Virtual mystery guest blog - collaboration with students

This was an experimental, collaborative blog project with students from the University of Minsk and their English and ICT teacher Sergei Grid, another webhead who invited me to be their mystery guest. I posted some riddle-like information about my country and my life, and they made many guesses to find out something more specific; I think they may have had some hints from their teacher as I found it a bit challenging to find out what to tell and what not. After all, they was also a mystery to me, from the beginning. But we came to know each other better and better, and they were eager to write comments to me like interview questions.

The free and open conversation turned out to be successful and we decided to meet synchronously in my Elluminate office at Learning Times. They prepared a Virtual Potluck for this event, with student made PPT slides and oral presentations of Belarussian geography, education, art, traditions and their language in both Cyrillic and Latin letters. They had even prepared to sing a Belarussian folk song in choir, all ten of them, just for me! It was heart warming and made all of the volunteer hours spent on this worth while.

goinupstream.blogspot.com

PS Yes, I know - the weekend workshop is over, I had mentioned this link in another message but wanted to have a more detailed description here in the Moodle, And I'll blog this mesage as well.

Good memories: Elderbob On The Trail blog 2004

In our blog workshop, my good online friend and virtual colleague, webhead Elderbob Brannan shared his marvelous blog with photos and voice interviews following a historic Cattle trail in Texas last summer Elderbob On The Trail


I felt instantly inspired to post a comment over there: I've never even been to Texas or any other US state. I'm on the other side of the ocean in Denmark. But I've been following this trail per blog, as well as its making by Elderbob the Great blog boss. It's been amazing. Listening to all these interviews, looking at pictures and finding the locations on a map. And then, in a Google search, I stumbled over another historic (photo) trail in California, Lassen County. Where I learned that the founder of California is said to be Peter Lassen who founded Susanville, he was a pioneer and a smith who immigrated from - Farum where I live! I've heard his name before and I see his memorial three minutes from my home every now and then, but now his life and destiny came so much closer to me - inspired by this very blog...


This is another way that blogs are interconnecting. The comments are important, and so are the Blog This! button from someone else's Blogspot blog, you can go directly to your very own blog and write your message!

Blog workshop - first attempt: Jo's transition world

Our weekend workshop is running now, enough participants to have the conversation going. Several new blogs begin to take shape. I'm wondering how to repond to this cry for help from Jo as I would need to see exacly where she is stuck, to find a correct explanation.
She asks "I followed the blogger instruction and did this: transition world I can't find a way of editing it. I tried the "edit-me"link at the right hand side, to add a link, and it didnt give me what I needed. The instructions say "Use the tabs at the top of the page" but there aren't any! What have I missed?"

Hmm. Well - from where I see it, once I'm logged in and I've clicked on the upper left corner of my blog page, at the orange and white fat B icon, I do get to the Dashboard and then the Edit facility. I wish I could see your screen, Jo :-)

Half an hour later:
I came back to the workshop and saw that Jo found the solution to her problem. And when I wanted to reply, for some reason the Knowplace server did not answer. So - I'll post that message right here!!! Otherwise It would get lost in transition...
Bravo Jo!

I hoped you would find out how to get to the Edit page.

Some time ago, when I read your cry for help I rushed over to your blog, and in the top line, I spotted the Blog this! button that I only rarely use; this way I had a surprise popup window adding a message to MY blog, so I blogged something about your problem because I did not know how to help you. I felt I would have to see your screen to get the problem.

Perhaps I should now get back and edit this post in MY blog, now that you seem to have figued out the tricky detail :-)

Blogpoly - the online board game of blogging!

BLOGPOLY

Cool cool work by Littleoslo, a anonymous & genius web artist with a great idea for putting the most important tools and features related to blogging on one slate. Ideal for having fun while learning new stuff, or memorising known stuff.

Elderbob shared this link in our Blogging workshop at Knowplace, and I cannot wait to check it out more in detail.

Working with blogs- Open Weekend at Knowplace

Hello Webheads,

if you would please join us at Knowplace this weekend and make it
become alive and active, I'm hosting a 48 hour workshop discussion
about blogging in general - and you're invited!

Working with Blogs

Welcome to an Open Weekend where we will discuss and share some easy
ways to keep a weblog, or just blogs.
Blogs can be used for promotion of your thoughts and ideas, for
professional or personal reflections, as well as for group oriented
work online. Blogs can have text, images and even voice recordings.
They're updated online, like a diary so that your last entry will come
up first. No need to download software or upload text content, as you
can just subscribe to a free blog service, such as

www.blogger.com or www.xanga.com

During this weekend, I would like to encourage anyone to report own use of blogs if you already have one, as well as starting on a self made personal blog if this is your first try.

yours,

Susanne Nyrop
(blogger since 2002)

www.xanga.com/susnyrop
worldofwebheads.blogspot.com

PS:
Knowplace is using Moodle, and if you're a new member, you'll be asked
to create an account before you can get access to the general Knowplace
site and read more about the Open Weekends, as well as other Knowplace
activities, such as week long courses related to online work and
learning from many aspects as well as longer courses developed for
Capilano College, Vancouver BC, Canada
http://www.knowplace.ca

These Open weekends are always starting on Friday evening at 17 GMT
and ends on Sunday evening at 17 GMT. During this time slot, you can
access my weekend page directly at

knowplace.ca/moodle_1.4.3/course/view.php?id=65


These hours are quite strictly administered; you will not get access to
the workshop page before and after these hours; in case you find
anything of special interest, you'll need to save that information
locally, or subscribe so that it comes to your mailbox. One problem
about working with this volunteer task from a different time zone is
that the Canadians work while I ought to be asleep, and on Saturday
European time, I'll be away with my family, celebrating birthday until
late; so just in case some of you blog savvy Webheads would jump in and
encourage the action, please do not hesitate!!!