tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294726562024-03-08T01:13:32.582+11:00Connected Learning CommunityExploring Web 2.0 Tools in Education, Networked Learning, Personal Learning Environments and Informal Learning Networks<br><a href="http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/flx/go/pid/103">A 2006 E-learning Networks Project</a>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1163386349475126922006-11-13T13:40:00.000+11:002006-11-13T14:14:46.413+11:00Assembling our thoughtsWhen we started on this project one of our goals was:<br /><br />To define and address the various challenges to the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies and related learning models including resistance and objections that come from institutions, teachers, management, IT departments (e.g. Internet safety & child protection, privacy & confidentiality, copyright, libel, accessibility, technology access & the digital divide, standards/assessment/accreditation) <br />To develop strategies for introducing the tools and new learning models to teachers, educational managers. <br /><br />Since that time there has been a <strong>huge </strong>amount of discussion on these issues on the Networks forums and in the various allied projects.<br /><br />If you do have any insights, whinges or bright ideas that you want recorded please write about them on your own blog and they will be included or contribute to the paper being assembled on the CLC wiki <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/2006networkpositionpaper">http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/2006networkpositionpaper</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com103tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1162788132523057672006-11-06T15:41:00.000+11:002006-11-06T15:42:12.533+11:00Preparing a position PaperTomorrow Tuesday 7th November we will be having two general sessions on how to facilitate in Breeze at 1pm and again at 7pm.<br />To join us go to <a href="http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/">http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/</a> and login as a guest.<br /><br />At 8pm we will be having a session where we talk about where we are on our learning journey, about what works and what doesn't work in relation to building connected learning communitites as part of our preparation for end of year reporting.<br /><br />This is a conversation that several groups are having at this time of the year so I'm hoping that we will be able to feed our thoughts into the Advanced Learnscope team on Wednesday afternoon and several wikis gathering case studies.<br /><br />WendyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1162620331277241982006-11-04T16:56:00.000+11:002006-11-04T17:05:31.286+11:00Live session Wednesday 8th Nov 1.30pmThe NSW Learnscope Advanced team of which many of us are members is doing something very similar to what we planning in relation to a position paper at the moment, so it makes a lot of sense to combine voices.<br /><br />If you're free can you please join Vivian Evans in a live session on DiscoverE 1.30pm - 3pm AEST Wednesday 8th November.<br /><br />Where: <a href="http://www.compued.com.au/discovere/nswlearn/">http://www.compued.com.au/discovere/nswlearn/</a> <br /><strong>Topic:</strong> sharing what works, key issues, strategies to overcome issues, tools we can use to best keep our teams informed, getting the most out of tools...to maximise the connections.<br /> <br />Asynchronous connections <a href="http://nswadv06.wikispaces.com/connections ">http://nswadv06.wikispaces.com/connections </a> for discussion prior and following…. <br /><br />If you would like to take us for a quick (max 10 mins) tour of a certain tool/website then please add your details to the wikispace or email vivevans@hwy.com.auUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1162592384006438962006-11-04T09:16:00.000+11:002006-11-04T09:19:44.016+11:00Creating an ACE CLCLast week Alan Forbes, who is running a project for Victorian ACE educators came onto one of our Breeeze sessions. He is keen to show a group of 14 Victorian ACE educators how to set up an informal connected learning community.<br /><br />I told him that I am happy to host a couple of sessions for them or draw them into the existing CLC sessions or other appropriate networks but I am wondering if I am doing them a favour by using Breeze. <br /><br />At the moment I'm thinking of bringing them into my Tuesday 1pm sessions and just going over the basics of setting up connected blogs but maybe it would be good to have a session using DiscoverE. Can anyone suggest an appropriate Victorian network to plug them into? What platform are most of the Victorian organisations using? <br /><br />I'd appreciate any suggestions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1162257079842318302006-10-31T12:05:00.000+11:002006-11-01T10:59:30.276+11:003 online meetings this weekAs part of the second phase of our project to explore with more people ways of creating their own connected learning communities we are having 3 short online meetings this week: Today Tuesday 31st at 7pm, tomorrow Wednesday 1st November at 12 noon and Thursday 2nd November at 1pm.<br /><br />Please feel free to refer any beginners to online learning.<br /><br />People will need a microphone headset and go to http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/<br />Enter as a guest and write in the name you want to be known by during the session.<br /><br />Next week we will be needing your help for the last stage of the project to write a paper on what needs to happen in order to make this kinds of informal communications accessible to more educators.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1161643316383568082006-10-24T08:40:00.000+10:002006-10-24T08:41:56.400+10:00Online Meeting TodayWe'll be having two short (30 minute) online sessions today at 1pm and 7pm (AEST) using Breeze to help people learn how to set up their own connected learning communities (see http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/).<br /><br />If you haven't tried the online conferencing platform Breeze (which TAFENSW is trialling) this would be a good opportunity for you to tune in from your office, classroom or home and say hello.<br /><br />Plug in your microphone headset and go to <a href="http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/">http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/</a><br />Enter as a guest and write in the name you want to be known by during the session.<br /><br />Today we will be looking at how to "tweak" the sidebar of your blog to create links to the blogs of people in your class or personal learning network and (if we get to it) how to create a blogroll using Bloglines.<br /><br />Look forward to seeing you online.<br /><br />WendyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1161065852409507252006-10-17T16:12:00.000+10:002006-10-17T16:19:49.846+10:00Modelling Networked LearningAs you all know Sean has worked really hard to set up some great resources for the connected learning community but it order for us to really give the concept a fair go we need your help urgently.<br /><br />Diana Khabbaz and I are presenting about the CLC on Friday and it would help us to demonstrate how it works if you could:<br /><br />1) Post the address of the RSS feed of your personal web presence on the CLC members' page - <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/members">http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/members</a><br /><br />2) Put a link to the CLC wiki <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/">http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/</a> and the CLC blog <br /><a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/">http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/</a> on your personal web presence. <br /> <br />3) Create a bloglines account and subscribe to the CLC blog, <a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/">http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/</a> the del.icio.us feed and any other blogs - both CLC members and others - that interest you. You won't know if a new member joins unless you are subscribed to the CLC blog OR unless you embed the code for a members blogroll into your online presence.<br /><br />4) Put a blogroll in your blog by using the bloglines blogroll feature. These instructions could help.<br /><br /><a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/2006/09/using-bloglines-to-display-blogrolls.html ">http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/2006/09/using-bloglines-to-display-blogrolls.html </a>- <br /><br />5) Occasionally comment on the posts of other people in the community.<br /><br />I will be walking peoplefrom the OMN through the process of creating RSS feeds and using Bloglines tonight Tuesday at 7pm and 8pm using Breeze:<a href="http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/ ">http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/omn/ </a> <br />login as a guest.<br /><br />If anyone is free to drop in and show us how you use RSS feeds you would be very welcome.<br /><br />All good wishes,<br /><br />WendyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1160724333637677122006-10-13T17:19:00.000+10:002006-10-13T17:25:33.646+10:00THE CLCOMMUNITY ENTERS ITS NEXT PHASEFirst of all I'd like to thank Sean for the fantastic job he has done in setting up all of the resources and creating a model of how to set up a connected learning community. He is now stepping back from the project and handing over to Diana Khabbaz and myself as we move the project into its next phase.<br /><br />For a number of years I’ve been setting up learning communities using online journals but I feel that the CLC model offers something far more sophisticated- if we can get people past the twin obstacles of lack of time and mastering the basic skills.<br /><br />Over the next few weeks a few of use are going to be taking the model of the connected learning community and showing teachers fairly new to online learning and groups of students how to set up their own small connected learning communities.The one thing I have realized is that for the CLC model to work there has to be an immediate context and benefit from making connection that outweighs the time and frustration of mastering what for teachers is a steep learning curve.<br /><br />Diana, Steph and I have been working with a group of 35 mainly beginners at Sydney Institute and as their “course” ends our aim is to show them how to use the non-hierarchical participatory CLC model to set up a network with family and friends, work colleagues and students. <br /><br />We will be offering some <strong>very basic </strong> online workshops on Tuesday nights (in the old OMN timeslot) and at other times by request on how to create RSS feeds using Bloglines, how to tweak your blog template to include a blogroll, and how to deliver Del.icio.us feeds to your blog or Moodle. <br /><br />Please let me know in the response section if you’re available to participate (either as mentor or mentee) using the Breeze platform and preferred times.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1158193170673095972006-09-14T10:06:00.000+10:002006-09-14T11:14:20.266+10:00Experimenting with FeedDigest and blended feeds<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/criana/160471361/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/61/160471361_56466c6825_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've set up a new CLC <a href="http://www.feeddigest.com/">FeedDigest</a> account to host the <a href="http://del.icio.us/rss/tag/clcommunity">del.icio.us tag feed</a> and the blend of member's feeds. This way anyone can adminster it (like the new Bloglines account).<br /><br />The good news is the new del.icio.us feed is working fine (see the sidebar of this blog).<br /><br />The bad news is that with a basic free FeedDigest account you can have a maximum of 5 digests, each with a maximum of 5 feeds each, but you can only have a combined total of 10 items anyway. This is fine for personal use, but not great for our use.<br /><br />We could create multiple digests with six feeds in each and blend them into one mega-digest, but that would be too much hassle.<br /><br />Mark has also been experimenting with blended feeds.<br /><br />In this post - <a href="http://markzspace.blogspot.com/2006/09/speedyfeed-page-for-clc.html">A SpeedyFeed page for CLC</a> - he discusses how he's been experimenting with <a href="http://www.speedyfeed.com/">SpeedyFeed</a>, a service which let's you display RSS feeds on a web page. He's set up a CLC SpeedyFeed page - <a href="http://www.speedyfeed.com/clcommunity/">http://www.speedyfeed.com/clcommunity/</a>.<br /><br />Mark also did some research into RSS mixers and found that <a href="http://www.rssmix.com/">RSSMix.com</a> can handle a large number of feeds. He's created a combined feed of all the CLC member's feeds here -<br /><a href="http://www.rssmix.com/u/15279/rss.xml">http://www.rssmix.com/u/15279/rss.xml</a><br /><br />The down side of RSSMix.com is that we can't just add new members to the feed - we have to create a new feed from scratch everytime.<br /><br />If we are going to use a blended feed I think we need to find one that anybody can update.<br /><br />If anyone would like to explore some of the other feed mixer options, Alan Levine has done a bit of a survey here - <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2005/10/12/rss-mixers/">CogDogBlog » Barking » RSS Mixers</a> - and there are some others listed here -<a href="http://allrss.com/rssremixers.html"> RSS Compendium - RSS Re-mixers</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(Photo of Steel Blue Angora Blend by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/criana/160471361/">Diana LeRoi-Schmidt</a>)</span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1158191229525052062006-09-14T09:34:00.000+10:002006-09-14T09:58:54.303+10:00Using Bloglines to display blogrolls<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bloglines.com/public/clcommunity"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/320/bloglines.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've set up a <a href="http://bloglines.com/public/clcommunity">CLC bloglines account</a> as a place to store member's feeds and other useful feeds.<br /><br />This means we can use the Bloglines blogroll feature to display member's feeds in the sidebar of this blog.<br /><br />The advantage of this method is that instead of manually adding the names and feeds to the blog template, we just have to subscribe to new member's blogs with the Bloglines account and they will automatically be displayed on the blog.<br /><br /><br />To add a blogroll to your blog from a Bloglines account:<br /><ol><li>Log in to your Bloglines account and click on the 'Share' tab.</li><li>Follow the instructions under 'Blogroll' to generate the HTML code.</li><li>Copy and paste the HTML code into the sidebar of your blog template.</li></ol>Of course this now means that the blog doesn't list members that don't have an RSS feed (they are still listed on the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/members">members page of the wiki</a>) so those of you yet to set up a PLE need to get cracking!Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1157929634758554822006-09-11T08:47:00.000+10:002006-09-11T12:07:33.853+10:00A response to Mark's ideas on how to grow the CLC community<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/katmere/123531908/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/35/123531908_db06183b2b_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In a provocatively entitled post - <a href="http://markzspace.blogspot.com/2006/09/why-clc-will-die-unless-we-do.html">Why the CLC will die (unless we do something about it)</a> - Mark van Harmelen has posted some suggestions on how we can get the network happening.<br /><br />Thanks to Mark for keeping the conversation going.<br /><br />I'd like to address his ideas:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1a) Online synchronous sessions. </span><br /><br />I certainly think these can be a really effective in forming a sense of community. We've been quite successful with this with the precursor of the CLC, the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272">Online Mentoring Network</a>.<br /><br />But I have to ask - what would we talk about? And if people can't find the time to blog and comment, how are they going to find the time to go to online sessions anyway?<br /><br />The drawcard of the OMN sessions was that they were instructional, teaching members how to use a range of online tools. I don't think this was ever the intention for the CLC, and there are plenty of other venues now that are running online sessions in how to set up and use blogs, wikis, RSS feeds etc.<br /><br />I am planning to do some online versions of <a href="http://seanfitz.wikispaces.com/creatingyourple">a workshop I did for LearnScope</a> showing people how to tweak their blog template and add content from other Web 2.0 services to create their PLE, but I was waiting for a bit more activity in the network, and more people to actually set up a blog and start blogging before I did that.<br /><br />I want to avoid the situation where we go to the trouble of arranging a synchronous event only to end up sitting there talking to the 2 or 3 usual suspects, which often happens.<br /><br />This network is about shared responsibility, so if Mark or anyone else wants to set up a synchronous event and then invite members of the group then they are encouraged to do so. We even have access to <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/breeze/">Breeze web conferencing software</a> you can use.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1b) Sharing information about online events, such as the 'Tapping into resources for e-learning' online event and Jo's Second Life tour. </span><br /><br />Great idea! Mark suggests sending out emails... but isn't that what the project blog is for?<br /><br />Even better, what about the <a href="http://del.icio.us/rss/tag/clcommunity">del.icio.us feed</a>?<br /><br />As I mentioned in <a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/2006/09/on-sustainability-of-this-network.html">an earlier post</a>, the blog, as a centrally controlled space, may die or morph into something else one day, yet the del.icio.us feed will live forever. And being subscribed to the del.icio.us feed is a basic requirement of being part of the network.<br /><br />Again, feeding this resource isn't just the responsibility of the facilitators - this should be the shared responsibility of the group, so when someone sees something they think the network could benefit from they should post it to del.icio.us and tag it with clcommunity.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2) Make comments on each other's blogs. </span><br /><br />I've been encouraging people to do this all along. How can we actually achieve this?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3) Open the community blog to all community members. </span><br /><br />I've addressed this in a <a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/2006/08/opening-up-this-blog-to-other.html">previous post</a>. If anyone wants to be a contributor to the blog please let us know<a href="mailto:seanf@tig.com.au"></a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4) Provide a mailing list for transient information with a short lifespan. </span><br /><br />I agree that sometimes when one wants to post some short term information and send out timely alerts that using the Web 2.0 tools of blogging, commenting and adding resources to the del.icio.us feed can be a bit clumsy, but I don't think setting up a mailing list is the answer.<br /><br />I expressed my main objections to using a mailing list, as with other group-centric tools such as forums and even group blogs, during the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/mod/forum/view.php?id=17853">discussion about what the project's primary online space was going to be</a>.<br /><br />The problem with these tools is that they can become the focus of the network, and in my experience people take the easy route of posting to the mailing list instead of setting up their own blogs and posting there. The community contracts to this essentially closed system, and the network as a conversation between a collection of blogs suffers even more.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5) Encourage everyone to use a feed reader. </span><br /><br />Once again, something I have been encouraging people to do from the start.<br /><br />Mark also suggests 'getting volunteers to act as online sources of help for those new to feed readers', but who is going to volunteer considering the lack of participation already?<br /><br />I would encourage members with a question or an issue they would like help with to post it on their blog and tap into the wisdom of the whole blogosphere. And if they want to alert the CLC about their post then they can bookmark it at del.icio.us with the 'clcommunity' tag.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6) Boost member numbers to overcome the 1% rule. </span><br /><br />I think this will have one of the biggest impacts in terms of making the network 'work'. I am already in some negotiations about how we can introduce more people to the network. More on that later.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7) A help board. </span><br /><br />Another online space for us to manage?! I think we need to concentrate as much activity on the spaces we already have, rather than set up new ones which could dilute the energy.<br /><br />And as I mentioned in <span style="font-weight: bold;">5) </span>I think it would be better to encourage members to take responsibility for seeking their own solutions and seek help from the blogosphere.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8) Make howto posts whenever possible. </span><br /><br />Mark says: 'We need some way of centralising posts and pages on tools and techniques (the wiki?)'.<br /><br />Yes, this is what the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/">wiki</a> is for.<br /><br />I've created a few resources and added them to the wiki which is our central space for how-tos. Everyone is encouraged to add links to how-tos - either their own, like Jo's, or any they come across that they think are relevant.<br /><br />I appreciate Mark's input - it's great to see someone putting in so much effort to this project - but at the end of the day, in order for this vision to work there needs to be member participation and input, and I don't think that setting up more spaces or having synchronous sessions is going to help if there isn't any more participation... we'll just end up with more empty spaces and more work for the few of us who are contributing!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Photo of blossoms by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://flickr.com/photos/katmere/123531908/">Kate Mereand</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1157926007795481072006-09-11T07:51:00.000+10:002006-09-11T10:11:05.993+10:00On the sustainability of this network<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo/146872543/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/45/146872543_bb554247a7_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>One of the goals of any <a href="http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/flx/go/pid/103">E-learning networks projects</a> such as this is to set up a network that is sustainable.<br /><br />People on the Net are participating in learning networks all of the time, and they exist for as long as they serve a need.<br /><br />I saw our role as facilitators of this project - which is about experientially exploring a distributed, networked learning model - as being responsible for setting up the online spaces and tools, creating the environment, articulating the vision, explaining how the network/community/model works and give instruction and guidance on how to get involved and participate.<br /><br />Essentially our role is to kick-start a self-organising and self-sustaining network.<br /><br />In time, the project would come to an end, the money will be spent, the facilitators will have moved on or become regular members of the network with their own PLEs, and the blog will have served it's purpose.<br /><br />Hopefully, what we will be left with is a community of bloggers posting to their own blogs, commenting on other member's blogs, subscribing to other blogs in their RSS readers, linking to other blogs in their blogrolls and contributing resources using the <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/clcommunity">'clcommunity' tag on del.icio.us</a>.<br /><br />In fact, the <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/clcommunity">'clcommunity' tag on del.icio.us</a> may be the only 'tool' set up by the facilitators that is left to connect the community and even indicate that there is any community happening. Most of the other tools (excuding the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/">wiki</a>) need some form of adminstration or effort to keep going. The delicio.us tag doesn't.<br /><br />The blog <span style="font-style: italic;">may</span> take on a new role and evolve into a place for discussion about the issues involved in Web 2.0 in education, PLE's, PLN's, networked learning etc. but there will be no centre of the network anymore, with all member's blogs existing as nodes in a flat network.<br /><br />We are still exploring ways to create a combined feed (more on that in a later post) which may continue well after the project has officially finished, but, once again, if we don't find a tool that can be communally administered, then it may go by the wayside as well.<br /><br />I wanted to re-iterate this vision and the importance of creating a sustainable network because I think it's important to remember that the project tools <span style="font-style: italic;">aren't</span> the network - the network is a community of interconnected bloggers and their PLEs.<br /><br />Funny little aside: when writing this post I discovered that Blogger's spell-checker doesn't recognise the words 'blog', 'blogging' or 'blogger'!<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo/146872543/">sillygwailo</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1156918776726607342006-08-30T16:09:00.000+10:002006-08-30T16:47:10.323+10:00Opening up this blog to other contributors<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/emdot/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/1/399824_c09727b274_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As mentioned in my last post, one of the reasons the network may not be as vibrant as it could be is the number of posts to this blog.<br /><br />It's time to to try opening up this blog to other contributors.<br /><br />However, many believe that group blogs don't work, and I must admit I have my misgivings.<br /><br />I'm concerned that this blog could lose its focus as a primary source of information about the CLC project, and that people will start using it as a substitute for their own personal blog, which would defeat the purpose of this project, in my opinion.<br /><br />And this project is also about modelling a class blog, where the teacher posts 'official' information, allowing students to leave comments on the class blog, but encouraging them to post their own thoughts and content to their own online spaces.<br /><br />One strategy for dealing with these concerns would be to come up with a set of contributor's guidelines to unsure that the blog stays on focus.<br /><br />So what do you think? Should we open the blog up to other contributors? Do we need a set of guidelines?<br /><br />On the assumption that people will be okay with multiple contributors and a set of guidleines I've made a start on a list on the wiki - <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/blogguidelines">CLC Blog Contributor Guidelines</a>.<br /><br />Please add your thoughts about what should be included in the guidelines on the wiki page's <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/message/list/blogguidelines">discussion page</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Photo of fridge door by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://flickr.com/photos/emdot/399824/">Marya</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1156915671486933842006-08-30T15:16:00.000+10:002006-08-30T16:47:26.736+10:00Reflecting on the progress of the CLC so far<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://flickr.com/photos/naotakem/178174966/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/58/178174966_31124f5a3f_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Yesterday I had a meeting with Diana Khabbaz, Barbara Campbell and Stephan Ridgway to discuss the progress of this network, partly because a progress report is due on Friday, and partly because I've been feeling that the network is a bit 'stuck'.<br /><br />The network isn't as vibrant as we would have hoped.<br /><br />I think this is for a range of reasons. Exploring these reasons provides an opportunity to discover some of the possible barriers to implementing a networked learning model in educational environments.<br /><br />Some of the possible reasons we discussed in the meeting were:<br /><ol><li>It may be that more conversation would be stimulated if this blog was more active and posted to more often. I think the more blogging the better, but at least one or two posts a week may be the minimum required to keep the energy up.<br /><br />This is my responsibility as I have had difficulty finding the time and the motivation to blog. I will endeavour to up my posting rate, but the other solution is to open this blog up to other contributors. I will take steps shortly to begin this process.<br /><br /></li><li>With a few notable exceptions, not many other members are participating. This is not a judgement - just an observation.<br /><br />As Dawn Foster says in her excellent <a href="http://opensourceculture.blogspot.com/2006/08/web-20-starter-kit.html">Web 2.0 Starter Kit</a>:<br /><blockquote>You will not truly understand web 2.0 unless you participate in it.</blockquote>And for this distributed learning network model to work, members have to contribute by posting to their own blogs, comment on each other's blogs, subscribe to each other's blogs, RSS feeds and del.icio.us feeds, add resources to the wiki, develop and link to tutorials, podcasts, screencasts etc, and maybe even give some online presentations.<br /><br />In yesterday's meeting we discussed at length why people may not be contributing. One of the main reasons we came up with was that simply many of us - project facilitators and teachers alike - are time-poor and suffering overload, exhaustion and burnout. Many people are engaged in multiple projects, each of which can have many expectations in terms of writing learning plans, attending meetings, providing evaluations, documenting through blogs, podcasts, wikis etc. And this isn't including engaging in what the project is actually about!<br /><br /></li><li>Leading on from point 2) is the issue of numbers in the network required to 'make it happen'. In any online environment only a tiny percentage of members contribute - some say as little as 1% <a href="http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1823959,00.html">according to the 1% rule</a> - with another group - perhaps 10% to 20% - contributing occassionally, and the bulk of the members consuming/reading/listening/lurking.<br /><br />This is fine, and to be understood and expected in online environments, but we must account for this. This may mean that in order for a network such as this to reach a 'critical mass' where a lot of posting, conversation and interaction is occuring we need many more numbers than we have now.<br /><br />I've already done a lot of promoting of the network, and I was pleased and relieved when we had a respectable number add their names and photos to <a href="http://www.frappr.com/connectedlearningcommunity">our Frappr map</a>, and their names and online spaces to the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/members">member's page on the wiki</a>, but I have to admit I would rather spend the limited time I have to work on this project facilitating rather than promoting.<br /><br />The <a href="http://networksevents.flexiblelearning.net.au/">E-learning Networks online event</a> next week will provide further exposure to the network, and Wendy Zammit will be feeding students into the network from her very popular Communicating with Online Technologies course for teachers she is running at Sydney Institute of TAFENSW.<br /><br />Perhaps it's just a matter of time too.<br /><br /></li><li>I didn't realise how much work would be involved in getting such a network up and running. This type of network is not automatic. It's not just a case of setting up a group-centric tool such as a a mailing list, forum or EdNA group. It really requires constant nurturing by the facilitator through posting, visiting other's blogs and commenting, bookmarking resources etc. The hours that I can personally put in to this are limited. In an educational situation the teacher can simply say that students must produce content (such as blog) in order to pass assessment. Hopefully by opening up this blog to other contributors this workload will be distributed a bit.</li></ol>So, we'll keep plugging away, try a few new things and see what happens!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(Photo of barnacles by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/naotakem/178174966/">Naotake Murayama</a>)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1156222398164313222006-08-22T14:29:00.000+10:002006-08-22T15:07:29.450+10:00Do we need an aggregated RSS feed?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44376253@N00/207163289/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/320/combinedrssfeeds.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>One of our newest members - <a href="http://markzspace.blogspot.com/">Mark van Harmelen</a> (who seems to be something of an <a href="http://octette.cs.man.ac.uk/jitt/index.php/Personal_Learning_Environments">expert on PLEs</a>) - has created a <a href="http://feedblendr.com/subscribe/4284">combined RSS feed of all the member's feeds at FeedBlendr</a>.<br /><br />I'm wondering if we need to create a combined feed though.<br /><br />We had originally planned to do that, but decided that since people weren't exclusively going to blog about CLC-related topics it may contain a lot of irrelevant posts.<br /><br />Instead we were taking the approach of encouraging people tobookmark and tag their relevant posts in <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a> with our tag - 'clcommunity'- as <a href="http://jstuffed.blogspot.com/">Jo Kay</a> has done with her latest excellent post - <a href="http://jstuffed.blogspot.com/2006/08/wikispaces-my-personal-portfolio.html">Wikispaces: My Personal Portfolio</a>.<br /><br />Having said that, looking at the current combined feed it looks fairly focused, so maybe it's a good idea after all.<br /><br />The other issue is who is responsible for it?<br /><br />Only Mark can update the <a href="http://feedblendr.com/subscribe/4284">FeedBlendr feed</a>.<br /><br />I was originally thinking of setting up the combined feed at my <a href="http://www.feeddigest.com/">FeedDigest</a> account which I have used to display our RSS feed of <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/clcommunity">resources saved at del.icio.us and tagged with 'clcommunity'</a> in the sidebar of this blog.<br /><br />But do I want to take individually responsibility for these resources? What happens when I am no longer a facilitator on this project?<br /><br />This is a perennial problem with online services, especially when being used by a group. At least with some services like Blogger and Wikispaces you can have multiple admins (using their own individual accounts) and administration can be handed over at anytime.<br /><br />Neither using Mark's FeedBlendr feed or my FeedDigest feed is sustainable, so I'm wondering what we should do about that.<br /><br />Do we need to consider setting up a new FeedDigest account just for the CLC and make the username and password available for everyone so anyone can update it?<br /><br />Then we can use that for the del.icio.us feed and the combined member's RSS feeds.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image of combined CLC RSS feeds from </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44376253@N00/207163289/">Mark van Harmelen</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1155518573880956152006-08-14T11:16:00.000+10:002006-08-14T11:34:02.133+10:00Creating your Personal Learning Environment resources<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/205345559/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/200/pleworkshop.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Thursday the 3rd of August I presented a workshop on <a href="http://seanfitz.wikispaces.com/creatingyourple">Creating your Personal Learning Environment</a> as part of a <a href="http://nswlearnscope.wikispaces.com/Aug+3+Workshops">NSW LearnScope Workshop</a>.<br /><br />The resources on the presentation wiki may be of use to anyone interested in building their PLE.<br /><br />Jo Kay has also made a great post on her blog about what elements she includes in her PLE and why - <a href="http://jstuffed.blogspot.com/2006/07/cleaning-up-my-ple-for-clc.html">Cleaning up my PLE for CLC</a>.<br /><br />You might notice that Jo has been tagging her own posts - those relevant to the CLC - with '<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/205345559/">clcommunity</a>' in her <a href="http://del.icio.us/jokay">del.icio.us account</a>. This is a great way to ensure that relevant blog posts are fed to the group (since you should have subscribed to the <a href="http://del.icio.us/rss/tag/clcommunity">tag's RSS feed</a> in your favourite <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/rssfeedsandnewsreaders">news reader</a> by now!).<br /><br />I've added links to both Jo's post and my PLE presentation wiki to the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/creatingaple">Creating a Personal Learning Environment resources page</a> of the CLC wiki.<br /><br />Stephan Ridgway has setup up a room for the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272">OMN</a> in NSW TAFE's new <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/breeze/">Macromedia Breeze</a> Webconferencing setup.<br /><br />Last Tuesday night the OMN tested it out. We had a lot of fun, and I was pretty impressed with some of its features which make it suitable to do more 'hands-on' type sessions, something I haven't been willing to attempt with Elluminate.<br /><br />I'm thinking over the next few weeks I might do an online version of the Creating your PLE workshop, so stay tuned.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(Photo of LearnScope workshop by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/205345559/">Robyn Jay</a>)</span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1153879171241272942006-07-26T10:15:00.000+10:002006-07-27T07:06:42.410+10:00Online session, 1st August - Choosing an online presence and participating in the CLC<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/1600/htmlgraph1.0.gif"><img style="margin: 5pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/200/htmlgraph1.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>I will be giving the first in a series of presentations looking at the practicalities of setting up Personal Learning Environments and forming Personal Learning Networks for next week's <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272">Online Mentoring Network</a> Tuesday night session.<br /><br />In this first session we will be looking at choosing a PLE (such as a blog), options for reading RSS feeds, and how to subscribe to this blog and others in the CLC network.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Details:</span><br />Date: 1st August, 2006<br />Time: 8pm-9pm (Sydney time)<br />Venue: Elluminate<br /><a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=6997">http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=6997</a><br /><br />It's best if you get in the room a few minutes early to download the software (it happens automatically) and check your sound setup.<br /><br />If you haven't used Elluminate before, see <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=6997">Instructions for participating in Elluminate sessions</a> at the OMN for for full instructions.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Visual representation of links within this blog made at <a href="http://www.aharef.info/static/htmlgraph/">Websites as Graphs</a>)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1153704304114134912006-07-24T09:54:00.000+10:002006-07-24T19:03:42.276+10:00Invitation to a CLC f2f meeting and social gathering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pathfinderlinden/157712296/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 5px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/49/157712296_d9f0754b1b_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On the <span style="font-weight: bold;">2nd of August</span> in <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ultimo, Sydney</span>, I will be giving a presentation about the CLC outlining the progress of the network and how people can participate.<br /><br />The talk is part of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">2006 NSW LearnScope Advanced Team workshop</span>, but anyone interested in finding out more about the CLC and how to participate is welcome to attend this session.<br /><br />The meeting will be followed up by our first social gathering - drinks and dinner. All are welcome.<br /><br />There is also an option to attend a presentation by <a href="http://jstuffed.blogspot.com/">Jo Kay </a> on the educational possibilities of <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> - the very popular online virtual world - before the CLC session.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Details:</span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">1:30pm–3pm</span> - NSW Advanced Team Reflections and Where to next? (LearnScope Advanced Team Only)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3pm-4pm</span> - Jo Kaye on Second Life<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4pm-5pm</span> - Sean FitzGerald on the Connected Learning Community<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6pm</span> - drinks at the Glasgow Arms Hotel<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7pm </span>(approx) - dinner at the Glasgow Arms Hotel</blockquote>Full details including maps and directions to the venues, and RSVP details for dinner are <a href="http://www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=ar755pkpm99_2hq3rqd">here</a>.<br /><br />If you are unable to make the presentations you are welcome to just come along to the social event and meet other members of the CLC.<br /><br />I look forward to seeing some of you on the day.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Photo of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pathfinderlinden/157712296/">Meeting with Grad Students in Second Life</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pathfinderlinden/">Pathfinder Linden</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1153362259679311602006-07-24T09:32:00.000+10:002006-10-05T11:50:50.486+10:00Add your details to the members page of the wiki and join our Frappr map<embed quality="high" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" wmode="transparent" src="http://widget.slide.com/widgets/frapprticker.swf" name="flashticker" salign="l" align="middle" scale="noscale" width="400" height="130" flashvars="site=www.frappr.com/?a=slidewidget&gid=343189" bgcolor="#f5f5f5" /></embed><br />If you haven't already done so, add your name and primary online presence / personal learning environment to the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/members">members page of the CLC wiki</a>. I will then add you to the list of members in the sidebar of this blog.<br /><br />Could you also add yourself to our <a href="http://www.frappr.com/connectedlearningcommunity">Frappr map</a> so we can see where you are. You'll have to create an account if you don't already have one.<br /><br />I'm a big believer that adding photos personalises online communication and can enhance a sense of community, so make sure you add a picture of yourself to the Frappr group photos so we can see who you are as well! I've added a slide show of the group photos (the one playing above) to the wiki.Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1153347833491887072006-07-20T08:04:00.000+10:002006-07-24T19:06:25.270+10:00Networking with the teacherConnect team<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/183114285/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 5px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/61/183114285_fd125f766d_m_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A bunch of us headed off down to Wollongong on Wednesday, 5th July to be a part of the first meeting for the <a href="http://teacherconnect.wikispaces.com/">teacherConnect Project</a> in Wollongong.<br /><br />The teacherConnect Project is a NSW LearnScope 2006 project being led by staff from the Teaching and Learning Resource Unit, TAFE NSW, namely Steven Parker, Jo Kay and Les Tasker, who are also members of the CLC.<br /><br />It is described on <a href="http://teacherconnectblog.blogspot.com/">their blog</a> as 'An open, global network of educators supporting each other in furthering our professional development and making sense of rapid changes in technologies for teaching and learning'.<br /><br />We went there to share progress of our projects and to discuss ways we can network our projects together.<br /><br />Jo Kay talked about their <a href="http://metaledblog.blogspot.com/">metal:ED project</a> which 'is focused on empowering teachers of Metal Fabrication and Welding to produce their own Video based resources'.<br /><br />Stephan Ridgway and Diana Khabbaz talked briefly about their LearnScope project - <a href="http://tlnw.blogspot.com/">Teaching and Learning in a Networked World</a> which 'seeks to engage management and educational decision makers in the debate around web2.0 and the networked learning model'.<br /><br />Robyn Jay - NSW LearnScope Manager - was there. She has written her reflections on the day on the LearnScope blog - <a href="http://www.nswlearnscope.com/">Connections and Conversations</a> - in this post - <a href="http://www.nswlearnscope.com/?p=14">Networked Learning in Action</a>.<br /><br />Also there were <a href="http://www.alexanderhayes.com/">Alexander Hayes</a>, James Worner and Julie Collareda.<br /><br /><a href="http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/">Leigh Blackall</a> was there in spirit, or at least via a Breeze virtual conferencing session, for some of the discussion.<br /><br />Even though this project is about using online technologies to communicate and form learning networks, sometimes I still need to have conversations in person to process my thinking, so the meeting was a great opportunity to discuss some of the challenges in facilitating this project.<br /><br />This lead to a valuable discussion on the tensions that exist in facilitating this type of project and actually putting the principles of a networked learning model into action.<br /><br />Issues raised:<br /><blockquote>1) To what extent should the process be managed and controlled as opposed to offering encouragement and guidance? What is the right balance to ensure outcomes are achieved?<br /><br />2) To what extent are the facilitators responsible for providing learning experiences, resources and content, as opposed to encouraging the participants to provide resources and content?<br /><br />3) To what extent should learning experiences be presented in a sequential manner, considering the network environment is a non-linear environment, and that if participants are expected to contribute the content it's likely to arrive in a non-sequential manner?</blockquote>Unlike an EdNA group where you can ensure everyone is informed of what's happening by subscribing everyone to the news forum, and where you can see how many people are subscribed and how much activity is going on, involvement in this network is purely voluntary - we can't force people to subscribe to this blog and other blogs, or post on their blogs or comment on others' blogs - so there is a fear that no one will participate, that project outcomes will not be achieved, and that the amount of activity related to the network cannot be measured.<br /><br />Personally, I'm learning what a challenge it is to put the new model into practice and relinquishing some control over the process and be less of an expert, more of a facilitator. It forces me to really think and act differently. It requires a real mind shift and can really 'do my head in'. It actually requires me to <span style="font-style: italic;">be</span> different.<br /><br />Steve Parker showed us a video of a pretty inspiring <a href="http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=ken_robinson&flashEnabled=1">talk by Sir Ken Robinson</a> in which 'he makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it.'<br /><br />Jo Kay has posted <a href="http://teacherconnectblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/kicking-off-teacherconnect-project.html">a great flickr slideshow</a> of pics from the day on the teacherConnect blog.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Photo by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/">Robyn Jay</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span><br /></span>Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1153099705141971422006-07-17T11:22:00.000+10:002006-07-24T14:48:23.666+10:00Subscribing to this blog's site feed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/1600/feed-icon-110x110.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/320/feed-icon-110x110.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Firstly, my apologies for taking so longing posting again and getting things happening with the CLC. I've been busy with other projects, and wow! - how time flies!<br /><br />An important part of the process of forming and becoming part of distributed, informal <span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Learning Networks</span> is subscribing to the RSS feeds of blogs and other sources of information.<br /><br />So to keep up-to-date with CLC news, announcements, developments and tips subscribe to this blog's site feed - <a href="http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/atom.xml">http://clcommunity.blogspot.com/atom.xml</a>.<br /><br />(Note that it's actually an <span style="font-weight: bold;">Atom feed</span> - a protocol similar to RSS).<br /><br />I've added the site feed to the template. (I'll explain how to add content to a blog's template at a later date.)<br /><br />If you don't have a<span style="font-weight: bold;"> news reader</span> you can check out this tutorial I've added to the wiki - <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/rssfeedsandnewsreaders">RSS Feeds & Newsreaders</a>. It points to an <a href="http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators">extensive list of news aggregators</a>.<br /><br />A lot of educators use <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/">Bloglines</a> - it's web-based and lets you share your feeds publically.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Which news reader are you using?</span> Leave a comment and share with us why you made that choice and how you find it. Do you have any other recommendations?<br /><br />If you aren't ready to adopt a news reader yet, you can also subscribe to <span style="font-weight: bold;">RSS feeds via email</span>. A list of email-based services is available in the <a href="http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators">extensive list of news aggregators</a>.<br /><br />Please feel free to add to the wiki any links to tutorials and guidelines that can help with an understanding of what RSS is, how to subscribe to RSS feeds and types of RSS readers.<br /><br />A good resource for learning more about RSS and news readers is <a href="http://www.teachinghacks.com/2006/01/15/50-rss-ideas-for-educators/">50+ RSS Ideas for Educators</a>.<br /><br />And remember - if you bookmark any relevant resources in <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a> tag them with 'clcommunity'.Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29472656.post-1149859822386319902006-06-13T21:29:00.000+10:002006-07-20T09:03:42.480+10:00Welcome to the CLC blog!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/1600/network_sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 5px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3281/357/320/network_sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Welcome to the new <span style="font-weight: bold;">Connected Learning Community</span> blog.<br /><br />This will be the official blog for the project. We will be posting news and announcements about the project, along with pointers on how to create a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Learning Environment</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Learning Networks</span> using Web 2.0 tools.<br /><br />We will also start some discussions on topics such as networked learning, Connectivism and informal learning networks.<br /><br />Over the next few weeks we will slowly turn this blog into a <span style="font-weight: bold;">PLE</span> by tweaking the template to display links and aggregated content from other distributed Web 2.0 tools and services. We'll be posting tips on how you can do this yourself as we go along.<br /><br />We also have a new wiki - <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/">http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/</a>.<br /><br />For now, check out the tutorial on <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/choosinganonlinepresence">how to choose an online presence</a> and the <a href="http://clcommunity.wikispaces.com/onlinepresencereviews">reviews of different options</a>, and if you haven't already done so, get your own online presence happening and start posting.<br /><br />For the discussion leading up to the development of this blog, see the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/mod/forum/view.php?id=17853">2006 Networks Planning Forum</a> on the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272">Online Mentoring Network</a>.Sean FitzGeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10909100589432781884noreply@blogger.com23