technology


 * =Technology Resources [that might prove helpful]=

As you prepare for class and your future work as a teacher, my intent is that these technology resources will help you stay organized and work effectively at home and school. (from my good friend and colleague at Central Michigan University, Dr. Troy Hicks)

Understanding RSS and Google Reader
Part of becoming a good writer and professional teacher is to stay connected to the news, trends, and opinions that can inform your thinking and teaching. Using an RSS aggregator, or "reader," can help you do that. Also, because I am asking you to connect our course materials to larger issues in education through blogging, it is easy to move from your RSS reader into a story and then, using another Firfox plugin, start blogging about it. More on the blogging later, but here is some info about RSS and setting up your [|Google Reader].

RSS in Plain English by the Common Craft Show
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Setting up Google Reader
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Edublogs
Blogging has become a part of our vocabulary over the past five years and shows great potential for teachers and students to engage in writing and responding online. We will be using [|Edublogs], a site powered by a blogging platform called Word Press. Many educators are using these blogs to work with their students in compelling ways (see this [|recent list], for instance), and I will show you some examples later on this semester. For now, you might want to check out some of the [|videos] that explain Edublogs. Also, here is another Common Craft Show video explaining blogs.

Blogs in Plain English by the Common Craft Show
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Wikis and Google Docs
When we work and write together this semester (as a class, in groups, or just between you and a peer or me as the instructor), we will have various options for collaborating. Each place that we post our writing online is bounded by constraints of the technology, our audience and purpose for the writing task, and how we hope to engage and collaborate with others. Besides our blogs, which will be a place for your professional writing, two other technologies that we will be pursuing are wikis and Google Docs. We will talk more about the purposes and audiences for these writing spaces in class, but for now check out the Common Craft Show's intro to Wikis and Google Docs.

Google Docs by the Common Craft Show
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Wikis by the Common Craft Show
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