Guest post from @inquirebook in the #Edchat Category & other 12noon NYC summaries found on Berni Wall’s blog!

Today’s #edchat topic, How do we bring students into the discussion on how to improve the school environment? was intriguing. In the discussion, most participants pointed out that we cannot invite students to the table unless we are also prepared to work with their suggestions. A few focused on how a shift in culture needs to occur, one in which students take ownership of their own educations and learn to advocate for themselves. Some pointed out that students who are allowed to make their own choices often make bad choices, but others argued that the only way to learn how to make decisions is to make many decisions. The group generally agreed that if students are invited to offer suggestions, they should also be part of solving the problem, not just leaving adults to do the solving.

At a future #Edchat I’d be interested in discussing, What alternative models would allow the government to ensure school quality without relying on high-stakes testing?

Main Themes of the Chat

• We need to listen to students.
• We need to help students develop a sense of ownership in their educations.
• To do so, we need a shift in school culture.
• Students need to make decisions–many of them–and mistakes in order to learn to be problem solvers.
• Digital solutions could give everyone a voice and provide students a format they understand.

Thought-Provoking Comments

With such a vibrant discussion, it’s almost impossible to do it justice in a summary, but I’ve picked out some of the comments that inspired me and made me reflect.

@TJwolfe_: First of all, let students speak!! Stop lecturing and start listening! #edchat
@tomwhitby: We cannot invite students to the table unless we are willing to accept what they have to offer. #Edchat
@inquirebook: I think we first ask students what the goals of school should be–a guiding question for their inquiry. #edchat
@TheresaShafer: Have open forums for students, not just elected student councils. #edchat
@jessievaz12: We recently asked our 6th gr stdts to brainstorm ideas on how to improve transition from 5th. Amazing what came out. #edchat
@tomwhitby: We need the leadership to accept the fact that the learning environment needs change, and opinions for that change. #Edchat
@davidwees: If our schools are to be representations of our democracy, they must be more democratic. All stakeholders need a voice. #edchat
@Aaron_Eyler: How about realizing that just because they are kids doesn’t mean their ideas aren’t better than those with degrees? #edchat
@davidwees: Students learn how to make decisions by making decisions, lots of them. #edchat
@tsocko: Put the discussion in a format that kid communicate…digital! #edchat
@inquirebook: If students take ownership of their education, it ceases to be something *done* to them. #edchat
@tomwhitby: Teaching kids HOW to learn seems more important than WHAT to learn. Involving kids in the decision process is a HOW to learn thing #Edchat
@jheil65: Hard to change the environment w/o first changing the culture. . .Create the kind of school you want and the environment will follow #edchat
@21stprincipal: Students have to believe they have a say in what happens in their school. #edchat
@tomwhitby: If kids own an idea, they are more likely to support it. Works for teachers as well. #Edchat
@shfarnsworth: We must teach our students to transform their voice into a mean for change. How to inspire/create action! Responsible Citizen #edchat
@monicaannebatac: Students must learn 2 be activists & advocates for themselves – in school & beyond. – & also listen 2 and consider other voices #edchat
@jaluribe: Participation has to start in kindergarten. Older students can be like birds in open cages. Believing they can’t fly. #edchat
@CTuckerEnglish: Including all student voices is logistically challenging. Using an online forum might allow for equity of voices in convo #edchat
@TJwolfe_: We need to make school decision making into a teachable moment for everyone! Students included. #edchat
@ShellTerrell: Getting students involved in edreform begins with a question & continues with implementation of ideas #edchat
@Aaron_Eyler: It is totally a heretical thing. Ppl in charge didnt get listened to in school so they don’t listen to kids today. #edchat #breakthecycle
@CTuckerEnglish: If we engage students in process of determining how to best improve schools, that creates buy in & accountability. #edchat

To follow the complete discussion visit the transcript here!

More Resources

As ever, there were some great links shared:

@readingrockets: What makes a school good? http://ow.ly/6gDjp
@Inga_Ros I spoke about that at the #140edu You can see my presentation here http://t.co/TIKYnXo
@edutopia: Worth a read. RT @kylepace: What Schools Can Learn Frm #Google, IDEO, & Pixar http://t.co/42W2sfz

New to Edchat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter. Over 3000 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts!

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Tips for a Successful Edchat
• Using Tweetdeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the Edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in Edchat!

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!

______________________________________________________________________________

I’m Rob King, lead author of Inquire: a Guide to 21st Century Learning. It’s a student handbook that teaches 21st century skills, study skills, inquiry, and project-based learning. I’m also editor in chief at Sebranek, Inc., the parent company of Write Source, UpWrite Press, and Thoughtful Learning. To learn more, go to www.thoughtfullearning.com.

Guest post from @USCTeacher in the #Edchat Category & other 12noon NYC summaries found on Berni Wall’s blog!

Today’s #edchat topic, What effect has social media (SM) had in your development as an educator? Is SM for every educator?, was intriguing. The topic pulled in both personal reflection for participators to think about their usage of social media as an educator as well as think about social media globally as a part of their profession. What was also great about this topic is that it made participators think not only about their usage of social media, but their colleagues, giving them a broader perspective on social media in general and in the education world. Personally, social media has changed my world in regards to professional development and building a PLN – I’ve been able to connect with educators all over the world as well as watch students in the program I work for (the MAT@USC) connect and share across oceans. Social media might not be for everyone in the “first person” sense, but at a minimal, is necessary to use and develop with colleagues.

At a future #Edchat I’d be interested in discussing, How can we encourage using SM in higher-ed? — Are there benefits?

Main Themes of the Chat

•  Social medial allows professional development amongst educators
•  Professional development has become global and personal thanks to social media
•  Twitter can be used as a springboard to other things – depth, collaboration, projects
• Social media may not be for every educator, but it effects all educators
• Teaching both students and teachers how to use social media will help us learn
• Social media must be taught by doing

Thought-Provoking Comments

With such a vibrant discussion, it’s almost impossible to do it justice in a summary, but I’ve picked out some of the comments that inspired me and made me reflect.

1. @tomwhitby: How can we hold kids responsible for misusing SM when we refuse to teach it to them responsibly? #Edchat
2. @monicaannebatac: YES! Safe, responsible use of SM is necessary from teachers and students alike #edchat
3. @drdouggreen: You convince others what they are missing by having them sit next to you during an edchat. #edchat
4. @davidwees: SM is a tool WE can define edu reform & transform #edchat
5. @CTuckerEnglish: SM can be overwhelming 4 new user. Trick is to start slow. Find a tool that works & appreciate benefits then branch out #edchat
6. @jessievaz12: I love SM because it has awakened my passion in my prof. It makes me want 2B more progressive & find something to share w others #edchat
7. @MrMatthewRay: The world has changed rapidly – education has not. It must. SM is huge component. #edchat
8. @isteconnects: All educators should have basic understanding of social media. It’s ignorance that breeds fear of the tools #edchat
9. @teewhyare: that’s exactly what social media is intended to be: one large classroom w/ no tuition. This is my playground and class. #edchat
10. @davidwees: What would happen if every school was connected by at least 1 person through social media to every other school? #edchat
11. @courosa: i don’t know if SocMed is that which is unforgiving – it’s ppl that are. SocMed just exposes our raw humanity. #edchat
12. @timbuckteeth: we teach kids to cross street safely, must do same with SM – they’ll be using it anyway. #edchat
13. @inquirebook: I like the immediacy of Twitter. I get my breaking education news here. #edchat
14. @cybraryman1: I love the fact that when I do not know something there is always someone in my PLN who has the answer. #edchat

To follow the complete discussion visit the transcript here!

More Resources

As ever, there were some great links shared:

• 140 Conference Videos
• Vocab Gal On Twitter: Education Link Love
• That’s the way we’ve always done it…
• 5 Essential Tips for Introducing your Students to Twitter

New to Edchat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter. Over 3000 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts!

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Tips for a Successful Edchat
• Using Tweetdeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the Edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in Edchat!

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!

______________________________________________________________________________

Sarah Fudin currently works as a community manager for the University of Southern California’s Master of Arts in Teaching program, which provides aspiring teachers the opportunity to earn a Master’s degree and teaching credential online. Outside of work Sarah enjoys running, reading and Pinkberry frozen yogurt.

Part of the #Edchat Category

#Edchat turns TWO this week!

For the last 2 years #Edchat has been the birth of  conversation for over 2000 educators weekly on how to improve education worldwide! #Edchat has created real change by igniting new projects, adding more educators to the conversation, inspiring over 400 educational chats, inspiring a new school, inspiring a free online conference with over 4000 attendees, and so much more. The conversation began 2 years ago with 3 educators- (Tom Whitby (@TomWhitby), Steven Anderson (@Web20Classroom), and (@ShellTerrell))- who desired education transformation and saw the need for educational stakeholders to discuss, debate, explore, reflect, react, and act on various issues which impact education. For this reason, I would argue that #Edchat is one of the most powerful hashtags creating real change in schools.
You can engage in the movement by:

• suggesting topics on the poll
• voting for topics
• engaging in the discussion
• blogging about the conversations
• inviting friends to the conversation
• presenting about the educator communities that exist
• transforming the conversation into action at your schools

In it’s two years, #Edchat has inspired, motivated, and transform educational stakeholders. We have a diverse group of student teachers, parents, students, administrators, and community leaders who participate weekly in order to collaborate on improving our education systems worldwide!

This was last year’s Wallwisher! Please continue the tradition by adding how Edchat has impacted you!

Helpful Edchat Resources!

Edchat is transformational because of you! Here are helpful resources to become more involved or to help introduce educators to Edchat!

• Edchat: Join the Conversation post- Read about the origins of Edchat and how to participate.
• Video: Edchat: Join the Movement!

• Tom Whitby explains the origins of Edchat and the motivation!
• Grab your Edchat Edublog Award to embed on your blog!
• Edchat Wiki with all the Archives!
• Edchat Facebook page!
• Edchat Group on The Educator’s PLN Ning!
• Edchat Post: Tips for a Successful Edchat
• 7pm NYC EDT: Edchat Weekly Summaries by Steven Anderson.
• 12pm NYC EDT: Edchat Weekly Summaries by Berni Wall.
• How to Participate in Edchat Using Tweetdeck
• Several Edchat resources on @Cybraryman1‘s website!
• Edchat Twitter Participant List.
• Edchat Poll to vote for topics.

We’d like to thank the following for their weekly dedication to Edchat:

• Regular Weekly Moderators- Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1), @rliberni (Berni Wall), @kylepace (Kyle Pace), @mbteach (Mary Beth Hertz)
• Jerry Swiatek (@Jswiatek) archives all the Edchats
• Steve Johnson (@EdtechSteve) maintains the Edchat wiki

Challenge:

Get another educator involved in the Edchat conversations which take place every Tuesday at 12pm NYC EDT and 7pm NYC EDT! Participate by engaging a few and adding #Edchat to the end of your tweet.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What would you like to see from Edchat this upcoming year?

Yesterday was the last #Edchat of the year and it definitely ranked as one of my favorites. During the 12pm EST/ 5pm GMT #Edchat, we discussed:

Is the idea of digital native really a myth? Do most kids today already have the skills and knowledge to master technology for learning?

We were fortunate to have students join this conversation. I would like to thank Tinashe Blanchet (@Mrsblanchetnet) and Angel Gelle Dozier (@Gellesastar) for having their students join the conversation. This was a unique opportunity to get the student perspective on the idea of the Digital Native Theory and some of their responses were quite surprising. I hope they will join us again for another #Edchat because discussions about education need to have varied perspectives from the various educational stakeholders involved.

What Do the Students Think?

As a moderator I took the opportunity of interviewing the students during the discussion to get their ideas on the use of technology in schools. These were some of the insights from the conversation:

• The 6th graders seemed more excited about using Facebook and cellphones for learning
• The high school students seemed to believe that these tools would be abused
• Both groups confirmed that their parents for the most part were unhappy about the impact of technology in their lives

These insights suggest we need to educate both parents and students in the use of technology in schools. Gellesastar‘s 6th graders suggested we involve parents by having online PTA meetings so that the parents see how effective technology can be. I think teachers can be very proactive about getting parents and students to understand the benefits of using certain technologies for learning by holding parent workshops that demonstrate what technologies will be used and how, blogging about student projects, publishing student work, creating video tutorials that show parents how to use the technologies, and being transparent about how they use technology to help students learn.

Here are the responses from the high school students and 6th graders:

@Gellesastar‘s 6th graders were so excited about the idea of learning through Facebook and cellphones they stood up and applauded in the classroom! They were even motivated to add more responses in a Google Doc. Here is the screenshot of that Google Doc:

Challenge:

Ask your students the same questions. How do they feel about using cellphones or Facebook for learning? Do they believe they are digital natives?

You may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What are your thoughts about the students’ comments?

Screenshots taken from the collected conversations aggregated by Bettween.com!

#Edchat turns ONE this week!

THANK YOU!

It has been an incredible year of opening a conversation to over 2000 educators weekly! The conversation began a year ago with 3 educators (Tom Whitby (@TomWhitby), Steven Anderson (@Web20Classroom), and I (@ShellTerrell)) who desired education reform and saw the need for educational stakeholders to discuss, debate, explore, and reflect on various issues which impact education. This was how the hashtag, #Edchat, began but really it has been an amazing year because you contribute each week by:

• suggesting topics on the poll
• voting for topics
• engaging in the discussion
• transforming the conversation into action at your schools

In it’s first year, #Edchat has inspired, motivated, and transform educational stakeholders. We have a diverse group of student teachers, parents, students, administrators, and community leaders who participate weekly in order to collaborate on improving our education systems worldwide!

In the first year, Edchat has seen great moments, such as:

• winning the Edublogs Award for Most Influential Tweet Discussion
• involving guest speaker Alfie Kohn!
• being a trending topic on Twitter!
• inspiring several blog posts from educators worldwide
• birthing collaborative projects, such as The Reform Symposium E-Conference

Please leave a message of how Edchat has impacted you on this Wallwisher by clicking anywhere on the wall!

Helpful Edchat Resources!

Edchat is transformational because of you! Here are helpful resources to become more involved or to help introduce educators to Edchat!

• Edchat: Join the Conversation post- Read about the origins of Edchat and how to participate.
• Video: Edchat: Join the Movement!
• Tom Whitby explains the origins of Edchat and the motivation!
• Grab your Edchat Edublog Award to embed on your blog!
• Edchat Wiki with all the Archives!
• Edchat Facebook page!
• Edchat Group on The Educator’s PLN Ning!
• Edchat Weekly Statistics and Contributors!
• 7pm NYC EDT: Edchat Weekly Summaries by Steven Anderson.
• 12pm NYC EDT: Edchat Weekly Summaries by Berni Wall.
• How to Participate in Edchat Using Tweetdeck.
• Several Edchat resources on @Cybraryman1‘s website!
• Edchat Twitter Participant List.
• Easily follow Edchat participants with Blast Follow.
• Edchat Poll to vote for topics.
• Edchat Twitter Parade.

We’d like to thank the following for their weekly dedication to Edchat:

• Regular Weekly Moderators- @rliberni (Berni Wall), @kylepace (Kyle Pace), @mbteach (Mary Beth Hertz)
• Jerry Swiatek (@Jswiatek) archives all the Edchats
• Steve Johnson (@EdtechSteve) maintains the Edchat wiki

Challenge:

Get another educator involved in the Edchat conversations which take place every Tuesday at 12pm NYC EDT and 7pm NYC EDT! Participate by engaging a few and adding #Edchat to the end of your tweet.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What would you like to see from Edchat this upcoming year?

One of my favorite movies is Jerry Maguire, because he suddenly wakes up one day and realizes that the way things are don’t have to continue to be that way. He realizes he has the ability to change his environment and he develops his manifesto.

Developing our manifestos for education reform…

I believe events like The Reform Symposium Conference and Edchat inspire educators to wake up and begin developing their manifestos whether it be for abolishing grades, getting rid of standardized tests, or helping students find their passions. I believe these events inspire passion and transform schools. However, not all believe they do and would try to convince you that what you believe and the transformation inside of you doesn’t matter. I would like to encourage you to ignore them and instead begin to lend your voice to the conversation. The education systems in your countries need your voices and your passion.

The sad reality I’ve seen…

I have worked in low-income schools, with at risk students, at alternative schools, with gang members, homeless children, etc. I have entered several school environments and have seen teachers who are worn down by the system. Educators often allow themselves to be fed with negativity and surround themselves with people who do not support them. Their administrators may complain about them, the parents may blame them, the media bashes them, education policy doesn’t support them, bureaucracy overburdens them, and the students disrespect them. I do not believe teachers are bad. I believe they are weighed down by the lack of support.

If several educators across the world feel this way this impacts the school culture and environment. Dispassionate teachers aren’t motivated to inspire passion in their students and they aren’t motivating their students. The problem is we need educators to motivate students. Too much of the world is living in poverty. Too much of the world is inadequately educated. Too many students grow up to repeat poverty and crime cycles. Too many students never achieve their dreams. Too many children stop dreaming in schools.

That is why we need you to be passionate! We need you to inspire other educators! We need your voice in the conversation about education reform! We need you to contribute and develop PLNs. When we begin to develop our Personal/Passionate Learning Networks we become inspired to write our manifestos and we do act!

Passionate people don’t sit still!

Instead, passionate educators inspire their students, try to engage parents, and try to implement change. This is how transformation and reform are created, by those who speak up and fight for a better way. We witnessed this at The Reform Symposium free virtual conference! We were inspired by passionate educators who had transformed their students’ lives. We witnessed what many say is impossible in schools taking place. We began to think about the possibilities! I was so excited to see many new faces and connect with educators I had never had a conversation with before! Thank you!

There will always be people who disagree…

Here’s the thing about passion and movements, there will always be those who believe in the status quo, voice their criticisms, or who would rather close the conversation. Beth Still recently wrote a fantastic post, Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?, regarding this topic. I find opposing opinions refine our beliefs and passions. I believe opposing opinions help us to determine if we really are passionate about the movements we follow. However, I want to challenge those who would say our voices are not creating change to join the conversation. Only when we choose to quit the conversation do we guarantee we never transform the system.

What professional development should look like…

The Reform Symposium managed to do amazing things in its first year.

Image Courtesy of Orlando Falvo via Twitter

I’ve been privileged to collaborate with one of the best teams I’ve ever worked with in my life! Chris Rogers, Kelly Tenkely, and Jason Bedell are amazing!

Important Reform Symposium Resources

• Download the free podcasts of the presentations on ITunes.
• Download the recorded sessions, chat transcripts, and slides by clicking on the presenter’s profile.
• Access the links that were part of the presentations by @billbrown and @beckyjoy.
• Quotes from the conference by @Jenverschoor.
• Follow the hashtag #RSCON10.
• Follow people using the #RSCON10 hashtag by using Blast Follow.

Challenge:

Go spread the passion and transform your schools!

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

Summer has started for many of you! Why don’t you spend a few days with your Personal Learning Network (PLN) at two upcoming free live streaming events!

Wed., June 16th, Howard Rheingold Live Elluminate Conversation

At 5pm PDT/ 8pm EST (Convert To Your Local Time Here), members of the EDU PLN Ning and participants of #Edchat will have the opportunity to join Howard Rheingold in a conversation about teaching critical thinking. Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and I will choose a handful of questions educators can ask Howard during a 1 hour Elluminate session.

Howard Rheingold is the author of Tools for Thought, The Virtual Community and Smart Mobs. You can follow him on Twitter, @hrheingold.

Find more information and propose your questions at the Edu PLN Ning. We will tweet with the hashtag, #HRChat. Watch the video below to prepare.

We’d like to thank Betsy Aoki, Microsoft’s “Blog Queen” for helping us set-up this discussion. She was recently featured by ZDNet as one of Microsoft’s Women to Watch. She tweets from @bing and creates community outreach projects for Bing.

Thurs., June 17th, 140 Conference Education Panel

Parentella has organized an education panel, Real Time Communication and Education, to represent our PLN at the 140 Conference in DC, which was created by Jeff Pulver and showcases those passionate about social media. Many of the speakers include celebrities and community leaders. We have our own education stars we have selected from their great contributions on #Edchat and in their blogs. The event begins at 12pm EST and the education panel starts at 5:05 p.m. EST/ 2:05 p.m. PDT (Convert To Your Local Time Here). These are the panelists:

Melissa C. Tran, @thenewtag- DC education consultant, Moderator
Dr. Jeff Goldstein, @doctorjeff- Astrophysicist & Center Director for the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, panelist
Deena Marshall, @la_pRHOfesora- DC charter school teacher, panelist

Some of the issues they will discuss:

• The impact that real-time communication has had in educators’ professional lives and schools
• How we can harness real-time communication tools and technologies to engage learners
• The role real-time communication media plays in our own professional development
• The unique contribution real-time communication makes in terms of education, for teachers in the classroom, students, national dialogue, and reform.

Follow the hashtag, #140Conf, during the day of the event to catch the entire conference live streamed. We will also include a summary of the event on the Parentella Blog.

Challenge:
Watch these events and participate in the backchannel with other educators!

You may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

Part of the Cool Sites series

With so many wonderful online tools I tend to create a lot of online content. I bet you do, too!

Let’s see…there are tweets, forum posts, blogs, pictures, videos, glogsters, wallwishers, wikis and more.

The problem is that with all this wonderful content we often do not have backups in case these sites force us to relocate like what happened with Geocities and now Ning. Therefore, I want to share with you some services that will help you archive and backup your online content so in case you have to relocate it then you have it!

Twitter Services

If you follow a hashtag, create a story on Twitter, want to save your own tweets, or host your own Twitter hashtag chat then you probably want to archive this information. Twitter’s policy is to get rid of tweets within 5 days time unless you favorite a tweet. You can try to favorite tweets but you are limited to 100. The following services will help you archive tweets and save tweets.

Important  Tip: Go to print the finished product and save as a PDF to your hard drive for an additional backup measure.

Backup My Tweets- Just send one tweet and follow @backupmytweets to get 1GB and a year of your tweets saved.

The Archivist- The main way Jerry Swiatek archives #Edchat transcripts. This only works with a PC and is software you download. This gives you more control of your archive so you have a hard copy as well as the ability to include in a wiki, blog, or website.

What the Hash Tag- If you have any type of Twitter hashtag that is important to you, register this with What the Hashtag. You can add links to important blog posts, include a description, receive statistics about the hashtag, and receive free transcripts for a month. To save the transcripts simply copy and paste them in a wiki, blog, or document. You can also save them as PDF. This is what we have used as a back up for Edchat and PTChat transcripts.

TwapperKeeper- Archive any hashtag, keyword, or person’s tweets. Enter the start date, order, timeframe, and limit. When your archive is ready, the service will tweet you. This is a hard copy of your tweets for your hard drive or to send others.

Summarizr- Find out detailed analytics of any hashtag discussion archived through Twapper Keeper. You’ll find the top links tweeted, Twitterers who used this, and more!

Tweet Doc- Archive any hashtag or keyword in a PDF file. You can setup date and time ranges, tweet limits and company logos.

Twistory- I found out about this service through Tamas Lorincz’s IATEFL presentation. Simply sign-up with your Twitter account name only then pick which calendar service (ICal, Google Calendar) you’d like to export your tweets to and your tweets will show up on this starting soon after you sign-up. Looks like the picture below.

Twitter Times- Make your tweets into a newspaper with this free service! Just sign-in daily and wait about an hour. When this is finished simply save your Twitter Times into a PDF to your hard drive. The format is a lovely way to see the links you tweet.

Tweetake- You have to sign-in with your Twitter name and password. Then you are able to back-up your tweets, followers, favorites, DMs, and friends. You will get an Excel spreadsheet with the information.

Twitter Backup- Backup all your tweets when you download this and enter your Twitter name. It will be exported as an XML file.

Find more Twitter backup services from Make Use Of.

Other Backup Services

Backupify- Register to backup 2GB of several different services including Twitter, WordPress, Delicious, Facebook, Flickr, Google Docs, and more! You will get e-mail updates.

Google Reader- Use your Google Reader account to subscribe to your blog, Twitter account, hashtags and anything with RSS subscription. Then create a Bundle which will allow you to export all the materials onto a website which automatically updates. To save a hard copy then save as a PDF. Watch the video tutorial below to find out how to make a bundle.

Zinepal- Sign-up and register your blog’s url to have a weekly pdf of all your blog posts sent to you. The free service allows you up to 5 posts a week.

Save My Ning- Sign-up to have a representative contact you about backing up your Ning network. You will be able to have a read-only archive that can be exported in the future if you choose not to pay for your Ning.

Box.Net- Sign-up for 1GB of free space to share and archive various presentations and documents. You get a nice widget to embed to your blog and can access the files on your mobile phone.

Challenge:

Use one of these free services to back-up or archive your online information.

You may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What are other ways you back-up your online content?

January 2010!

I started 2010 on quite an ambitious note with the 30 Goals Challenge series. I feel I grew so much as a blogger with your support in completing these challenges. You are welcome to download the free e-book of the challenges if you would still like to complete them. We have many new educators who have already started the challenges in February and blogging about it. Additionally, I am looking forward to your contribution to the upcoming 30 Goals collaborative e-book which will be much better than the one I have posted.

Click to launch the full edition in a new window

What you might have missed…

Your favorite posts this month based on comments and overall traffic:

• Goal: Support a New Blogger- In this goal, I challenged you to visit and support new educational bloggers by commenting on their posts or retweeting them. You can easily discover new blogs or share them with others by using the hashtag, #newedblog.
• Goal: Create (40 Writing, Music, & Art Resources)- In this goal, I challenged you to inspire yourself and your students by nourishing your creativity. Sometimes, we leave behind our creative hobbies, but these hobbies help inspire us and relieve ourselves of stress.
• Goal: Conquer a Fear- In this goal, I challenged you to not let a fear prevent you from opportunities.
• Goal: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone- In this post, I offered you ideas on how to step out of your comfort zone while teaching. These included giving your students reign, teaching without the textbook for a day, and teach paperless once a week.
• My Favorite Goals-
  • Goal: Give Your Students Reign- In this goal, I encouraged you to allow your students to have complete control over one class period. Have them choose the material and the way they want to present the material. Just trust them and see what they create.
  • Goal: Cause A Ripple- I shared with you the ripple effect theory and how our actions cause ripples of positive or negative consequences. I encouraged you to cause positive ripples and prevent negative ripples. Everyday is an opportunity to stir the water, but are we actually making conscious efforts to do this?
• Favorite What Did They Tweet Series- In this post, our PLN shared with us the TED video- When Kids Believe They Can, the Slideshare- 7 Tips to Getting Strangers to Connect to You, the ESL e-book- Fiction in Action: Whodunnit, the video- Power of Creativity, and several contests to receive free technology in the classroom.
  
• Favorite Cool Sites Series- The goal was to give constructive feedback to students in innovative ways. In the post, 12 Resources for Giving Constructive Feedback, I shared audio tools for audio feedback, video tools for video feedback, and several rubric sites.
• My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools This Month-
  • Empressr-Upload video, images and audio to create cool slideshows with impressive effects. Use the charting and table tools, import images from Flickr, embed your presentation on your blog, and create a backchannel with Twitter during your presentation.
  • SlideRocket- Store your slide presentations online and integrate audio, images, and video. You can also collaborate with peers on presentations and create presentations online. Embed this on your blog, publish to a url, or conduct a webinar. A content library is available. For more presentation tools, check out this post.
• Where else you can find me:
  • I am now writing the summaries for Parentella’s #PTLA chat, the parent and educator discussion, which occurs every Wednesday at 9pm EST. You can read highlights about the first topic, The Ideal Communication Between Parents and Educators.
  • For great classroom management tips you may want to visit my #Edchat article on Edutopia, Should We Redefine Classroom Management?
  • For tips on activities with English language learners and mp3 players you may want to visit my Califone article, What a Bit of Technology Can Do.
  • Interview about #Edchat on Converge Magazine, One Hashtag Helps Educators Change Their Schools.
  • Interview about #Edchat on TEFL.net, Shelly Terrell Defines Edchat.

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Edchat recently won the Edublogs Award for Most Influential Tweet Series 2009! 155 of you voted for the tweet series which has really filled Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and me with pride. You can read about the origins of Edchat here! When we first discussed the creation of the hashtag and collaborated how we would approach this we never expected any of this. PLN, you have blessed us this year.

Congratulations to you!

Really you earned this award. Therefore, we encourage each of you to wear the badge proudly on your blogs, wikis, or anywhere you would like. Just copy then paste the following html code in your sidebar:

<a href=”http://edublogawards.com/2009/most-influential-tweet-series-2009/”><img title=”Best Individual” src=”http://edublogawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/most_influential_tweets1.png” alt=”" width=”173″ height=”173″ /></a>

It will look like this:

Note: If this does not work, you may have to download the zip file and follow these directions by Sue Waters, http://edublogawards.com/winner-badges-are-now-available/.

Edchat is a Community

A project like Edchat runs on a community and that community is made up of your enormous contributions. Every Tuesday, you debate, share resources, ask difficult questions, and collaborate with others on how to improve the condition of education. Above and beyond this, you propose and vote for the questions we discuss, blog about the topics discussed, and participate in the Edchat group on the Educators PLN ning. If you haven’t yet, please join! In the group, you can find out more about Edchat projects like the wikipedia article, Edchat wiki page, and various interviews and articles that have come about!

If you haven’t had the chance to join an Edchat conversation, please watch this video which explains more and read this post to help you participate!

I look forward to continue working with Tom Whitby and Steven Anderson on this project! They are amazing. More accolades:

• Jerry Swiatek, @jswiatek, does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the Edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson, @edtechsteve.
• Berni Wall, @rliberni has done an amazing job helping me moderate the 6pm CET/ 12pm EST Edchat discussions! She also writes some of the Edchat summaries.
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in Edchat!

A special congratulations to all winners, runner-ups, and nominees. Just to be nominated by other educators with such amazing educators in the field is a reward!  Thank you readers for voting for this blog. Click here, to view all winners!

Challenge:

Wear your badge! You deserve it.

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