I don't feel that any of the names mentioned act or feel like they are better than me and have even included me on many conversations
Best Free Software - School Computing - 0 views
schoolcomputing.wikia.com/...Best_Free_Software
software educational software freeware open source technology
![](/images/link.gif)
94More
Blogger: Cool Cat Teacher Blog - Post a Comment - 0 views
-
-
I do love when you say, "if one person reads our blog and get something out of it.. it is important." I try to keep that in mind all the time. Numbers don't matter..people do.
- ...66 more annotations...
-
As far as the ego thing goes who cares. Your blog's this mine is that. Whoopdy do! If you're learning and growing your PLN that is what counts.
-
I feel similar frustration. If the point is about learning than reading and commenting is a great way to add to our own creative potential.
-
Great response to a burning question/statement that most of us (well probably all of us)feel at one time or another.
-
Many of the people that I have learned the most from are not the ones involved in the "cocktail party" but rather those in the trenches doing what I love to do each and every day, just like you!
-
He has an important point -- if you're only reading the uber-popular bloggers -- you're missing the point of the blogosphere. I make it a point to find some newcomers. To me, it is like a game, I want to find new people doing great things and encourage them like so many greats like David Warlick, Darren Kuropatwa, Ewan McIntosh, and more did for me when I started.
-
-
agree that developing a readership takes time.
-
Re: the depressing aspects of 'comment intensity,' I actually meant it to be an affirming post rather than a depressing one
-
I think that the comment intensity idea is important in this respect: I often see laments from bloggers that they don't get many comments on their posts. What the table above shows is that even those of us who are fortunate enough to have large readerships often don't get many comments. My personal median over the past 20 posts, even WITH the big spike of 89, is still only 2.5. Ewan, your blog and Vicki Davis' are similar. The point is that many, many posts don't get a lot of comments, even those by the more widely read bloggers.
-
Thanks for bringing this up. This has been an issue for me personally as well. OK, so nobody's IN, but the (pseudo?) community nature of blogging makes it feel that way.
-
But, like other artists, we have to work a little every day whether we feel like it or not, and whether we get validation that day or not.
-
I think many of us are working at blogging because there's an element of self improvement, which implies self evaluation. Without feedback from others it's easy to be hard on ourselves.
-
For me, the conversation is hardly closed; it is simply a matter of having something to say, something to share.The emotional commitment is another aspect of the conversation that is easily glossed over.
-
I've found (both with myself and those educators I've worked with in their blogging starts) that the edublogosphere is open and welcoming -- but as we engage in any cultural group (even offline), patience really is a key.Still, we sometimes measure our success by the interaction from those we look up to (esp. teachers - many of whom were probably the best students in their class, yes?)
-
Sometimes we don't see the comments -- because the talk happens offline.
-
I get very few comments on my blog but see through the clustermaps that I have readers each and every day, so continue to feel that the blog is benefiting me through reflection and may even be benefiting others as well.
-
I NEVER get to share tools I discover because someone ALWAYS beats me to the punch...but I am ok with that.
-
I truly connect with what you write even though I am one of "those" people who reads but rarely comments. YOU do make a difference and so do I!
-
the whole cocktail party analogy is just a grown up version of the kickball line-up in elementary school.
-
I was always picked last there -- whew this analogy hits me close to home. I was always picked last b/c I was the worst. Even the worst kickball player needs to feel encouraged and not destroyed for getting up and kicking the ball. Even the "worst" blogger - if there is such a thing -- needs to feel encouraged sometimes too just for blogging.
-
-
In the blog world, change is effected by good content, and while good content isn't always noticed at first, it does eventually get a respectable position--sometimes because the cocktail group points them out.
-
How could I think to be in the same boat as John Scalzi who started in 1998 if I've only been blogging since 2007?
-
I found your blog, Vicki, because a project you do for Atomic Learning mentioned you, and your name is on the movies they use.
-
2005 - you were the only ones out there to follow
-
Oh yes, I have felt the cocktail chill at times. I'm a norwegian edublogger, that have been following your brunks (blogdrunks) for a while. To start with - in
-
Wes told me once I twittered, that nobody should twitter alone and I could not agree more - so I don't.
-
So, from the outer side looking in: Anybody stopping by in Second Life tonight (which is today for you) for a virtual edu cocktail?I'm aka Kita Coage at Eduisland II, waiting to cocktail connect with you c",)
-
I suspect that we all have a deep desire to be heard and to be accepted. The longer I'm involved in the edublogosphere, however, the more impressed and encouraged I am by the level of acceptance that there is here. It is a good thing that we don't always agree with each other. Disagreement is often at the heart of constructive conversation
-
At the same time, we are no different than the kids in our classrooms. We educators need to know that we will be accepted, no matter what we have to say and no matter how well we are able to express it. I think we help to make the edublogosphere a "safe place" for each other as we try to keep it positive and as we take advantage of the numerous opportunities to be affirming.
-
I don't at all feel excluded from the blog "cocktail party", because just like a real cocktail party, I am drawn to the people who have something important, and engaging to say and I am content to listen and learn from them. I have seen a few of the "big names" at conferences, and even met a few of them in person. I have emailed several of them and others, or left an occasional comment, and I have been very pleasantly surprised at the thoughtful responses I have received.
-
I read many blogs, but comment rarely, and I suspect that those who read my blog do the same. So I don't feel at all excluded. I'm just happy to occasionally be part of the conversation.
-
When I was at EduBloggerCon last spring I felt quite the outsider. There were famous people there and I was unknown. I still feel that way in the broad edublogsphere. But honestly the broad sphere is not who I am blogging for. I blog for a niche - computer science teachers. The event for that niche is SIGCSE and there I (blush) feel a bit like a star. Few of the people there know the edubloggers with much larger readership or Technorati ranks. And really reaching the CS teachers is my goal not reaching everyone who teaches general subjects.
-
There is, I believe, room for more at the top if only because the number of teachers reading blogs is still very small but we all hope it is growing. We are still at the ground floor. That makes edublogging different from tech blogging I think.
-
I think we need to all remember our focus for blogging. Mine is for reflection. I use my blog as a tool to improve my teaching. If others start to read and can learn from it, great. To my knowledge I am the only one seeing my blog right now. Which is fine with me. I don't think blogging should be a popularity contest and having a large number of readers is great, it must mean that you, and others, have something to offer that others want to emulate.
-
I think you could have added three additional points. First, a suggestion on how to increase readership. I think new bloggers (myself included) are still trying to figure out how to make the connections that allow for conversations within blogs. I go back to your list of 10 tips for successful blogging, and still find things I never noticed before
-
would love to see an updated list that perhaps would include how to make sure your blog is part of an RSS feed and how to set up subscriptions for potential readers to make it easy for them to subscribe to your blog.
-
I think even you have realized that it is more difficult to break into the edublogger field as there is now so many new bloggers (just in the last two years).
-
Finally, I am surprised that you did not point out how you have helped new bloggers by both asking for new voices and then publishing them in your own blog. I think this is an indication that you are trying to open up the "party".
-
Isn't the whole point of web 2.0 is that it exudes democracy and equality? Those that get all concerned about rankings and ratings are, as you've suggested missing the point.
-
We often quickly want to find ways of ranking. Reminds me of the evils of current assessment practices. We tell kids to do their best and work on improving performance and yet continue to use ranking systems that is clearly a mixed message.
-
I'm new to this world as of Monday...yes, 4 days of immersing myself in as much ed. tech, web 2.0, online collaboration "stuff" that I can. (thanks to Lisa Thumman at Rutgers U.) Cocktail party or not, your blog and the comments people have left have increased my list of people to follow. Even a discussion about "being on the outside" has led me to the "inside". I'm thrilled to be in the company of such great minds and promise to start contributing once I wrap my brain around it all! Thanks to everyone for sharing! cmtvarok
-
thanks for coaxing me out of my blogger drought!
-
I believe that this "post" has been made stronger by the comments, which have added to the post greater depth of meaning.
-
All over this conversation I see the change in society. We are all going through the emotions of becoming accustomed to something new... kind of like I first experienced when the Internet first came out.
-
And while, when I began blogging, I didn't really set my sights or aim for a large readership... now that it is here, I will seriously consider and appreciate each individual reader and take my job seriously
-
@tennessee -- Those in the trenches are my most important reads... I just wish there were more of us. It seems as if many teachers view blogging as a way out of the classroom when they should see it as a way to improve the classroom!
-
@scottmcleod - I believe the comment intensity is highly correlated to controversiality AND immediacy. If a lot of people SAW someone recently, they want to interact and comment (immediacy.) If someone says something very emotional or controversial, people want to comment and interact (controversiality.) While I guess looking at these stats are fine, I've found in my very short time blogging that looking too much at numbers of any kind removes my focus from what is important. When I focus intently on conversation, my blog traffic and numbers just grow. I always say "whatever is watered, grows." If I water my investigation of stats, I become a good statistician... if I water my blog but also commenting and participating in the blogosphere as a WHOLE, I become a good blogger. I'd rather be the latter. And while the post was meant to be encouraging... I have to admit I'm a competitive perfectionist and always have to reign in that aspect of my nature.
-
@christophersessums - I think the emotional nature of something is like the proverbial elephant in the Net -- it is there. It always stuns me the number of people who discuss their feelings on this when it comes up... it means that many of us are experiencing the same thing.
2More
shared by Vicki Davis on 24 Apr 08
- Cached
Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson : Popfly Coin ... - 0 views
blogs.msdn.com/...coin-flip-mashup-tutorial.aspx
computerscience_teacher edu_newapp education lesson_plans techintegrator
![](/images/link.gif)
-
Information on popfly and windows live writer and how it may be used in the classroom. Cool post.
-
This is a fascinating blog post about how Alfred Thompson used PopFly to create a mashup activity for a classroom demo for teachers. He also took this document from word into Live writer to make a blog post. It is important to look at many ways to do things. I found this information very insightful and cool.
Constructing Modern Knowledge 2008 - 0 views
3More
No videoconference to Williamsburg - I'm sad » Moving at the Speed of Creativity - 0 views
-
but we’ll do so from our church, away from school, and we will not involve any Edmond PS students in the videoconference to comply with the directive from the district technology director. I did not realize the district forbids any parents or students from using any type of personal computer and outside Internet connection device (like my cell network data card) to provide an interactive learning opportunity for students. Now I know.
1More
Hoover Institution - Education Next - How Do We Transform Our Schools? - 0 views
-
-
This is an interesting article, but I think they are missing something. "The Current Labor Instensive System" is going to be the engine of disruption in online learning, not stand-alone, "smart", adaptive "Computer-Based Learning." Teachers and students empowered with smaller, quicker disruptive technologies (twitter, ustream, blog and wikis) will be the "disruptive" engine. It may not be in K-12 education either. The place to look is adult education online.
-
1More
Electronista | Eee Monitor shots reveal Linux's iMac rival - 0 views
4More
Change Agency - Advocating a better education system for the 21st Century. » ... - 1 views
-
Equipment: 1 Apple MacBook Pro 1 Canon Elura DV Camera 1 Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 (webcam) Software: Ustream (web-based) CamTwist
-
Ustream Set-up: After clicking on “Broadcast Now”, I made the following adjustments to the controls: Video Source = CamTwist (note: CamTwist had to be already running in order to do this.) Audio source = Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 (The audio from the webcam sounded better than the audio from the built-in microphone. The “built-in audio input” didn’t seem to work for my configuration even though I did have a nice mic plugged into the input on my computer ) I adjust the audio and video quality as needed, and under “advanced” features I increased the frame-rate for the video since I was connected via ethernet cable (not recommended if connected wirelessly.)
4More
Open Thinking & Digital Pedagogy » Letting Go - 0 views
-
we’ve reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools.
-
It is about honesty. It is about being truthful to our students about the flaws of our educational system. It is essential that we open a dialogue with our children to help them design their educational processes. Together we can do more than simply patch the existing system, and we need to do it soon.
-
There is a technology war coming. Actually it is already here but most of us haven't yet notice. It is a war not about technology but because of technology, a war over how we as a culture embrace technology. It is a war that threatens venerable institutions and, to a certain extent, threatens what many people think of as their very way of life.
1More
shared by Fred Delventhal on 14 Dec 08
- Cached
Kindersite Project : Educationalists recommend the free Kindersite to introduce Young c... - 0 views
www.kindersite.org
kindergarten education earlychildhood kids game lesson Teaching elementary primary students
![](/images/link.gif)
1More
NECC 2008 | National Educational Computing Conference - 0 views
-
NECC is the place for hands-on, interactive learning about how technology and the latest Web 2.0 innovations can transform teaching and learning. Join more than 18,000 teachers, technology coordinators, library media specialists, teacher educators, administrators, policy makers, industry representatives, and students from all over the world.
7More
shared by Clif Mims on 31 Mar 08
- Cached
Making the Shift Happen - 0 views
mscofino.edublogs.org/...making-the-shift-happen
curriculum curriculum-integration education educational technology future learning reform teacher-education teaching technology-integration
![](/images/link.gif)
- ...4 more annotations...
-
why aren’t more teachers arriving at schools with some background in this model of teaching and learning
The Best Things in Life Have No Fee - 9 views
www.mangomon.com/...est-Things-in-Life-Have-No-Fee
special education special needs students SPED computer mouse
![](/images/link.gif)
The Voice of the Classroom - 4 views
blog.learningtoday.com/...The-Voice-of-the-Classroom
students video computers classroom lessons technology voicethread audio group education edtech
![](/images/link.gif)