Jeffco Teachers

Quick: what was the most widely-used form of media in 2008? If you guessed Internet news sites, blogs, or social networks, you'd be way off. Network TV news (NBC, CBS, ABC) is still used by the highest percentage of adult Internet users, with local newspapers and local TV news occupying the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively, in a recently released survey from Ketchum. While old media is still on top, the trends in the survey, which has been conducted each of the last three years, point to a familiar story: media consumption habits are quickly changing. That said, some forms of new media are performing much better than others. For example: - Blogs are now used by 24% of Internet users, up from 13% in 2006 - Social networks are now used by 26% of Internet users, up from 17% in 2006 - Videocasts are now used by 11% of Internet users, up from 6% in 2006 Slower growers include: - RSS feeds: growing from 5 to 7 percent - Podcasts: growing from 5 to 7 percent - Business news sites: flat at 8 percent

A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW WEB2.0 LETS US BE PRODUCERS AND NOT JUST CONSUMERS. Audiolife not only lets you create an online store to sell CDs and digital downloads, but it will actually manufacture the CDs for you, on-demand, as customers buy them. The up-front cost? Nothing. Zero dollars and zero cents. On-demand CD creation from Audiolife. (Credit: Audiolife) This is a big deal. As any self-financed musician knows, CD manufacturing is a big investment. Print runs for CDs with a jewel case and nice color insert generally start at 1,000 for close to $1,000, though you can get away with spending a few hundred bucks for a short run, if you're willing to pay quite a bit more per disc. This is all well and good, if you sell all of the CDs you print. If not, you're left with some expensive drink coasters.

While providing great content is critical if you want to establish a loyal audience, it is only one of a variety of ingredients. Other factors come into play; most importantly, your visitors need to see that you've made every effort to accommodate their needs; that you've put much thought into their experience on your site. To create a blog that stands out from the others, use this list of useful WordPress plugins to show your readers that you have made the effort, and you'll be rewarded with return visitors and growth. So what do your visitors really want?

Ed Shepherd, a middle school administrator in Virginia and valuable member of my personal learning network, recently posted a call for definitions of collaboration. In this case, I decided to forget my affinity for 140 characters and bring it to my blog. So, what is collaboration?

Until recently classes were sent to the library to check out pre-selected books that would have some information about their topic. Allowing students to search for their information on the web makes teachers often uncomfortable. * They can't control the content, students encounter * Overwhelming number of search results * Inappropriate sites * Inaccurate information * Citation All the above mentioned reasons are valid points, but can't be used as a reason to "stick to the book" when allowing younger students to research. We do have to prepare them for research in media that is current for our times and one they most likely will use as as their primary source for gathering information as they grow.

Customizing Google News

Google just released a major new update to Google Earth that now includes the rumored maps of the ocean floor. Google unveiled this update at an event at the California Academy of Sciences. After installing the latest version of Google Earth, you will be able to explore the ocean floor in the same way you browse the Earth's surface. Besides mapping the oceans, however, Google has also added three more interesting new features to Google Earth: easier access to historical imagery, the ability to record and narrate fly-through tours with the new 'touring' feature, and a 3D map of Mars.

As educators, we could stand to do some of this with students. I wonder what this would look like in the classroom? I wonder what it would look like from an administrator towards an educator?

Great site!! Fantastic list of engaging activities using Web 2.0 tools. Also love the fact that all of this is tied to the book Working on the Work.

JeopardyLabs allows you to create a customized jeopardy template without PowerPoint. The games you make can be played online from anywhere in the world. Building your own jeopardy template is a piece of cake. Just use our simple editor to get your game up and running.

This brief article includes an easy-to-read table for parents and teachers to reference.

Helpful resource for science fair projects. Includes steps to get started as well as parent resources.

A very enlightening video on our current state of broadband penetration in the US. Though the election is over, the issue remains on our plate.