ISTEConnects to Attend WordCamp on Your Behalf ~ We Want your Questions!
Today there are countless educational technology blogs powered by WordPress. ISTEConnects is one these blogs, so I thought I’d attend WordPress camp this Saturday, May 16th at the University of Baltimore Thumel Business Center. The camp will be attended by the regions most talented and influential devlopers as well as plenty of “newbs” like myself. The BarCamp model promotes the interaction of experts and novices so there is an incredible amount of collaborative learning going on.
That being said, if you’d like to ask these developers about WordPress, blogging, educational technology, or anything else you think they can provide valuable insight on please let me know. Leave a comment on this post with your questions and I’ll attempt to find the experts that can answer them. I’ll be armed with several Flip minoHD cameras to capture these answers which I will then post for all of you.
Remember, these are the guys that have pioneered the “Web 2.0″ movement and are continuing to create new technologies and philosophies that promote the free distribution of information so there is much we can learn from them. Aaron Brazell is the organizer and heavy lifter of WordCamp Mid-Atlantic. You can read a recent blog post about his experience with organizing WordCamp here.
9 Comments
Ann Grub
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 2:45 pm
Question: Do you think middle school students should blog? Why or why not?
Joe Corbett
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 2:49 pm
@Ann That’s a great questions, I think I’d like to find out their opinion on kids taking to the blogosphere in general and what concerns parents and educators should have about it. I wonder if there is specific content filters that WordPress can use to protect young bloggers.
Mellisa Powers
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 4:02 pm
My question is not about WordPress but I think the developers you are planning to speak with should be able to answer it.
How can Twitter be used as an educational tool?
I personally think it has many applications but I’m concerned about students coming across unfriendly tweets. So I have a second Questions…
What methods or safeguards are available to filter out unwanted Tweets.
Thanks Joe!
Wes Fryer
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 4:04 pm
I definitely think middle school students should be blogging, as well as elementary and high school students. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, students need to practice their writing skills regularly, and blogging is an excellent way to do this. We get better at things we practice regularly. It is common for kids to be required to read regularly during and after school, but regular writing assignments are less common. Blogging provides a way to both encourage and empower students students to write regularly.
The second main reason I’d argue students (including middle school students) should be blogging is so they can learn how to properly and responsibly use hyperlinked writing. Hyperlinks are one of the foundational technologies of the Internet. Students use hyperlinks by clicking on them, but far fewer create their own hyperlinks as part of their class assignments. Certainly the prevalence of social networking platforms has increased opportunities for students to use hyperlinks in their writing, but voluntary student use of social networking platforms does not necessarily result in students learning about hyperlinking and responsible use of hyperlinks.
Students should be encouraged to blog responsibly so they can discover their own voice. This is not the case for everyone, but some students are able to really discover their own voice via writing. The encouragement and positive feedback which young writers can receive through writing on blogs and other social websites can play an important role in defining identity for a young person. Students can and do often discover the power of their words, and the importance of sharing thoughts as well as ideas.
I commend the Support Blogging Wiki to you for additional resources related to student blogging, including lots of great links to classroom blogs where you can find examples of student work.
Wes Fryer
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 4:10 pm
Mellisa:
Whether or not you encounter “unfriendly” tweets has everything to do with who you follow, and what you post yourself and therefore receive as @reply and direct messages on Twitter. Students can encounter/receive “unfriendly” email messages quite easily, in face I would argue more easily than one can encounter inappropriate Twitter content today due to the proliferation of spam in email.
I think microblogging platforms can be used powerfully by student groups to connect and collaborate, but Twitter does not have to be the platform of choice. Edmodo is an education-specific microblogging platform which students can use, and it can be setup to address student privacy issues much more effectively than Twitter.
Why should middle school students blog? » Moving at the Speed of Creativity
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 4:15 pm
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Wordpress Blog Services - Why should middle school students blog?
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 at 5:20 pm
[...] left the following as a comment today on the ISTEconnects blog post, “ISTEConnects to Attend WordCamp on Your Behalf ~ We Want your Questions!” This was in response to Ann Grub’s question, “Do you think middle school students should blog? [...]
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