Progress???

I appreciate the comments about my wiki experiment. I am worried about staff thinking that it is another thing to do. I realize that I have to simplify to make it easy. With that said, this module has caused me to really look into one Web 2.0 application only to come to the realization that there is more out there than I thought. I need to get staff to look into these things more than we currrently do. We keep waiting for hardware and "stuff", but the stuff is really out there and free.

Wiki

I just completed our staff meeting for the week. The staff is tired today. They try so hard. I continue to believe that teaching is not that hard of a job if you don't care.
On to the wiki. I am so new to this, but the concept is that people provide "threads" which is like comments/chats. We can include profiles, videos, photos. I am looking to create chapters or areas in this wiki. One area or thread on Differentiated Instruction, one on Technology in the Classroom, one on Literacy Strategies, and one on Assessment. So my theory is that when teachers try things that they add to the wiki in the appropriate chapter/thread heading. When a website is used, the teachers can add that in the bookmark area.
Now, how do I get teachers to visit? How do I get teachers to look to see what others have done. I will have to learn about how folks are alerted to the fact that the wiki has been updated. I think that if people have to go to the site that they might not do it. If they are alerted via an email that has a ready link, then they might. People are trained to look at email and they will read it, but to proactively and thoughtfully go to a website - well.
Andy

Wetpaint

I ;have set up my wetpaint wiki site and am ready to begin adding items and collaborating with one of my teachers. The site and how it works is very much like my iGoogle page. It seems that I can add bookmarks and "sections" and photos. Others that are invited can add sections too. I hope to invite my entire staff to the site and to begin the process of collaborating and sharing professional development activities and efforts.
Professional development seems to have hit the skids lately, as all we do is try to correct behavior. I hope this is just a momentary bump in the road. We seem to be dealing with so much more than just education. While this is a technology class and a tech project I'm undertaking, the stuff we're dealing with is old-fashioned behavior.
Hanging on

Progress???

I made zero progress today in setting up my Wetpaint wiki. My goal is to have it be a collaborative professional development tool. The day was filled with team meetings and a seemingly endless trail of eighth grade boys' bad behavior.
I did have a chance to comment on the other blogs. I passed along the Pixlr site to our art teacher and she was really impressed. Again, there is so much to find.
I hope to make progress tomorrow.
Andy

Monday Monday

Well, we have reached mod 4 - the exploration of a Web 2.0 tool. I checked out the sites that were offered. I spent quite a bit of time exploring on Kathy Schrock's site. Again, I feel stupid because there is so much out there that I don't know how to use.
I looked at Yugma, which is a web-conferencing site. Really cool. I just don't live in that world and don't see that I would use it much. But, it's free for the most part and it might be something we could use in the future.
I also looked and Ning. I have read about it before and I hear people talking about Ning quite often. Since I am not a Facebook person, I don't easily relate to Ning. It quotes itself as a social networking site - kind of like Linkedin. I don't see myself using that.
So, onto an educational application. I am going to dig deep into one of the Wiki sites like Wetpaint, PBwiki, or Wikispaces. I really want to see what we could do with them in a class situation. I am looking for something I can share with my teachers as well.

I liked the story from last week out of New Jersey where the middle school principal tried to limit kids access to Facebook. He said that no kid should have it and urged parents to step in. That was interesting. Now schools are policing out of school behavior too!