Tapped In Newsletter: March 2010
...On the Tapis
March 2010
Issue 148
In This Issue
[1] What does Social Networking mean to you? - BJ Berquist
[2] Tapped In Technology Tip
[3] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[4] Tapped In Tweets
[5] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas A. Edison
[1] What does Social Networking mean to you? - BJ Berquist
A person can go crazy trying to keep up with and making sense of the many 'social networking' sites that are on the web! My first thought about social networking is that it's that old fashioned tried and true face-to-face gathering of people of similar interests that is usually called a 'conference.' Although attending conferences is fun and you meet lots of very interesting people and drag home a ton of stuff that you may or may not eventually use, sleep in a hotel and do lots of walking and eat far more than you ever should. This has its pros and cons . . . no dishes to do or beds to make and you really did want to get that walking program kick started. But, there's no place like home, sleeping in your own bed and getting back to your normal routines.
You're home for a couple of days and have caught up on your sleep and your lesson plans and laundry and now what? How do you take the knowledge that you acquired at the conference and transfer it to your colleagues and to your teaching? Do you maintain contact with the people you met at the conference? How do you do that? E-mail? What happens when you try to use some tool or lesson you picked up at the conference and you run into a glitch or a question or your students aren't engaging like the presenter promised they would?
You have many options. You can participate in an online social networking site like Facebook or a Ning . . . or Tapped In. The choice of the site has to be yours and that site has to meet your needs. Think about your comfort level in a particular site. When you log in are you greeted by a person who can answer questions if you have them? Are you bombarded with ads that slowly target specific things you have been discussing privately with another member of the site? Does that site offer opportunities to communicate both synchronously (real time) and asynchronously (discussion boards) with members of the group? Do you feel that you are networking within a community of your peers when you log in? Does the site offer opportunities to participate in professional development sessions that will support and expand your teaching? If, after participating in the PD session, you have questions, is there a forum in which you can ask your questions and problem solve or brainstorm with the group?
As I stated at the beginning of this article, only you can choose what site meets your needs. I hope that you will take the time to really explore the features of all sites and learning environments before you make that decision. The answer may not be just one site, but be careful that you don't spread yourself too thinly among a large group of sites. This fragments your participation, limits your development of expertise about the site and its features, and diminishes what you can accomplish (similar to multitasking).
As with any article in the Tapis Newsletter, I'd love to hear your responses and ideas on this topic. What have you found that works for you? You can e-mail your comments to bjb@tappedin.org or post it here.
[2] Tapped In Technology Tip
Uploading Files in a Group Room
To upload a file to a group room, log in and enter the room. Click on FILES on the blue menu on the left of the web window (Welcome, Notes, Files, Links, etc.). Select Upload file (in green) at the top of the screen. Next to File Name you will see "Choose File" button. When this button is pressed you will have the opportunity to find the file on your computer. Select the file you want to upload. Add a description if you wish. If you choose to check the 'featured' box, that file will be listed under Featured Items on the room's Welcome Screen. The final step is to press the "upload file" button at the bottom of the page.
To view what you have just done, click on Welcome at the top of the blue menu on the left. This will bring you back to the Welcome screen. If you featured your file, it will be listed under Featured Files. If not featured, the file can be found under Files in the blue menu. You can also place folders in Files and then enter your file to the applicable folder.
[3] Tips and Comments from the Experts
Jeff Cooper presented at the Learning Times online International Conference, March 17-19, 2010, where he showed tools and sites using the WiZiQ, Yugma, 4Teachers, K to 3, TakingItGlobal, K-12 Campus group rooms in Tapped In. Thinking along the lines of sustainability and communities, Jeff hopes to show that TI is the place to be!
Jeff shared this conference podcast from Nancy White, "Should We Be Using Communities for Learning?"
--------------------
"Web 2.0 has the potential to change the way we learn and teach mathematics not unlike what Apple Computer did back in 1984 with their launch of the Macintosh, which changed the way everyone uses computers today," according to Ihor Charischak of CLIME Connections and a member of Tapped In, the Council for Technology in Math Education (2009). However, math education has not kept up with Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 in Instruction: Adding Spice to Math Education - Patricia Deubel, THE Journal, Sunday, February 28, 2010
--------------------
Susan Roseman, leader of K to 3+ Resources, is involved in the Knowplace Web 2.0 Tools for Collaboration, Sharing and Brainstorming. The nature of Web 2.0 is changing for educators. Many of the current Web 2.0 tools are increasingly user friendly and tailored to the school environment. The focus will be on teacher tested ideas or lesson plans which can be readily integrated into your academic program. Featuring such tools as Posterous, Wallwisher, Sharetabs, Furl, Create a Graph, Wordle, Livebinders, Twitter and Tapped In etc., this discussion thread will be geared to the K to 6 educator. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in real time Tapped In informal chats. Share the joys, challenges and success of integrating these FREE tools into your classroom environment.
--------------------
The Journal, March 2010 "Flippin' Out" by Katherine Grayson Article on flip cameras features Rushton Hurley of Next Vista and a discussion leader in Tapped In.
--------------------
If you have a comment or experience to share with the Tapped In community, please submit the information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org or post your comment here.
Tapped In Tweets
Tapped In posts are made to Twitter reminding users of events that will occur each day. The responses have been gratifying to say the least! Here's a sample of responses from last month.
Parth Savla: If u're at all in the ed'tion space, best FF @tappedinorg, by copying tweets onto a list & reviewing it weekly has provided SO many gr8 ideas!
TappedIn responded: Thanks, Parth!
Parth replied: @tappedinorg No thank U. U're tweets have contributed invaluably 2 the GEL Project & inspired the teachers in integrating tech w/ed
--------------------
Jim Vanides: @tappedinorg I'm still inspired by your Community and Collaboration (see mention in my blog http://bit.ly/c5xc0f)
--------------------
Follow Tapped In on Twitter at twitter.com/tappedinorg.
[5] About ...On the Tapis
Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.
Contact us if you have any questions about your subscription, password or user name, or if you have any news items that you want to share with the community for ...On the Tapis.