January 17, 2008

Blogs Embedded

Filed under: blogging, musing — Candace Hackett Shively @ 9:59 am

Jeff Utecht writes about teachers and students blogging as an integral part of who they are and what they do, not as an add-on. This promotes reflection, communication, and openness, among other things.

I wonder: what if other professions did this, too? Let your imagination run with this one.

  • The president blogs on policies he/she is considering. Is this blog public?
  • The apartment manager uses a blog to communicate about building issues and reflect on repairs?
  • The CEO blogs on issues facing the company and encourages employee comments on ways to solve them?
  • YOUR boss blogs on ..on what?
  • The contractor blogs on how to build a truss that spans a 30-foot room?

Does every level of profession and avocation blog? Is it only the people “in charge” and the “creative ones”?

What were generations doing before that can be replaced by a blog? If we do build a generation of bloggers, what will these kids grow up to do with their blogs?

I REALLY need to get back to several other tasks now.

Tormented by Twitter

Filed under: about me, blogging, edtech, tech toys — Candace Hackett Shively @ 9:46 am

A quick observation: Twitter is a corruptive influence for those of us who multi-task. I was curious, so I am learning-by-doing with this tool. And I keep getting distracted by the twits (tweets?..not sure) that pop up. It’s worse than my RSS feeds. Right now I feel like an idiot consumer who gets hooked by the clever twits (tweets)  people fling at me. Of course, I chose to “follow” them. I’ll just have to learn better self-discipline in preventing myself from poking into the links they post.

For those who do not know it, Twitter is a quick tool to share  what you “are doing now”  in 140 characters or less via the web or text msg. While this sounds like a 13 year old’s dream –like going to the bathroom together with friends– it also is a way to share fleeting or momentous thoughts. The really clever folks include links that lure you from your work.

What am I doing  RIGHT now? Writing an email, editing a web review, teaching a new reviewer, answering another email, writing a blog post, and reading twits…

My Twitter persona: @cshively, for those who care. Torment me.