3. Web Technologies: Blogs, Podcasts, Video Streams, and RSS Feeds
a.  Blogs ► http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlogA blog (a contraction of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs. With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.
    Links:
        Education Blogs  ► http://edublogs.org/ ► awd.cl.uh.edu/blog ► Top 100 Education Blogs  
        Easy Journal ► http://www.easyjournal.com
        Technorati ► http://www.technorati.com
        Blogger ►  www.blogger.com
      
b. Podcasts ► www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
A podcast is a series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers. The term podcast, like broadcast, can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.

The term is a portmanteau of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasting scripts were developed (see history of podcasting). Such scripts allow podcasts to be automatically transferred to a mobile device after they are downloaded.

Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added, using an aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.
    Links:

         The Tech Teacher Network  ► www.thetechteacher.libsyn.com
        Our Media: Channels of Creativity  ► www.ourmedia.org/learning-center
        Learning In Hand: Podcasting  ► www.learninginhand.com/podcasting/index.html
        Tool Factory Podcasting  ► www.toolfactory.com/products/page?id=2121
        Education Podcast Network  ► www.epnweb.org
        Podcasts: Where's the Learning  ► www.thejournal.com/articles/20764
        Daily Almanac Podcast ► http://www.libraryspot.com/podcast/index.html

c. Video Streams ► www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_streaming
    Links: ► www.unitedstreaming.com ► www.teachertube.com ► http://www.studentfilms.com/
    Other (probably blocked) Streams ► http://vimeo.com ► www.hulu.com ► www.youtube.com

 d. RSS Feeds ► www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rss  
        ► www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/rss
        ► Frequently asked questions about RSS 

4. Cool Stuff, Presentations, and ► The Top 100 Tools for Learning

e-Portfolio by Digication ► www.digication.com
Digication's e-Portfolio and classroom tools provides not only a platform for exchanging and organizing resources, communication and knowledge related to courses but also supports the creation of an online learning community. This community is connected, engaged, and empowered by the work that is shared. Work that is generated through the use of a learning management system is extracted and easily published into a media rich e-Portfolios which can be customized to serve a number of different uses such as an interactive resume, a journal of educational experiences, an archive of work produced through a course, a collaborative project, and a teachers compilation of learning materials. Digication is available free for up to 1,000 users at accredited schools in the United States

SciTalks ► www.scitalks.com
Smart people on cool topics…In the same vein as YouTube, SciTalks.com (Boston, MA) has launched a searchable online collection of science lecture video files from across the world. Currently 1,000 lectures are online, with new videos being added daily. Linked sites for lectures in the humanities, government and business (www.humtalks.com, www.govtalks.com, and www.busitalks.com) are planned for launch in the next 3 months.

5. NIE Resources
Brownsville Herald/El Nuevo Heraldo
    NIE ► nie.brownsvilleherald.com
        Start here for general NIE program information and connection to the e-edition. Download teacher guides and follow
        links to interesting online resources.
    NIE Teacher Resources ► http://www.nieteacher.org/bhnie/
        Over 300 instructional resources are provided including many high quality teacher guides, serial stories, student
        supplements, character education materials, numerous subject-specific resources, video & audio teacher training
        modules, and the popular NIE Instructional Calendar.
    PARADE Classroom ► www.paradeclassroom.com
        PARADE Classroom is a program of FREE educational materials based on current events and timely themes in the
        newspaper designed to make the paper a vibrant and valuable teaching tool in the classroom. Cultivate bright, interested
        and knowledgeable students by using Weekly Teacher's Guides and Current Events Quizzes.

USA Weekend Classroom ► www.usaweekend.com/classroom
New Weekly Teacher's Guides are available every Monday, complete with monthly themes highlighted in a weekly lesson and a monthly activity sheet. The 4-page guides include 2 pages of classroom activities and 2 pages of take home activities. The USA Weekend Magazine is NOT required; these guides can be used with any edition of the newspaper. Other features include contests and surveys, online learning, and a downloadable document "Tips for Teachers."

Kid Scoop ► www.kidscoop.com
The NIE Lesson Library is an online collection of newspaper activities organized around 5 major subject groups (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Journalism). You can sign up to receive or view E-Scoop, a monthly email newsletter for educators that offers links to web sites with lesson plans, games, and more information on the topics featured in Kid Scoop. The site also features a Webliography, which lists kid-friendly online resources compiled from past E-Scoop editions. More for students and parents!

Newseum ► www.newseum.org
This site is home to today's front pages from more than 450 U.S. and international newspapers and Newsmania, the news trivia game. "Exhibit" topics include the Iraq War, editorial/political cartoons, presidential elections, photojournalists, and the Holocaust.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal NIE World ►www.nieworld.com
(This site includes The Mini Page topics and standards spotlight in advance of publication dates.)

Newspaper Association of America (NAA) Foundation ► www.naafoundation.org

Newspapers: A Brief History ► www.wan-press.org/article.php3?id_article=2821

NIE Online ► NIEonline.com ► MS Words in the News ► HS Words in the News
Provides online lesson plans and other innovative materials for use on NIE websites to provide valuable newspaper-oriented resources to teachers through the Internet. ► San Antonio ► Austin ► Fort Worth ► San Angelo ► Palm Beach
► Wichita Falls ► St. Petersburg ►Detroit ► Arizona ► Memphis  ► The Forum ► Mississippi

6. Q and A.  

Why Newspapers? ► www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson139.shtml
From Ten Great Activities: Teaching with the Newspaper
"The newspaper is the most widely used of the media [as a teaching instrument in the classroom], the direct result of a national campaign by publishers, known as Newspapers in Education (NIE).
Before the advent of NIE, newspapers tended to be used only by secondary school social studies teachers in two-week units or for Friday current events sessions. Now, however, newspapers are used throughout the school year in every area of the curriculum."
Those are the word of Nola Kortner Aiex, author of Using Newspapers as Effective Teaching Tools. Indeed, the news is more a part of the school curriculum than it ever was -- for many reasons. Ten of the reasons teachers find newspapers such effective classroom teaching tools are detailed in the NIE feature "Why Use Newspapers?" which points out that newspapers:

1. are an adult medium that students of all ability levels can be proud to be seen reading.
2. deal in what's happening here and now, providing motivation for reading and discussion.
3. make learning fun.
4. are extremely flexible and adaptable to all curriculum areas and grade levels.
5. bridge the gap between the classroom and the "real" world.
6. build good reading habits that will last a lifetime.
7. can be cut, marked, clipped, pasted, filed, and recycled.
8. give everyone something to read -- news, sports, weather, editorials, and comics.
9. are a cost-effective way to educate.
10. contain practical vocabulary and the best models of clear, concise writing.

Why Teach Current Events? ► www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr084.shtml
For children to become competent lifelong learners, they must learn how to use nonfiction materials to expand their knowledge base, solve problems, and make decisions. A large body of research supports the use of newspapers and current events as teaching tools, says DeRoche. Among the research he sites:

• Students who use newspapers tend to score higher on standardized achievement tests -- particularly in reading, math, and social studies -- than those who don't use them.
• Newspapers help teach students to be effective readers.
• Newspapers can help develop and improve student vocabulary, word recognition skills, and comprehension.
• Newspapers are effective tools for teaching many math concepts, particularly fractions, decimals, currency, and averages.
• In surveys, students overwhelmingly support the use of newspapers in the classroom and have a positive attitude toward reading newspapers.
• Newspapers increase awareness of and interest in current events.
• Students who read newspapers in school tend to continue reading them when they become adults.

  ► eLiteracy 2007 Archive

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