Cindy Kukla's List: Blogs

• Technology Newsletter Blog

• Let’s take a small timeout from all our many blogger “disclosure” issues of late and look at an interesting, (presumably) positive side of political blogging. In what seems to be a trend in Georgia, yet another blogger has thrown a hat into the public service arena. John Heneghan of Heneghan’s Dunwoody Blog has decided to seek a seat on the soon-to-be City of Dunwoody council.

• We do not like to describe blogging by comparing it to a diary. But it would not be inaccurate to call this blog just that. It is a diary of my greater mind, my experiences, observations, and reflections, mixed in with the responses of an eclectic community of readers — who are often the smarter part of me.It is a conversation.I blog to learn.

   

  I do not promise answers here. I will ask far more questions.

   

  Many of the barriers that prevent us from modernizing our education systems come from the baggage of outdated notions about teaching, learning, curriculum, our children, and their future. Asking questions seems to be one way of probing and provoking new perceptions about what we do, why we do it, and how we might adapt within an almost constantly changing environment.

• To put it as simply as possible – a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.

• Act like you would in real life: Just because you’re hiding behind a computer

  

  as you type doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to connect what you say online with who you are as a real person.
• Follow the golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated, and you’ll develop a reputation for being a worthy friend and follow who other users will want to pass along to their network.
• Social media is about the personal effort behind the connection.
• Always share your best work: You never know who’s watching you on Twitter, so always promote your absolute best work, not your mediocre stuff
• Don’t make stupid mistakes: You’re not receiving an official grade from your tweets and updates, but you are being judged on your grammar mistakes.
• • Edit your work: Take a few seconds to review your messages so that you can correct any mistakes.
   
  • Avoid exclamation points: They’re warranted sometimes, but punctuation marks are annoying to read and make your writing look juvenile.
   
  • Always be honest and transparent: With so many distractions going on online, keep your messages short, clear and truthful.

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• Another advantage is security. While some would argue that having the source ‘exposed’ is a security hole that has not been proven to be true. In fact the exact opposite has been the case. The fact that the source is open has produced an environment in which security flaws are patched rapidly.

• Many teachers have started to experiment with blogs. For some, a blog is an electronic notebook -- one students can't lose (or claim the dog ate). For others, it's a forum where a class discussion can unfold 24/7. Either way, blogging can be a powerful educational tool. Suggestions for setting up a classroom blog follow. (Keep in mind that these ideas assume student access to computers and the Internet.)