'Master Class' Description and 'THING 1': Email Publishing

Welcome Back to 17 Things to Chew On! Thanks for coming back for Round 2. This program will be slightly different than the original 17 Things to Chew On program that many of you completed last year. This time, there will only be five new "Things" during the course of the program, but the most significant difference is that you will now be asked to design and implement three lessons/units/projects with your class(es) in which Web 2.0 tools are featured prominently. This will require you to teach these tools to your students and will also require the students to be in some way directly involved in either using or creating the tools themselves. You may choose from any of the original seventeen "Things" or from any of the five new "Things" from this year's program.

For your blog, you may use the blog you created last year, or you can create a new one; just email me the link to whichever blog you will be using as your program headquarters.

The project description template that you will fill out for each of your three lessons/units/projects is linked on the left sidebar of my blog. You should open it, choose "File-- Make a Copy", rename the document to reflect your project, and save it to your Google Docs account. When you're ready to share your project, make sure the settings are set to "Anyone with the link can access" (as opposed to "Private"), and post the link to your blog. Also, please email me when you post the document so that I can make sure to include it on the "Master Class Projects" page.

Finally, you will be listed as "mentors" that will be available to people completing the 'Lite Edition' program. You can choose to work with specific people (I know of one group already that consists of two mentors and two mentees), or just be informally available.

To get inspired, watch this TED video (It's a different Sir Ken Robinson video from last year!):




THING 1: Email Publishing
Weblogs? Been there, done that. Facebook? It's full of kids. Twitter? That's so 2006, darling. No, the smart thing to be doing online these days is tumblelogging, which is to weblogs what text messages are to email - short, to the point, and direct. -- Telegraph.co.uk

As much as I enjoy blogging, sometimes it seems a bit cumbersome. Having to sit at my computer, login to Blogger, yada yada yada. Enter: Tumblr and Posterous. These are customizable blogs to which you can add text, photos, videos, music, links, etc. by sending an email, leaving a phone message, or sending an instant message. Compared to traditional blogging, email blogging frees the user from being tied to the blogging program; it might also make things easier for people who are comfortable with email, but not yet with other Web 2.0 tools.
I've embedded my Tumblr site into this post. My Tumblr blog name is 17 Things to Chew On (what a surprise), so you can follow me, and even "Ask a Question!"
Now it's your turn. Explore Tumblr and Posterous, choose one, create an account, and experiment. Make a few posts via email and voicemail, follow other people, embed your Tumblr on your blog or website, etc.

To Complete Thing 1:

• Email me the link to your blog for this program (either the one from last year or a new one you create for this year; you can even use your new Tumblr/Posterous blog if you'd like!)
• Explore Tumblr and Posterous
• Sign up for an account with one of these services
• Make at least 3 posts to your new email blog-- try to use different methods of posting (e.g. email, voicemail, etc.) and try to post different things (e.g. text, photo, video, etc.)
• Post about your experience. Would you use email blogging as opposed to a traditional blog? How could you use email blogging with classes? Make sure to include the link to your Tumblr or Posterous blog in your post.

Here is my embedded 17 Things Tumblr blog:



Note: Thing 2 will be posted on or around Friday, November 19th. Also, you may post your Project Descriptions at any time.