From blogs to semantic networking

I'm discovering that blogs can be an asset in the classroom especially at the post-secondary level. I'm also impressed with their relative ease of creation and maintenance. I read somewhere that as a result of the creation of some many millions of new blogs in the last several years that the average blog has one reader. Just a factoid to keep every blogger "who wants to make it big"mired in reality! :-)

I think I'm more intrigued with educational potential of semantic networking than with blogs. I've become slightly familiar with the work of the National Urban Alliance and a significant teaching tool that they really emphasize: concept maps. The Inspiration software is fun to work with; I wonder if there is a free-ware equivalent somewhere.

I'm impressed with the constructivist direction and design of this class. Seems to me that if I enjoy the flexibility and power of creating my own knowledge, my students will as well. Yet another moment in my U experience that makes me take pause and reflect on what my classroom will look like and sound like when I return to the classroom as well as how my role as teacher will be reconfigured. Now to put words in to action!!

The quandry

I'm desperately in need of doing some window blogging to get a better visual of the various looks and purposes of the edu-blogs on the course web-site.

I am definitely a visual learner in that I need to see models in order to better understand the how, why, and what of techno-tasks.

I'm also struggling with what I perceive to be my own inefficiencies as far as the amount of time I spent diddling around with things. I often wonder if there are easier ways to do things and I'm too old school or inexperienced to realize and take advantage of. Hmmm.