Many years ago there was a television series in Britain called “The Cres”. Short for “The Crescent”, the series followed the day-to-day lives of the fictional residents of a street somewhere in England. Most episodes were engaging and humorous, and made compelling viewing. An article I read this morning reminded me of this, and made me think that a “hyperlocal” blog could work really well for a school.
3 ways of maintaining privacy
Her Majesty The Queen of England serves as an inspirational role model in terms of personal privacy. Despite being in the public eye for 60 years, she has managed to keep her personal opinions to herself. Almost nobody knows, for example, what her favourite tea is (although Smokey Earl Grey has been hinted at). Yet there are many people who seem to announce to the world each time they blow their nose!
The balance between public and private is, of course, a personal choice, and one made more difficult by other people openly talking about one’s activities or tagging one’s photos, and much standard business advice. But if you do want to be fairly private while maintaining a strong online presence, here are some suggestions. You may like to share and discuss these with students, who are also striving to get this balance correct.
Are links in blogs always a good thing?
I know it’s de rigeur to always include links in blog posts: it’s polite, gets you Brownie points with other people, provides a rich and rewarding reading experience, and generally helps make the blogging world go round.
But is always right?
Audio slides
One of the things I like about the ICT in Education site (he says modestly) is that you can listen to the articles as well as read them. It means that the articles are accessible to sight-impaired people. But when I upload presentations, that is no longer true. At least, not until now.
Blogging by email via a phone
Blogging by phone is not ideal under normal circumstances, but is a good way of quickly updating your blog when you need to.
Read MoreIf this, then that
Here’s a web application that’s potentially very useful. IFTTT lets you create your own automated actions using a range of social networking tools. I’ve been messing around with it only for about an hour, so I haven’t thoroughly explored all it has to offer, but already I can see it will prove to have been an excellent investment in time.
The logic of the way it works is as follows:
Why Schools Cannot Ignore Web 2.0
Here are 4 posts from about 18 months ago dealing with why schools cannot ignore Web 2.0.
Read MoreFive Funky Flickr Tools
E-safety: whose responsibility is it?
A year ago today I put forward some ideas for teaching youngsters how to take responsibility for their digital footprint. A year on, the article is still relevant in my opinion.
Read MoreReview of The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers
The aim of this book, written by Darren Rowse and Glenn Murray, is to help you write better blog posts. However, “better” in this context refers to generating more visitors to your blog rather than “just” improving your writing skills. The idea is a simple one: why not identify the key elements of successful blogging, and then provide a tool by which to measure how a particular blog post has done? That’s exactly what the book aims to do.
Read MoreThe Transparency Initiative
I recently attended a Westminster eForum seminar about PR and journalism, where I met Dr Martin Moore, of the Media Standards Trust. In his 4 minute talk, Martin mentioned the Trust’s involvement in something called The Transparency Initiative. The Trust has teamed up with the Web Science Research Initiative for this grant-funded work. I caught up with Martin a few days ago and we discussed it.
Here’s the situation which, as either a citizen, a teacher or a blogger you will understand only too well. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between commercial and, for want of a better word, factual, content in the news.
Read MoreIntegrity, journalism and PR
Having integrity is not simply a luxury, it is an economic necessity.
Read MoreThe power of blogs and the perils of email
I originally wrote this article on 13th April 2009. Although the story that inspired it is no longer news (although the problem it relates to, about losing data, hasn’t gone away), I think that the interplay and rivalry between “mainstream media” and blogging is still interesting. This has been brought into sharp focus by the withdrawing from blogging by two political bloggers.I think when investigative journalism is done well, such as Watergate, the Expenses Scandal, it is second to none. But increasingly I find myself frustrated by “flimsy” reporting in the press.
Read MoreWhen speed is NOT of the essence
When I saw an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph this morning inviting readers to make their announcements in the traditional way, I thought, “Who’d want to do that when you can do it free of charge via Facebook?”.
Read MoreFound on the web: 02/17/2011 (a.m.)
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10 things I’ve learned in a year of blogging | JAMES MICHIE
Very useful post, which succinctly suggests 10 things to consider when blogging. I think the author, James Mitchie, should have added a #11: create list posts. These always go down well, as exemplified here!
Thanks to twitterers @zoeross19 and @largerama for mentioning it.
3 “Top 10” educational technology resources for teachers and students
David Andrade has been putting together some “top ten” resources lists over at his blog, Educational Technology Guy. These are well worth reading.
Read MoreThe biological implications of social networking
I’ve just read a fascinating article which looks at what happens on a physiological level when someone experiences social isolation.
Read MoreAlso on the web: 02/03/2011 (a.m.)
Here are three great resources I came across this morning. They are from Dan Roberts, Shelly Terrell and Doug Woods. Please read, enjoy and pass on to colleagues and friends.
Read MoreAssessment and learning
I was very privileged to be able to chair, and listen to, an online talk by Ashley Allain today, and I’d like to pick out just a few of the many incisive points Ashley made.
Read MoreAssessment in a home school setting
Assessment is difficult. Whatever “solutions” you might come across, unless you can open up someone’s brain and work out what’s been going on, assessment will always be a “best estimate” situation.
And “21st century learning and teaching” has, arguably, made matters worse.