Page 223 - DCAP609_CLOUD_COMPUTING

Cloud Computing

Notes
Share your feed reader with your learning team and begin to explore together. Ask
peers about the most interesting articles they're reading. Make it a point to talk with
a colleague about a shared blog post at least twice each week.

Over time, you'll start to see a real change in the quality of the conversations that you're
having with your peers. Instead of simply chatting about your weekend, you'll find yourself
debating the merits of the new practices that you've stumbled across online. For perhaps
the first time, your learning team will work from a common foundation of challenging
ideas that can stretch your cooperative thinking and growth.
Writing Blogs and Wikis
Although reading blogs is the best way to start incorporating 21st-century tools into your
plan for professional learning, writing your own blog about instruction can be equally
powerful. Bloggers spend significant time pushing their own thinking-and having their
thinking pushed by others. They respond to comments and link to other writers, connecting
to and creating interesting ideas. Some develop curriculum and instructional materials
together. Others review resources and debate the merits of the individual tools of teaching.
Philosophical conversations about what works in schools are common as teachers talk
about everything from homework and grading practices to school and district policies
that affect teaching and learning. Blogs become a forum for public articulation-and public
articulation is essential for educators interested in refining and revising their thinking
about teaching and learning.
In today's digital age, free digital tools like blogs and wikis ensure that your voice can be
heard without cost. All you need are a few good ideas, a bit of determination, and some
basic word-processing skills.
Writing Blogs

If you're confident in your writing ability, consider starting your own blog. Although
becoming a blogger may sound intimidating, most blog services are user-friendly. After
you create an account, you'll be working in windows that look like those in any word-
processing application. Familiar toolbars enable you to change fonts, add links, and center
content. When you're finished writing, click on a "publish" button and your work is
automatically posted to the Web.
Explore the following blog services:

Typepad (www.typepad.com): Typepad is a blogging service that requires a paid
subscription, but it may be worth the investment because it comes with a broad
range of technical support and file storage options that free blogging services don't
always provide. I've chosen Typepad for my own blog, The Tempered Radical (http:/
/teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical).
Blogger (www.blogger.com): The main advantage of Blogger is that it's a free Google
product. Google users need only one username and password to sign in for all of
their Google services, which makes it as close as you can get to one-stop shopping
for digital tools. For an example of Blogger in action, check out The Fischbowl at
http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com.

Edublogs (www.edublogs.org): Edublogs is one of the only free blogging services
that is completely dedicated to educators. The advantage of creating your own
digital home with Edublogs is that you'll be instantly connected to a community of
like-minded writers who might just become your readers. For an example of
Edublogs in action, check out In Practice at http://inpractice.edublogs.org.
Contd....

218 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY