Since the new iPad 2 hit stores today in the US and will soon be out in the rest of the world, we wanted to share with you an exciting example of a 1-to-1 iPad program that we’ve come across.

West Moreton Anglican College is one of our Edublogs Campus schools and has recently rolled out an iPad program for their year 12 students.

Each student is given a school owned iPad (with a case and screen protector) for the year. Students can take the tablet home but must return it at the end of the year.

What we liked most about the program is the extensive and informative blog the technology team has set up to keep students, families, and staff informed.

Check out the suggested apps, support documents, and tons more information they have available.

The West Moreton project, and many more just like it, are exciting to watch as we all work on ways to provide seamless access to technology for our students.

Does your school have (or maybe looking into) a 1-to-1 program? Have advice or questions?

And way to go WMAC!

Want to know more about blogging, blog terminology and use of blogs in education?

Here you go!

Check out our “Introduction to Blogging” that you can read online here or download as a PDF version.

Enjoy and hope you find it helpful!

P.S. Was created for Teacher Challenge — read more on the Teacher challenge’s About page.

What is a Blog?

The term blog originated from the blend of the term “web log”.

Nowadays blogs compete with mainstream media in delivering news and information.  Important events, war coverage and celebrity deaths are often reported quicker and more accurately on blogs and Twitter than traditional news service.

Why?  Because any one can easily set up their own blog and share their thoughts (known as their voice) online.

Blogs are written on just about any subject and for a wide range of purposes, including personal, business, work and sharing news stories.

Reasons why educators blog include:

Examples of educational blogs:

Here’s some examples of educational blogs to check out:

1. Teachers Personal blogs:
   • Free Technology for Teachers
   • Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites Of The Day
   • Langwitches
   • Integrating Technology in the Primary Classroom
2. Class blogs:
   • 2KM@ Leopold Primary School
   • Blog, Blog Blog Blog, Blog Some More
   • Mr. Salsich’s Class
   • Mrs. Yollis’ Class Blog!
   • The Ins and Outs
3. Student blogs:
   • Rhiannon’s Blog – Grade 2
   • Millie’s Marvellous Blog – Grade 2
   • BB`s awesome blog – Grade 2
   • Grace’s Blog – Grade 7
   • Chemistry: It’s “Element”-ary!! – Grade 10
4. Other useful sites
   • The Edublog Awards website
   • International Edublogs Directory
   • Education blogs listed on PostRank

The Basic Structure of a Blog

Blogs are normally made up of the following main elements:

1.  Dashboard

This is the back-end area of your blog where you make changes and edits.  This area is only accessible to logged in blog administrators, editors, authors, contributors or subscribers.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

1. Logging into your blog
2. Using your blog dashboard

2. Theme

Usually one of the first things bloggers do is pick out a theme.  This is the template or look of the blog that people see when they visit your blog.

This is what gives it your personal touch.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• Changing your blog look
• What to consider when choosing your blog theme
• Changing your blog’s theme

3. Theme layout

Blog themes normally include a header, a content area (for your posts), sidebar area (for your widgets) and come in several standard layouts:

• Single column with no sidebar (widgets are located at the bottom of the blog)
• Two Column – normally a wide column for content and narrower sidebar
• Three Column – with sidebars side-by-side on one side of the blog or either side of the wider content column
• Four Column – one content column and three sidebars. The content column is often the same width as the other columns. This type of layout tends to be cluttered looking and less suited to reading lengthy content.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• What to consider when choosing your blog theme
• The 137 Edublogs Themes Separated Into Categories To Make Choosing Your Next Theme Easier

4.  Header

The header is the area at the top of a blog where the blog title, graphics, and possibly navigational links appear.

Using your own custom image header means you can obtain a much more customized look and feel adding your “own personal touch” to your blog.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• Uploading your custom image header

5.  Posts

Posts are where you normally publish the latest upodate or new article on a blog.  They are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order with the most recent post at the top of the page.

Most of the content published on a blog is normally written as Posts.   E.g, information on what’s happening in your classroom, assignment instructions, homework and discussion topics are normallypublished as Posts and not on Pages.

Blogs are designed to have only one Post page which normally displays on the homepage of the blog.  Check out The Edublogger to see how posts are displayed in reverse chronological order on the home page.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• The Differences between Pages and Posts
• Writing your first post
• Adding Categories and Tags into your Posts
• Editing Posts

6. Comments

Posts commonly allow readers to publish comments on the posts they read.  This is where the reader can share their thoughts, connect with the blogger and interact with other readers.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• Engaging Readers through comments
• Controlling who can comment on posts
• Managing, editing and approving comments
• Enabling threaded comments
• Writing links in Comments

7.  Pages

You normally use pages for information that you want to share with your readers but don’t expect to update frequently.  Not all blogging software includes the ability to add Pages.

The most common type of page you’ll find on a blog is an About Page.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• The Differences between Pages and Posts
• What is An About Page

8.  Sidebar

The location and even existence of sidebars depend on your theme.  Some themes even have 3 or more sidebars.  You can add and rearrange widgets in your sidebars using your blog dashboard.

The most common theme layout are two columns with one sidebar and on content area.

9.  Widget

These are the blocks that make up sidebars.  Popular widgets include the ability to subscribe to a blog, user statistics, and suggested links.

Here’s where you’ll find more information on:

• Changing your sidebar widgets
• Top widgets for the sidebar of your class or student blog

10.  RSS

RSS is an acronym which stands for Really Simple Syndication.

In simple terms, RSS is a simple and effective way of keeping in touch when new information is added to a website without having to visit the website to check for new updates.

How it works is you subscribe to your favorite website using the RSS feed in a RSS feed reader such as Google Reader.  Whenever new information is added to the website it is automatically sent to your RSS feed reader  where you can read it at your convenience.

For example, whenever your favorite blogger publishes a new post it is automatically sent to your Feed reader.

Sites with RSS feeds are normally indicated with the word RSS and/or the orange RSS icon.

For more information:

1. Watch RSS in Plain English
2. Follow these instructions to subscribe to blogs using Google Reader — just replace the student blogs with your favorite blogs and news services

Please note :

• Blogs on all standard blogging platforms automatically include RSS feeds and don’t necessarily use words or an icon to indicate the presence of the RSS feed.  For all Edublogs, the rss feed is found by going to yourblog.edublogs.org/feed.
• RSS lets you do lots of cool stuff including adding latest updates from your favorite blog(s) or news website(s) to your own site using RSS widgets like FeedWind’s RSS widget

Final  Thoughts

For those wanting to know more about the Teacher Challenge — it is commencing in January.  Each Challenge involves free 30 day professional development where participants are stepped through weekly tasks.

And you can:

1. Read more about the Teacher challenge on our About page.
2. Leave a comment on Are you interested…..? post if you would like to join as a participant
3. Add your details to the Mentors – sign up page if you would like to help us by beng a mentor

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

We’re creating a list of online tools. Can you help us?

What we’re wanting to know is “What tools do you like to use your students that can be embedded into blogs and other websites like wikis?”

Our goals are to learn more about what tools you like to use with your students and why — so we can share this with everyone so we all gain!

Can you help in the following ways:

1. Can you please complete our Favorite online tools to use with Students! form?
   • We’ve kept it to your top 3 favorite tools to make it quicker to complete the form.
   • Feel free to complete the form multiple times if you had wanted to list more than 3 tools!
   • Types of online tools might include your favorite slideshow, presentation, interactive posters, screencasting, video creators, cartoon creators, image creators, video sharing, document hosting/sharing/collaboration, video editing, collaborative story telling, movie making, mind mapping, file sharing, avatars, photo editing, comic creators, screencapture…..what do you and your students like the best?
2. Can you promote our Favorite online tools to use with Students! form to your community and network?
   • The more responses we gather the better the information we share will be and the more we’ll all learn!

Please complete our Form

Please fill in the Google form below.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for taking the time to complete our Favorite online tools to use with Students! form and we’re looking forward to sharing the responses.

Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions!

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What are fun (and educational!) activities to do with students that they can also embed into blogs and other websites like wikis?

Who better to tell us then the students themselves!

So here is a list of tools compiled from recommendations by the Digiridoos, a group of Year 4/5 (9-10 year olds),  who each shared what they would include if they were in charge of the Student Blogging Challenge.

Befunky

Befunky is quick and simple tool for transforming digital photos into instant art work or digital comics.

Extensive range of effects, speech bubbles, accessories, graphics and lot’s of objects that you can add to your pictures.

Great for expressing creativity while having fun and providing cool images for spicing up your blog!

PhotoPeach

PhotoPeach is one of the fastest and easiest ways of creating a story or quiz using photos.

It’s as simple as:

1. Uploading your photos
2. Adding music
3. Adding your captions.

Presto!  You’ve created a story that you can embed as a slideshow into your blog post.

Here’s detailed instructions on how to create and embed a PhotoPeach.

Check out the example of a PhotoPeach Quiz below:

Learn more about animals on PhotoPeach

PollDaddy

Polldaddy is one of the most recognized tools for creating online polls and surveys.

Polls provide different opportunities for gauging readers opinions compared to just asking questions in blog posts.

Not all readers feel comfortable leaving comments in responses to questions.

Polls means readers can express their opinion while maintaining their anonymity.

They also provide you and visitors to your blog the chance to gain a sense of how your readers feel on topics since most online poll tools display the results once a visitor has voted.

Check out the example of a PollDaddy Poll below:

Sketchfu

Sketchfu is a simple tool for creating your own cool animations online that can easily be embedded into your blog post.

Here’s an example of a Sketchfu embedded below:

Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!

Storybird

Storybird is a simple to use online digital story telling tool which provides amazing artwork for building your story.

Creating your own storyboard is as simple as choosing a theme (layout),  selecting the art work you would like to use and then writing your story.  With Storybird anyone can create great-looking digital picture book stories.

Here’s an example of a Storybird embedded below:

The Secretest Secret Agent Secret Cat on Storybird

Voki

Voki speaking avatars are cool and lots of fun to create.

They’re used to add a human element to your blogs.

Here’s detailed instructions on how to create and embed a Voki.

Check out an example of a Voki below:

Get a Voki now!

Wall Wisher

Wallwisher is an online notice board creator.

It’s a really fast and easy way to create engaging activities to use with students.

It’s as simple as:

1. Create your Wallwisher
2. Add some sticky notes
3. Embed into your Blog Post
4. Add more sticky notes

The sticky notes can be as simple as text only OR very creative with images, audio, video, SlideShares, Google Presentations, blog posts (basically almost anything you can link to via their URL)!

And students don’t need to have a Wallwishers account to use it!

Here’s detailed instructions on how to create and embed a Wall Wisher.

Embedding into blog posts

Embedding is as simple as:

1.  Completely write your post including adding title, text, images, tags and categories.

2.  Click on Save Draft, previewed your post and make all necessary edits.

3.  Copy the embed code.

4.  Click on HTML Tab on your blog post.

4.  Paste the embed code for your PhotoPeach into your post where you want it to appear then immediately click Publish

• Don’t click back to Visual Tab before hitting Publish as it can break the embed code.
• Immediately close your post once you’ve published.
• Change back to Visual Editing mode when you write your next post by clicking on the Visual tab.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to Digiridoos for sharing your favorite online tools!

What online tools would you add onto their list?

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Much of my day is spent dealing with considerably more emails than the average person!

Perhaps I know too much about Gmail and Google Apps Mail to be healthy?

But also means I’ve got cool tips to help you gett more out of your gmail account….or make you want to set up a gmail account!

What is Gmail?

Gmail is Google’s free webmail that you can access from any computer, anywhere.

It is one of the best web based email accounts you can use because of features like:

• Threaded email
• Ability to search easily both email and chat messages
• Labels and filters
• Lots of storage space

The Gmail+ method that every educator should be aware of!

Perhaps one of the coolest reasons why educators need to know about gmail is the gmail+ method.

Educators often don’t want their students to use their own email address for creating online accounts.  Unfortunately most websites require users use unique email addresses.

The gmail+ method provides the solution!

How it works is you create one gmail account for your class.

For example, mathiscool@gmail.com or room16@gmail.com.

Then you use your one class gmail account with the gmail+ method to create each student account.

Gmail ignores any letters and numbers you add after a + sign and sends all emails to the one account while the web site where you are setting up the account thinks each is a unique email.

So for example, you might use mathiscool+seanp10@gmail.com, mathiscool+davep10@gmail.com and so on for creating their usernames and gmail will send all emails to the class gmail account mathiscool@gmail.com

Achieving Zero Inbox

The idea of zero inbox is you action emails quickly and once dealt with, you immediately archive them.

No more 1000+ emails in your inbox — weighing you down!   Instead your inbox works like a to-do-list where you’re working through the tasks quickly.

And no stress!  When you archive in gmail it takes the emails from your inbox and moves them into ALL MAIL.

This cleans up your inbox without deleting them,  making emails findable when you search your email with keywords or click on a Label.

Achieving zero inbox is as simple as:

1. Respond to emails, label if necessary, and then archive them immediately by clicking on ‘Send and Archive’!
2. Any emails that you can’t archive, because they require action in a few days, add a label as reminder, archive them and use multiple inboxes as your reminder list.
3. As notifications arrive that you no longer need immediately unsubscribe from their service or set up a filter to automatically archive them.

If your inbox is currently overwhelmed use select All and click on Archive to get to it under control!

Working with labels

Labels in gmail are a bit like folders in Microsoft Outlook except you can add more than one label to an email and keep them easily findable, whereas with Outlook the email is move into the folder.

Clicking on a label displays all messages in ALL MAIL with that label.

The idea is you use labels that are meaningful to you and help you sort/find emails.

Don’t stress too much creating labels!  You can rename, delete or hide labels any time — so they are easily change.

Create a new label by:

1. Clicking on More
2. Clicking on Create new label
3. Adding the name of the new label and clicking OK

Assigning a label(s) to an email is a simple as selecting the label(s) from the dropdown menu next to labels.

To make labels easier to manage you can create nested labels!

Nested labels allow you to organize your labels hierarchically.

All you need to do is:

1. Go to Settings > Labs
2. Enable Nested Labels
3. Click Save Changes at bottom of page
4. Create the parent label you want to use
5. Create their child labels by using the parent label followed with slash (/) and the child label name.

For example, if you used the gmail+ method with your students you could create nested labels to manage the student’s account information, comment notifications etc.

Now all you need to do is click on the label for that student to find their emails.

And you can color coordinate your labels

Colored labels makes them easiser to work with.

Keep an eye on your spam label

Gmail is very good at handling spam.

But unfortunately, as with any email account, legitimate emails can be sent to spam label.

By default gmail hides the spam folder so it’s easy to not realise legitimate emails are being spammed.

Here’s my advice:

1. Change your gmail spam folder to show
2. Regularly check your spam folder for legitimate emails and unspam any legitimate emails

To always have your spam folder display you can either:

1. Drag your spam label out of the More area and into your main menu

2.  Or go to Settings > Labels and click on Show next to Spam

Now you’ll easily be able to see how many emails have been spammed and can easily check it for those missing emails

Working with filters

Filters are great for managing incoming emails because you can set up filters that automatically label, archive, delete, star or forward emails based on keywords, email address etc.

For example, you used the gmail+ method with your students and set up a filter with their gmail+ addresses that automatically labels email with student name.

Creating a filter to label emails is as simple as:

1. Go to Settings > Labs
2. Scroll to bottom of page and click on ‘Create new Filter’
3. Add the email address of the incoming email you want to label
4. Click Next Step
5. Select Apply the Label and choose the label from the drop down menu
6. Click Create Filter

Working with Multiple Inboxes

Multiple Inboxes lets you have more than one ‘inbox’ in your default Gmail view.

This is handy for organizing emails that you can’t yet archive but need to keep for a few days while you’re working them.

Creating multiple inboxes is as simple as:

1. Go to Settings > Labs
2. Enable Multiple Inboxes
   
3. Click Save Changes at bottom of page
4. Now go to Settings > Multiple Inboxes
5. Select your search query
6. Set your extra panes position
7. Click Save Changes

Favorite Gmail Lab features

Here’s my favorite gmail labs for extra features:

• Canned Response – lets you compose text once, save the text with the “Canned responses” button and then insert by clicking on correct canned response in the drop down menu. We use this feature for managing the signatures of the support team who reply from the Edublogs support gmail account.
• Google Calendar gadget
• Send & Archive – essential for quick archiving of emails
• Nested labels
• Multiple inboxes
• Superstars
• Undo Send – for all those times you wish you could unsend that email!
• Right side chat

And learning more about the people who email you!

Rapportive is an add on for Gmail and Google Apps Mail.

It shows you everything about someone who emails you right inside your inbox.

The instant you open up their email, if they have used it with any social networking site, you’ll immediately see what they look like, where they’re based, what they do and what they might be talking about.

Final thoughts

Everyone has their own secret ingredients for using gmail:

1. What did I miss?
2. What are your tips for getting more out of gmail?

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Starting your journey into the online world can feel like a crazy place where the inhabitants speak a totally new language.

So here’s a glossary of commonly used terms we’ve created to help you!

Avatar

An avatar is a computer user’s online representation of themself or their alter ego.

Your avatar is an important part of your online identity.

It’s an online representation of you that shows up in places such as where you leave comments, forum posts or on social networks and is part of how others visualize who you are.

For more information refer to:

1. Creating And Uploading Your Comment Avatar
2. Want A Comment Avatar That’s Globally Recognised By Most Blog Platforms? Here’s How!

Blog

The term blog originated from the blend of the term “web log”.

Blogs are normally made up of the following main elements:

• Posts - Posts are where you normally publish the latest new or new article on a blog.  They are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order with the most recent post at the top of the page.  Blogs are designed to have only one Post page.
• Comments - Posts commonly allow readers to publish comments on the posts they read.  This is where the reader can share their thoughts, connect with the blogger and interact with other readers.
• Pages – You normally use pages for information that you want to share with your readers but don’t expect to update frequently.  Not all blogging software includes the ability to add Pages.

Blogs are written on just about any subject and for a wide range of purposes, including personal, business, work and sharing news stories.

Here’s some examples of how blogs are used and educational blogs to check out:

1. Top ten ways educators use blogs with students
2. Class blogs:
   • MrToft.ca (Grade 5)
   • Huzzah (Grade 6/7)
   • Blog, blog blog blog, blog some more (English I)
3. Student blogs:
   • Jazzing up Eight Grade
   • Lauren’s Life
   • Dominique’s My Blog
4. Education blogs listed on PostRank

Cloud Computing

In really simple terms, cloud computing involves using off-site providers that you access via the Internet, and paying for what you use as it’s needed, instead of managing aspects such as hardware, computer applications and data storage on-site.

The term “cloud” is used as a metaphor for the Internet.

Examples of cloud computing include using:

• Google Apps for purposes such as email, messaging, documents, spreadsheets, calendar
• Skype for free online calls, messaging, video conferencing, applicaton sharing, file sharing
• Facebook as a free Intranet

Watch Cloud Computing in Plain English for more information.

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are all about using web tools such as blogs, wiki, twitter, facebook to create connection with others which extend our learning, increases our reflection while enabling us to learn together as part of a global community.

PLNs increase our opportunities to ask questions and receive help compared to our normal daily face-to-face interactions.

Best part of a PLN is it’s personal!

You make all the choices:

1. What tools you use!
2. Who you connect with!
3. How you want to learn!
4. When you want to learn!

Terms like Personal Learning Communities (PLC) and Personal Learning Environments (PLE) are occassoinally used in a similar context to Personal Learning Networks (PLN).

Check out PLN Yourself to learn more about building your own PLN.

RSS

RSS is an acronym which stands for Really Simple Syndication.

In simple terms, RSS is a simple and effective way of keeping in touch when new information is added to a website without having to visit the website to check for new updates.

How it works is you subscribe to your favorite website using the RSS feed in a RSS feed reader such as Google Reader.  Whenever new information is added to the website it is automatically sent to your RSS feed reader  where you can read it at your convenience.

For example, whenever your favorite blogger publishes a new post it is automatically sent to your Feed reader.

Sites with RSS feeds are normally indicated with the word RSS and/or the orange RSS icon.

For more information:

1. Watch RSS in Plain English
2. Follow these instructions to subscribe to blogs using Google Reader — just replace the student blogs with your favorite blogs and news services

Please note :

• Blogs on all standard blogging platforms automatically include RSS feeds and don’t necessarily use words or an icon to indicate the presence of the RSS feed
• RSS lets you do lots of cool stuff including adding latest updates from your favorite blog(s) or news website(s) to your own site using RSS widgets like FeedWind’s RSS widget

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking enables people to bookmark and tag online content such as websites they find useful so they can use for future reference or share with others online.

Using social bookmarking sites such as Delicious and Diigo means that you can access your stored references anywhere, anytime on any computer.

Social Networking

Social networking is the act of communicating and building relationships with people online.

Blogs, Twitter, Facebook,  Ning communities, LinkedIn, Flickr are all examples of popular social networking sites used by educators to develop their Personal Learning Network (PLN).

Tag

Tags are keywords or terms used to classify content and organize content stored online.   Tags are commonly assigned informally by person who creates the content.

The purpose of tagging is to help make it easier for the content to be easily found.  Tagging is an important part of many web 2.0 tools including:

1. Blog posts
2. Images stored on photosharing websites such as Flickr
3. Bookmarks stored on social bookmarking sites such as Delicious and Diigo

You’ll often see tag clouds used as a visual representation of tags used on a website.  The larger the size of the word in the tag cloud the more content has been tagged using that term.

Web 2.0

The term “Web 2.0″ begun its rise into popularity when O’Reilly Media and MediaLive hosted the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004.

It’s used to refer to the supposed second-generation of Internet-based services that let people collaborate and share information online in new ways.

Blogs, wikis, podcasting, video sharing websites (e.g. YouTube and Vimeo), photosharing websites (e.g. Flickr and Picasa), social networking sites (e.g. FaceBook, Twitter) are all examples of Web 2.0 technologies.

The phrase “Web 2.0″ hints at an improved form of the World Wide Web.

The early web development, retrospectively now labelled Web 1.0, involved static websites, the use of search engines, and surfing from one website to the next, and consuming of consumer created by geeks and web coder.

Web 2.0 involves a more dynamic and interactive World Wide Web where anyone can create content and connect with others to collaborate to build on each others content.

Wiki

A wiki is a website that allows easy creation and editing of webpages using your web browser.  Wikis are normally powered by wiki software.

The term wiki is derived from the Hawaain word ‘fast’ because non-technical users can use them quickly and easily to create their own websites.

Wikipedia is the best example of a wiki being used colloboratively by a community to create content.

Commonly used wikis providers chosen by educators include Wikispaces, Wetpaint, and PBWorks.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks to everyone in my Twitter network who provided input into which terms should be included in this glossary and for sharing links to references.

There is a good chance that in attempting to keep the explanations short we haven’t covered them in sufficient details.  So would love to hear your thoughts:

1. What terms need better explaining? Or explained differently?
2. What other terms would you like included?

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Can you over use hashtags on twitter?

Is obsessive hashtagging a problem?

And what advice would you give in terms of appropriate use of hashtags?

Why do I ask?

Because Marian Schembari left the following comment on my A Twitteraholic’s Guide to tweets, hashtags, and all things Twitter post:

“Certain tweeters need to cut it out with the obsessive hashtagging. It dilutes the message and looks spammy.”

Now I feel I haven’t provided enough advice on hashtags so want to rectify it.

And why did I miss it?

Easy

How you use Twitter and what annoys you depends how many you follow.

A person who follows 1,000’s of people sees things differently from someone who follows 100’s.

So what advice should I be providing on using hashtags on twitter?

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Conferences can make you feel really overwhelmed and alone — especially at a conference like ISTE amongst 13,000 ed tech professionals participants who attend each year.

But never for a twitterer.

For us Twitter users conferences are like walking into a big party where you know everyone and are meeting up with old friends.

So how do we use Twitter?

Here’s advice on using Twitter written with assistance from my twitter network and readers comments on this post — thanks everyone for sharing their tips!

And for those of you who have heard of twitter and have dismissed it thinking ‘”Twitter is for people with too much time on their hands” — think again   Educators are connecting with each other on Twitter and using it like a big teachers lunch room that’s open 24/7 whenever they need help, assistance or just want to connect with others.

Here’s tips for signing up for your Twitter account:

1. Go to Twitter and create your account.
2. Remember first impressions count!  Choose your username and an avatar carefully
3. Choose a username that makes it easier for others to relate to you as a real person and conveys the right impression of who you are. e.g. Compare spwat3 with suewaters — which is easier?
4. But don’t stress too much — your username can be changed anytime without affecting your twitter account  (Settings > Account)

Before you start following other people make sure you:

1. Complete your bio and add your blog URL (if applicable) — people use this information to decide whether they follow you (Settings > Profile).
2. Upload your twitter avatar — people are less likely follow those using the default avatar (Settings > Profile)
3. Don’t start following people on twitter until you’ve published some tweets! Why would anyone follow you if you haven’t even bothered to update?

Tips for who to follow:

1. Choose about 100 people to follow initially
2. Find people to follow who have similar interests or with blogs you like who either share great info and links or who willingly engage in conversations
3. Follow a few people you know and follow who they follow
4. Find a twitter mentor who will help and guide you.  Get them to ask their followers to add you.
   
5. You can always ask me to help by sending an @suewaters tweet. Make sure when people do start adding you that add them back quickly plus thank them for adding you to their account!!!
6. Don’t just follow anyone — follow those who have the same interests and who you like
7. Remember following does not have to be forever — vet your following list to suit your needs
8. And think about how you want to use it — to follow latest news? to follow other educators? to share what you know?

Tips for engaging in the conversation:

Twitter is very similar to a face to face conversation.  A mixture of small talk, relationship building, helping others, getting help and sharing.

1. Be patient it takes time to build your network.
2. Use it everyday for four weeks, even if only for 5 minutes per day.
3. Remember twitter is a two way conversation — you need to answer as much as you ask but most importantly share, share, share.
4. Participate and say something, anything
5. Get involved in the conversation. Don’t be afraid to reply and if you don’t get a response back, don’t be offended. It happens — you’ll soon see those that do/don’t engage in conversations
   
6. Learn the twitter language and how to use it well i.e. @, DM, #, hashtags, RT — here’s information that will help.
7. Use a twitter client where possible and not the web interface
8. Avoid using up all 140 characters as it makes Retweeting harder
9. Remember online is forever. If you didn’t want it online don’t say it in the first place.
10. It’s extremely easy for others to misinterpret your written text. Remember this!
11. Think about how what you say reflects on how people visualise you.

Getting more out of Twitter by Using a Twitter Client

A twitter client is a MUST as they provide instant notification of the latest updates and easy response to the tweets.

Which Twitter client you use is personal. Here’s recommendations from my twitter network:

For your computer:

• TweetDeck
• Seesmic
• Hootsuite
• Yoono – FireFox addon
• Accessible Twitter – optimized to assist disabled users
  

For your mobile device:

• Twitter for iPhone – iPhone, iPod touch
• TweetDeck – iPhone, iPod touch
• Twitterific -- iPhone, iPod touch
• Twitbird - iPhone, iPod touch
• echofon – - iPhone, iPod touch
• Osfoora – iPad
• Uber twiter – BlackBerry
• Twitter for BlackBerry – BlackBerry
  
• Tweetcaster – Android
• Gravity – Nokia, Symbian

Connecting using Hashtags

A hashtag is any word on twitter that starts with the “#” hash sign.

Hash tags make it easier to search and follow the twitter conversations on specific topics.

How it works is everyone agrees to use a standard hash tag in their tweets when they tweet about a specific topic.  Then you set up a search for that hashtag using your twitter client, or use twitter search tools such as Twitter Search and Twitterfall to track the conversation.

Hashtags are commonly used at conferences to share thoughts on presentations, organise meet ups and coordinate after parties.  For example, the hashtag used at ISTE 2010 conference was #iste10.

Check out What is a Hashtag by Silvia Tolisano for a more detailed explanation.

Hashtags commonly used by educators include:

• #edchat – used for discussions between educators on thought provoking topics.  You can read more about #edchat here
• #ebshare – Edublogs Twitter hashtag for sharing good links and for educators to tweet links at Edublogs so we can share them with our community
• #teachertuesday – used on Tuesdays to recommend educators worth following
• #followfriday or #ff – used by Twitterers on Friday to recommend people worth following.
• #comment4kids – used by educators to tweet student posts that deserves to be commented on such as a post that is awesome or student that needs encouragement.
• #lrnchat – used for discussions on thought provoking topics.  You can read more about #lrnchat here

Tips for using Hashtags

• Do not place hashtags in front of keywords in your tweet for no real reason
• Hastags are referencing events, news, software, or memes, not for random words
• Commonly used hashtags such as #edchat are great for finding new people and conversations you would never have discovered otherwise
• Excessive overuse of hashtags can make you look like a twitter spammer
• Most twitters don’t mind hashtags when used for specific things such as conferences, events, groups but can get annoyed with excessive use of silly hashtags like #thingsthatannoyme
• Always check the hashtag you’re planning to use by searching Twitter Search to make sure it isn’t already being used for another purpose

Thanks everyone who shared their tips on using hashtags!

Public vs Protected Accounts

By default, when you sign up for Twitter your account is public and any one can see your tweets.

Some twitter users prefer to use Protected twitter accounts where their updates are kept private — where only approved followers can see their tweet updates. You change your privacy options in Settings > Account.

If you choose to use a Protected Twitter account then you need to appreciate there are people who won’t follow some one who uses a protected twitter account.

For those who won’t follow protected twitter accounts it is important to appreciate there are a range of reasons why an educator might choose to use a protected account and often it isn’t related to concerns of posting an inappropriate tweet.

It is also important to consider followers may be using a protected account when taking screenshots from Twitter — and where possible I prefer to ask if people mind me taking a screenshot.

Don’t forget here’s a cool way to grab a screenshot of a tweet and embed it to a blog post!

Thanks to Esra and Jane Lofton for reminding me to discuss Protected Twitter accounts!

And standing out from the crowd

Customzing your twitter background can make you really stand out from the crowd.

You change or upload your own twitter background via Settings > Design.

There’s a few options for creating your own twitter background such as:

1. Use software like PhotoShop to design it yourself.  Here’s some helpful “Design to and best practice tips”!
2. Use one of the many free online twitter background generators.

Here’s some worth trying:

1. Freetwitterdesigner.com

Freetwitterdesigner.com is very easy to use and provides a wide range of options for uploading your own images and adding text anywhere on the background.

2.  TwitBacks

TwitBacks is also very easy to use.  Creates a design with a text block on the left side of the background.

3.  The Escape

The Escape is a very simple, cute twitter background creator.

Keeping up with links shared on Twitter

A twitter network is a rich source of great links to read and it’s handy to grab these links using twitter tools so you can check them out at your leisure.

Here’s a couple of options:

1. Shiftlinks – creates an RSS feed of your links posted by your twitter followers which you can subscribe to using an feed reader such as Google Reader. This works works well when following a small number of people.
2. The Twitter Times – creates a daily newspaper based on the top links shared by your twitter follower.  This works works well when following a large number of people.  Here’s my personalised Twitter Times.  You can also subscribe by RSS.

Thanks to Dolores Gende for reminding me to discuss how to monitor links shared!

And let us not forget how we can use with our students

Check out Tom Barrett and friends 30 Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classro0om from Tom’s Interesting Ways To… Series.

Final thoughts

Everyone has their own secret ingredients for using Twitter.

1. What did I miss?
2. What are your tips for getting more out of twitter?
3. Do you have any favourite twitter tools?

And please share your thoughts on why educators should use twitter and how to get more out of using it.

Thanks to everyone in my twitter network that helped write this post –really appreciated it and apologies for not listing everyone’s names but there were so many who helped!

Photo from Bloggers Cafe at ISTE by ctkmcmillan licensed under All Rights Reserved and used with permission from ctkmcmillan (Karen McTeach).

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When did you last check your spam folder?

I’ve been getting numerous emails recently such as ‘why aren’t I receiving my comment notification emails’,  ‘I haven’t received the emails for my student’s login details’ and ‘why haven’t you responded to my email.’

Unfortunately, gmail users are being caught out by legitimate emails being sent to spam and since by default gmail now hides the spam folder they aren’t realising.

Here’s my advice:

1. Change your gmail spam folder to show
2. Regularly check your spam folder for legitimate emails and unspam any legitimate emails

How to change your gmail spam folder setting

By default the spam folder is now located underneath the More drop down menu.

To always have your spam folder display you can either:

1. Drag your spam label out of the More area and into your main menu

2.  Or go to Settings > Labels and click on Show next to Spam

Presto!

Now you’ll easily be able to see how many emails have been spammed and can easily check it for those missing emails

Final Thoughts

Looking for more tips on using email?

Check out:

1. What You Really Ought To Know About Emails!
2. Creating Student Accounts Using One Gmail Account
3. How To Moderate All Comments and Posts On Student Blogs

And remember filters, especially strict ones for education email addresses,  often block legitimate emails.

Make sure when emailing from an education email account you include an alternative email address such as gmail or hotmail.

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Recent changes to Facebook may have stopped the import of your blog post feeds.

Which is frustrating as  some readers are more comfortable, and prefer to read posts, and comment on them, in Facebook rather than on blogs.

Facebook normally checks your feed every few hours and automatically adds any new blog posts to your Facebook notes.

If your blog feed is no longer being imported into Facebook the solution is to cancel your current blog import and then reimport it.

Not currently feeding your posts into Facebook?

Here’s our instructions on How To Import Your Blog Posts Into Facebook

Here’s how to restart your blog import:

1.  Log into your Facebook Account

2.  Click on Profile

3.  Click on Notes tab

4.   Click on the title of one of your posts or notes

5.  Now click on My Notes

6.  Click on ‘Edit import settings’

7.  Click on Stop Importing

8.  Now add back in your Feed URL, agree to their conditions to import feed and then click Start Importing

9.  On the preview of your imported blog page click Confirm Import if you are happy with the Preview.

Final Thoughts

Not currently feeding your posts into Facebook?

Here’s our instructions on How To Import Your Blog Posts Into Facebook

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