I just updated the handout for Registering for an Edublog Username by making the screen shots a little larger and easier to read. Since many teachers like to print a copy of the manual, I’m trying to keep the pages to 30. I deleted the section on selecting time zones since it no longer seems necessary to adjust the time zone.

As always, suggestions are welcome for improving and updating the Intro to EB Manual (latest update = August 25, 2008)

A very enthusiastic new Edublogger, Tammy Null, emailed a question today regarding adding some teachers to her eSCIweb site. Creating a handout on how to register seemed like a good idea. I’ve added this one-pager at the end of the updated Intro to EB Manual (page 30).

Although I generally use Firefox for my browser, last week I was facilitating an Edublogs workshop for the Area 3 Writing Project and noticed an issue with embedded files when viewed in IE: the files appear as  blank boxes and no amount of clicking can activate or open them. So I turned to the EB Forum and found the solution: Use Firefox!

But if you must use IE, here’s your workaround: Same as always, you will need to copy the embed code from the media site and then open the HTML editor of your post or page. Put your cursor where you want the media file to appear and paste in the code. Then click on Publish or, if you’ve already published this page or post, click on Save. Do NOT go back into the Visual editor. For some reason, with IE, if you head back into the Visual editor, the embed code changes, which is not good.

I’ve updated the Intro to Edublogs Manual to include the embedding issue - and also added instructions on adding a hyperlink to a comment. Here’s the linik: http://blogwalker.edublogs.org/files/2008/08/edublogs_08-14a3wp1.pdf.

I just finished a week-long tech workshop for the Area 3 Writing Project. What a treat to hang out for five days with 18 enthusiastic teachers, eager to add Web 2.0 tools to their classroom toolkit. For many it was a steep learning curve, but all left with at least one Edublog ready to go. Throughout the week I would periodically suggest that they check out the wealth of tips that the wonderful Sue Waters keeps sending our way via The Edublogger. The post I most often referred them to was 100 Edublogs Themes Separated into Categories .

This morning I’ve added another post and a comment to my list of favorites from The Edublogger:

• Here’s My First Five Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts - From Sue - Once again, Sue puts it all in a nutshell.
• Teacher and Student Blogging that Succeeds - From Dean Shareski (via Jan Smith’s comment on The Edublogger) - I like how Dean has nailed down some realities about blogging, e.g, ” Blogging is way more about reading than it is writing. Many teachers don’t see this at first.” Lots of food for thought contained in each of the five pointers.

Heading into my workshop wiki to add these three links to my blogging resources.

The art of blogging is something that few can understand unless they’ve experienced it for themselves. All the reading in the world, all the conversations with bloggers, and all the conference sessions can only give you so much. The practical side, the “street smarts” as some would say, comes from engaging in the process. While it is possible to offer great resources, suggestions, and even approaches without ever blogging, the key to making blogs a transformative part of the classroom requires an intimate knowledge of blogging not just the knowledge gained from “sitting on the sidelines.” Ryan Bretag

I stumbled onto the gold mine this morning when I checked the NCTE Talkies ListServ and clicked on Ryan Bretag’s responses about student bloggers. Ryan explains, “…my work with teachers and students on transformative blogging/connective writing/whatever starts with reading and commenting.” In reading his TechLearning article Get off the Sidelines and into the Game and his extensive reading list for bloggers, I thought about the one-day workshop I did last week for EDCOE on blogging. As has happened many times before, yet another group of teachers set up their Edublog sites as a class website. But I’m ok with that because at least they have taken a first step.

I currently offer a two-hour workshop for my own district entitled Blogging for the Absolute Beginner, during which teachers read blogs and do some commenting. I’m thinking of extending it to a full-day workshop, so that after they’ve had a few hours to read and comment on other educators’ blogs and to reflect on the personal and professional benefits of blogging, I would then introduce them to Google Reader, so they would leave the workshop with a self-selected community of blogging mentors. Day two would be the Going Live with Edublogs workshop (currently just a 3-hour session) - with breaks throughout the day to check their Google Reader.

The good thing about Edublogs, for instance, is also the bad thing because as Ryan points out “Blogging is challenging yet blogs are easy to setup. IMHO, this is part of the challenge because the needed investment in learning and potentially rethinking our thoughts on teaching and learning are passed by in the excitement to just get a tool in the classroom.” But that’s exactly how I entered the blogosphere. I was fully into three-years’ worth of facilitating student blogging projects before I became a blogger. It was a post by Wes Fryer that brought me on board. Suddenly I got it - that I could truly be a part of - and contribute to - conversations in ways not possible before “getting off the sidelines and into the game.”

*Image from Derek Wenmoth via Ryan’s blog.

I’ve been working fast and furiously to keep up with all the changes happening at Edublogs.org. I’m pretty sure James Farmer never sleeps in order to keep up with the updates, enhancements, fixes, and forum discussions. So here’s a link to my latest Intro to Edublogs Manual. It’s pretty complete, but I plan to keep making updates as needed and posting the links here as well as in the sidebar (under Resources).

I’ve included directions on adding media, using the new visual editor icons, but so far those images, PowerPoints, etc. have not been uploading. Everything else seems to be working well:-)

A huge virtual hug to James for all his efforts - and Sue Waters too! Check out Sue’s video tour.

Amazing what can change with Edublogs in the course of a week! I considered deleting my previous post with its link to my “updated” EB Manual, which as of today is is already very much outdated, but decided to leave it just as proof of what a dynamic application and community the Edublogs.org is.

Hope to have to have a revised manual available by the end of the week.

For an update at a glance, check out The Edublogger’s Quick Tour, created by and updated regularly by Sue Waters.

I just finished updating my Introduction to EB Manual and have included an Edublogs Widget Glossary. It’s hard to stay ahead of all the enhancements James keeps sending our way;-).

I still have a few questions about James’ speedy method for creating student accounts, but am heading into The Edublogger and EB Forum right now to check for recent discussions on this topic - with a goal of adding this section to the manual soon.