RWLD #6 - Due Monday, June 14 - RSS, PLN and Google Apps

Monday:

This is our first day of the on-campus portion of our course.  Today we will begin with the basics like registering your computer, etc.

We will then explore RSS and Personal Learning Networks (PLN).

Prensky, M. (2005) Young Minds, Fast Times: The Twenty-First-Century Digital Learner
Read this article and leave your own insightful comment.

The Networked Student - a 5-minute video about Connectivism and Personal Learning Networks.

Getting Started with iGoogle tutorial (.pdf) - Printed

An important part of your PLN is your Twittersphere. So we hope to use Twitter before lunch. You SHOULD have TweetDeck downloaded to your computer before Monday.

Getting Started with Twitter-TweetDeck tutorial (.pdf) - Printed

In the afternoon, we will explore a way to share research through social bookmarking and then have a visit from a teacher who has made a big difference in the world with PLNs, Vicki Davis.

Personal Learning Networks are Virtual Lockers for Schoolkids
Vicki Davis explains how she uses PLNs in her classroom






Social Bookmarking
Social Bookmarking is a system for sharing your discoveries in an organized manner. The Social Bookmarking tool is a huge database containing lots of personal databases. When you bookmark your sites and then assign tags to them (e.g., Web2.0, videos, socialbookmarking), it is reflected in the Master Database. This means that when people search for a specific tag (e.g., Web2.0) they will search all of the entries in all of the personal databases. 


You need to learn about this in Plain English:
Social Bookmarking in Plain English (3:30) - Uses the Del.icio.us tool.   We will learn Diigo.

Diigo is a bookmarking tool that can be shared with groups.
Diigo: Highlight and Share the Web - Social Bookmarking - 4 minute video intro

Getting Started with Diigo tutorial (.pdf) - Printed 

Collaborative Research Project

Finally, we will explore how you can work collaboratively, using Google Docs.

• Google Docs in Plain English - 3-minute overview of Google Docs.
• Writing a Love Letter Using Google Docs - This is how Google Docs SHOULD be used.
• Using Forms in Google Docs - 2-minute video overview of using and creating Google Forms. 

Google Docs Tutorials

• Getting Started with Google Docs tutorial (.pdf) - Printed
• Getting Started with Google Forms tutorial (.pdf) - Printed
• Google Presentations (TeacherTube video) - Try learning this software piece through watching a video.  What is your preferred form of learning?

We will engage in a Collaborative Research Project in class.  This will provide you with an opportunity to use a variety of tools including: Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Presenter, Google Spreadsheet, Twitter, Jing and wiki.

Sounds like a Ton of Work but this is how we will lay the groundwork for the upcoming week.

Optionals:

The Machine is Us/ing Us
A 4:34 video taking us on a tour of what and how the Web is changing who and what and where we are.

The Gen-Y guide to Web2.0@Work
Sacha Chua's presentation on Slideshare about how her network helped her get a job with IBM. (2 minutes silent presentation)

Want More Traffic on Your Blog? 
You should be proud of the blogs you have been writing. Your classmates have been commenting about your work as well as other admirers like . . . me. Now you can share your gems of ideas with the world through Google. The Web-bots might find your blogs eventually, but you can nurture it along by signing up with Google. This will direct them towards your blog.  It is not difficult.  Just follow this video and set of instructions I have created.

Signing Up Your Blog with Google

1. Go to Google.com
2. Click on the Business Solutions link in the middle of the page.
3. Next Page – click on the WebMaster Central link
4. Click on the Sign in to WebMaster Tools (You need to have a Google Account for this.  I assume that since you have a blogger account, you have a google account.  Just enter you name and password for blogger when they ask.
5. Next page – Click on the Add a site button in the middle of the page.
6. Add the URL for your blog site.
7. Click the Continue button.
8. You need to copy some HTML code into your blog.  So copy the Meta tag in the middle of the page.
9. Then open your blog.
10. Click on Customize.
11. Click on Edit HTML
12. You will find something that says in the code.  Paste the Meta tag into the code right after the
13. Click on Save Template
14. Now you just need to wait to see what happens when Google sends out a WebBot to look at your blog.

photos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA; http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/wikis/