This podcast covers the use of Adobe Connect as ‘Virtual Classrooms‘, the use of various Social Networking and collaboration tools, such as wiki’s, blog’s and Facebook to engage trainee’s in industry.

Linda also talks about the mutual benefits to TAFE and Industry and the importance of these tools for life-long learning.

You can visit the podcast site here.

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Why?

For a better customer experience, a satisfied customer, to be competitive. The next generation is coming (Generation Z) and they are more fashion and design conscious than ever before. Be ready!

Observe;

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Here are some photo’s I took of the new Apple store in Sydney last week.

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“Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings. ” Wikipedia

How can Social Media help provide a better service?

Watch this great video by Commoncraft;

Social Media in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

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I know I haven’t posted much these days, but I couldn’t resist this, it just amazes me…

Click to view

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I twitter, do you? Have you seen the video below from Common Craft about Twitter?

Not sure what Twitter is?

“Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app.” Time Magazine

Heard of micro-blogging? It’s a brief form of blogging, short blog posts, there’s usually a character limit of 200 or less, like Twitter’s limit of 140 characters.

It’s a bit like Reality TV on the net. Your network of ‘friends’ tell you how long they’ve been waiting for the train, what they are listening to on their iPod, what they are eating and what they are wearing to bed. It’s short and it’s sharp.

You’ll read what they are presenting and at what forum, you’ll read what happened in their class that day or what amazing discovery they have made.

How does my network use Twitter?

I’ll invite them to comment on why they like Twitter, but mostly, I see them sharing educational resources, asking each other for support and advice, and making friends. They notify each other of the latest educational news and happenings, not just locally but internationally. It’s a fantastic way to keep your collaborative networks real, alive, dynamic.

Twitter is a great and convenient way to interact, you can post ‘Tweets’ from your mobile, on the Twitter website, from twitter widgets inside Facebook, edublogs, wiki’s and even from within Second Life. I can put a Twitter widget just about anywhere so I can keep an eye on the conversation. I can even add a Twitter widget to my netvibes/ RSS feed reader so that I can read and communicate with educators, friends and family all over the country.

What cool things have I discovered about Twitter?

A little secret I’ll share with all of you, you can actually add a Twitter application into your Facebook profile that updates your Facebook profile everytime to post a Twitter. So you don’t need to go into Facebook to update your profile.

Try it! It’s fast and it’s fun!

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A blog can be a great way to communicate with everyone at the same time, thus avoiding the giant email recipient list (as my parents have just found out here). You ‘post’ an update on your blog and your readers can then leave their comments as and when is suitable and the conversation begins.

Interesting problem – Where do I leave my comment?

Some bloggers tell me they don’t allow any commenting on their blog because it changes the way they write, or it takes too much time to monitor. However, so many people ask me “how do I leave a comment on a blog?”

Whenever I visit a blog and wish to comment, I always have to go hunting for the comments link. I watch others go hunting as well. People that blog and visit blogs may know what to look for, but what about the people that don’t?

Admittedly, as bloggers we can make it easier for them by inviting them to comment within our blog post. As I have done at the bottom of this post (but I don’t do it enough!), this tip came via the 31 day blog challenge I participated in last year (thanks to Problogger) and is a great tip.

So, for those of you wanting to leave a comment, here’s how;

*please note, this will not be the same on every blog. The link will often be a different colour, to match the blog theme/ style.

If you have any comments on this, please leave a comment here.

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Today is my blog’s 1st birthday.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started this blog. It’s really quite amazing when I look back through all the entries, I realise what a collection of resources I’ve built up. It certainly has been an interesting journey, the collaborative aspects of blogging are certainly greater than I expected.

Oh and happy birthday also to my good friend Micah who is currently in Perth! I hope your day is completely fantastic!!

Other blog birthday wishes.

Happy birthday to these top bloggers!

• Sue Waters – April 15^th
• Darren Draper – April 19^th

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It not just Dad’s blog that has re-engaged me, it’s the fact that he’s getting more comments than me… and not only does he fancy becoming a professional blogger in his retirement, but his latest blog post indicates that my mother is soon to join him on the blogging bandwagon!

Is nothing sacred?

I am left wondering what exactly I have done do deserve this. Is this the evolution of parental/sibling humillation?

And why do his posts get so many comments? Is it because of his grumpy old man pictures? Is it the colloquial way he writes? Is it because he has more friends that are interested in his trip?

Do I now need to consider what I blog about? Should I make it more personal? Enough is enough. I MUST keep up. Shame on me for being slack.

Tomorrow is my blog’s first birthday for God’s sake!

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I know it’s been a while since the gauntlet was thrown (like October ‘07) and back then I set some weekly blog challenges for the Learning Technology Team. At the commencement of the challenge, the team mostly engaged. Towards Task 3, the team were not so engaged, or more to the point, had no time to put into this series of challenges and wanted some time to reflect and revise on their learning.

Inspiring colleagues

A couple of things have made me decide to finish this series of challenges. The first being regular gig for Regan Harding as guest blogger on the engageme.net/blog, Regan is one of our team members and her posts have been very inspiring and I would like you all to go visit them… and the second, a link to a very interesting blog that I received by email today;

Using Blogs to Promote Authentic Learning in the Classroom

What a great list of resources! In particular, check out the Student Safety and Responsible Blogging section

So let me recap on the challenge. The Tasks so far;

• Task 1 - created a blog.
• Task 2 - your “About me” page.
• Task 3 - comment on someone else’s blog.

Now for Task 4 - Email a Reader

This challenge is about thanking readers that commented on your blog and contributors from way back if you’ve been blogging for a while now. My suggestions would be to do it via a personal email.

This is something to adhere to in the future if you really want to get the most out of the relationships you have created through your blog. Responding to someone via email to thank them for their resources, comments, links or conversation is a great way to strengthen a relationship and encourage that person to continue reading and contributing to your blog and your blogging network.

I have really enjoyed my (Blog & Twitter) community that grew as a consequence of the 31 Day Blog Challenge I took part in last year. These connections are still there (although I have been quite absent so far this year) and these contacts support us in our daily roles and with our own personalised learning.

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Well hello!

Yes I am still here. I can’t believe that my last blog post was November 18, 2007. I wont bore you all with the details, but it was a very busy end to 2007.

I did manage to have a good break over Christmas. You can probably tell that I hardly even touched a computer. I haven’t been visible in Second Life, Twitter, or any of my usual blogging communities, I’ve had a serious break.

I wonder if the people in the communities I was so active in even remember me?

So it’s the beginning of 2008 and it’s time to get back into it.

But, before we do, and in case you missed it…. bumped into Kevin Rudd on Christmas Eve. Was a very weird experience. One that I wont forget in a hurry.

It’s going to b a great year this year, and there’s so much to do already! New beginnings… Let’s get into it!

What’s your technology challenge for 2008?

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Before I post Task 4, I’d like to know where you are all up to in this blog challenge? I have looked at all your blogs and noticed that many of you have not completed Task 3. I seem to have lost you in this challenge.

Why?

What do you think about blogging in education? Why doesn’t it work for you? Does it work for you? Is it just another thing you need to do? Can you see any benefits yet? I’d like to invite you to comment on this post and start a conversation about it. What are the issues?

What can I do to engage you in this challenge?

In Task 1, you created a blog. You refined your profile, in Task 2 - your About page. In Task 3 you were asked to comment on someone else’s blog. Blogging is about conversation and connections and to start this off, you need to comment on a blog.

Where are the blogs?

You do not have to comment on a team members blog, so let me know if you’ve gone outside the team so I can join you.

There are other NCI staff with blog’s that are worth discovering, let’s find them and engage with them. There’s a plethoras of resources out there on blogs. These people can be really beneficial, helpful to you in your daily role and have resources you can share.

I mentioned Kaz Madigan in the last task. If you haven’t had a look at her colourful and wonderful blog, have a look now.

Have you been to the NSW Outreach blog?

Are there any more blogs you know of?

I’d also like to invite the wider community to comment on some of these blogs. It would be great if you could help us find the value in connecting with other educators.

Team Blogs (ready for comments and conversations;

• Linda Johnson
  
• Julie Robbins - Arts & Media, Soft Furnishings Blog
  
• Regan Harding - Byron Community Youth Blog
• Lynne Ridley
• Lisa Faulkner - Flexilearn Center Grafton

I look forward to the conversation and collaboration.

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More than 300 hours of University of California, Berkeley, classes and events are available online in this media rich format. The university began online broadcasts, called “webcasts”, of its own in 2001 and last year began making audio “podcasts” available for download at Apple’s iTunes online store.

Read the full article here.

Do you think your students would be ready to check out lesson content on YouTube? If you’re a student, what do you think?

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