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15 useful Firefox extensions for bloggers by Don Reisinger As a Firefox user and blogger, I realized not too long ago that the best way to be more efficient was to find useful add-ons for the Mozilla Web browser. After trying a variety of Firefox extensions, I've found 15 that do a fine job of making my blogging more productive.

"For several years, the predominant blog layout has remained unchanged. Posts, usually shortened to fit neatly, sit on top of each other in descending order, headlines over each post. This creates a "log" feel from which the term "web log" or "blog" came. However, redesigns at two of the web's best-known blogs, Techcrunch and Mashable seem poised to shake up the traditional layout, offering slight variations that make the sites appear more like a traditional newspaper. The trend appears to be spreading. While no hard numbers exist, magazine layouts are among the most popular themes for existing blogs. These themes are generating some of the most hype among bloggers. Although the design of a blog is not always of particular import, as many readers read the content in an RSS reader, it is still an important consideration. It is one to which many novice bloggers don't give adequate weight. Choosing the wrong theme can make a site look dated or unprofessional, completely destroying any attempt to modernise one's web presence. For those seeking to enter the blogging realm, or to modernise an existing platform, a magazine theme may be a major step in the right direction. "

Interesting stuff - I quite fancy giving this a go with my blog and might try out some of the new Edublogs themes which appear to be flirting with this trend. I can see this layout being more appropriate for those looking to create an 'uber-blog' to accompany a programme of study - maybe with additional course management functions such as those offered by the Courseware plugin for Wordpress...?

"Journalists everywhere are starting blogs and entering the next phase in the history of journalism. Whether you call it Journalism 2.0, or a shift in media consciousness. It's pretty clear, the game has completely transformed. Transformation for the Better As the future of journalism unfolds, we're beginning to see just how beneficial this shift is for the writers out there. 1. We can interact directly with our audience. 2. We can write for a small audience, about what we care about. 3. We can profit directly, and immediately, from our writing. 4. We can build a reputation for ourselves, outside of an institution. The challenge is that journalists have to overcome a radical shift in thinking: whereas in the past we just concentrated in writing, and our business did all of our marketing and publishing. Us journalists of the future have to become a one-man journalistic machine. We have to take our writing from the idea to the audience all by ourselves. In blogging, there are a lot of things you need to consider to hit that mark of success. Suddenly, it isn't as easy to just write and publish blog posts! Know these most important tasks you need to do for your blog:"

"This is a true story. Professor "Jones" decides to experiment with a blog in his class. It takes him about 10 minutes to set up a free site using Blogger. He then watches students engage in lively discussions of case studies outside of class, and tweaks the blog as experience teaches him how best to use the system. Teaching with Technology column Thinking that others might want to add a blog to their class as well, he goes to IT and offers to lead workshops for faculty on blogging in higher education. A few weeks later he is informed by IT that they have not only rejected his proposal, but that he is in violation of university policy and must stop immediately. Professor Jones asks what university policy he has violated, and is told that the policy has not yet been created, but will be soon. Professor Jones asks how he could possibly have violated a policy that does not yet exist. Soon afterward the IT department announces a new initiative to implement blogging at the institution. A committee is formed, and after nearly a year of deliberation they choose to pay for a system-rather than adopt a free, readily available system-because it allows for centralized control. IT sends out an email announcing the new system, along with a text document outlining a long list of policies that strictly limit how it may be used. No one adopts the system, leading IT to complain that faculty do not want to use technology in their teaching."

Add Multimedia to Your Site with One Click. Apture provides the first rich communication platform allowing publishers and bloggers to easily turn flat pages of text into multimedia experiences.

World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others How to teach when learning is everywhere. by Will Richardson Print Forward Share Comments(0) Comment RSS Four teachers from High Tech High. Bringing Their A-Game: Humanities teacher Spencer Pforsich, digital arts/sound production teacher Margaret Noble, humanities teacher Leily Abbassi, and math/science teacher Marc Shulman make lessons come alive on the High Tech campuses in San Diego. Credit: David Julian Earlier this year, as I was listening to a presentation by an eleven-year-old community volunteer and blogger named Laura Stockman about the service projects she carries out in her hometown outside Buffalo, New York, an audience member asked where she got her ideas for her good work. Her response blew me away. "I ask my readers," she said. I doubt anyone in the room could have guessed that answer. But if you look at the Clustrmap on Laura's blog, Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference, you'll see that Laura's readers -- each represented by a little red dot -- come from all over the world. She has a network of connections, people from almost every continent and country, who share their own stories of service or volunteer to assist Laura in her work. She's sharing and learning and collaborating in ways that were unheard of just a few years ago.

« Allow me to recommend… On becoming a learning professional… Posted by Catherine Lombardozzi on October 19, 2008 "Reject the myth that we learn from experience, and accept the reality that we learn by reflecting on experience." - Kent W. Seibert For a number of reasons, I've been thinking a lot recently about the role of reflection in learning - especially in learning how to be an effective practitioner in workplace learning. The Web 2.0 for Learning Professionals course spent the week on the topic of blogging, which is a form of public reflection for many bloggers. And, to prepare for an upcoming class, I've been re-reading Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schon's seminal work on the subject

"IBM Social Computing Guidelines Blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds and social media In the spring of 2005, IBMers used a wiki to create a set of guidelines for all IBMers who wanted to blog. These guidelines aimed to provide helpful, practical advice-and also to protect both IBM bloggers and IBM itself, as the company sought to embrace the blogosphere. Since then, many new forms of social media have emerged. So we turned to IBMers again to re-examine our guidelines and determine what needed to be modified. The effort has broadened the scope of the existing guidelines to include all forms of social computing. Below are the current and official "IBM Social Computing Guidelines," which continue to evolve as new technologies and social networking tools become available."

T&L blogger Ryan Bretag recently sat down with his students and asked them about 21st-Century Learning strategies. Their suggestions are amazing. Read the whole piece here: http://www.techlearning.com/blogs.aspx?id=15776 Some snippets: Each discussion point started and ended with the focus on learning. For example, the students talked about creating a learning environment that was about learning not just memorization. To do this, they wanted to seek out partnerships both locally and globally in order to build connections that would foster a "learning to learn" movement where students are learning for learning, open to learning, and innovative. Clearly, textbooks were not fast enough nor diverse enough in their eyes. They longed for ways to interact with materials that were updated frequently and offered a wealth of perspectives. In fact, a good portion felt there was a need to move beyond the textbook because "information changes to rapidly" for textbooks to be the main source in the classroom. Along with this, information and resources needed to come in a variety of formats if the curriculum was going to remain progressive and current: narrative, fiction, digital, multimedia, and non-fiction.

great model for staff dev program on web 2.0 in T&L About Learning 2.0 @ Mac What is Learning 2.0 @ Mac & why are we doing it? Learning 2.0 @ Mac is a hands-on, immersive learning programme that provides an opportunity to explore Web 2.0 tools and the impact these tools are having on libraries & library service. All participants are encouraged to use the programme as an opportunity to check out 2.0 technologies and think about ways in which McMaster Libraries can use these tools to deliver innovative library services. Learning 2.0 @ Mac is all about exploration, discovery, and play! How does it work? For 12 weeks (starting February 12, 2007), participants will use freely available online tools (such as Blogger, WordPress, Bloglines, and del.icio.us) to complete a number of activities. Each week focuses on a specific type of tool (e.g. blogs, RSS, wikis) and each activity will give participants a chance to explore the tool and consider the ways in which it can be used in a library environment. Participants are encouraged to use their blogs (which they will set up in week 2) to discuss their thoughts about and reactions to the tools and technologies they explore.