to students “becoming ‘experts”...by using blogs”, (p. 32)  “Getting started with blogging...is not difficult”, (p. 44) setting up an aggregator: “I would suggest Google Reader”, (p. 73) “RSS is a powerful, flexible tool that I think will be changing our information gathering habits for years to come”, (p. 83) and podcasting; “easy to create, they are easy to consume as well”. (p. 111) Overwhelming to a teacher-librarian with limited access to the computer lab and therefore little experience with or opportunity to use these tools the book sat close by and untouched once the initial effect of the experience faded. Inspired by another OLA Superconference session where the presenter referred us to connecting educaton.com, and I read further about “portability (netbooks) & cloud computing (Google Apps)”, (Nevin, n.d.) I purchased five netbooks and by Fall 2010 had twelve netbooks and a wireless connection in the school library.

This YouTube video shows Nevin explaining how he set up netbooks and cloud computing in his school.     

I embraced my lack of knowledge and began to investigate the potential of Web 2.0 in my school. In October 2010 I registered my first blog @ Lougheed Library. Although the site has been intermittently blocked and unblocked by the board of education I promoted it and published some posts and a few pages. I introduced a library blog for girl readers and a blog for boys and have recently added The look of awesome @ Lougheed, a blog mimicking 1000 awesome things. With the arrival of the netbooks and a wireless connection I was able to encourage some teachers to come to the library to use Web 2.0 tools for podcasts using Audacity, for glogs using Glogster Edu and wikis on pbworks. My personal journey has included creating many wikis, a couple of glogs, and subscribing to Will Richardson’s  and other educator’s blogs using Google reader.

I have been lucky to be joined on my path by a colleague who is also registered in the University of Alberta Teacher Librarianship- distance learning program of the Master of Education Degree. We have been sharing web tools and web sites of interest and have decided to create a blog to lead teachers and teacher-librarians into the 21^st century. We value the tools and the journey and hope that we will be able to encourage others to engage in Web 2.0 experiences. This inquiry project and blog will provide the opportunity for me to learn more regarding the tools I have read about and explore in more depth the tools that have piqued my interest. I hope to become comfortable enough to model and provide training in Web 2.0 tools.