This is a quick post about the Professional Learning Program. I'm acting as Community Leader supporting those running blogging projects.
I've created a yahoo pipe which aggregates flickr, delicious and google blog search plpt32008 tag feeds. I'll add any other services that others may use.
The RSS version of the pipe is here.
Although Scratch has a great website, I decide not to use it as the focus of our work for a couple of reasons.
The official website only allows the sharing of whole Scratch projects and not individual scratch sprites. While the sharing of whole projects promotes remixing, the sharing of sprites means that programmers can assemble a project from a variety of sprites.
The official website doesn't have tags. Tags have become such a mainstay of sharing and discovering resources online that it seems to me to glaring omission.
So I dug out ccHost having previously used it in music creation and didn't have too many troubles getting it all going. The hardest part being customising the PHPTAL templating (which they are dropping as of version 5) is a bit difficult to get your head around which files are which.
I still need to find some code to extract the tumbnails directly from the sprites and whole projects (anyone??).
Given that Scratch is an open source project, I'd hope that future releases wouldn't hard code the upload feature so that files could be uploaded directly to any site from within Scratch. It would also be good if future version would allow the importing and exporting of Stages.
More on this soon....
Like many ICT teachers I immediately fell in love with Scratch, and have been using it with all of my classes. Sratch is a programming language for kids a bit like MicroWorlds but better. I love Scratch for a number of reasons:
While I would love Scratch to have arrays and allow text to be stored in variables, it really is a great program which allows wonderful projects.
Last year we've created simple animations to demonstrate the life cycle of a plant, maze games, sea environments and photo slideshows.
I'm planning of spending a few posts outlining how we've used Scratch at Concord School
At the end of the year we send our digital portfolios home with our students on a CDRom. As we've previously constructed our digital portfolios using PowerPoint or FrontPage this hasn't been straight forward, this year we're blogging with WordPress so how do we do it?
Actually its pretty easy using wget and a bit of vbscript.
1. Download and rewrite links using wget
wget -E -H -K -K -r --mirror --convert-links --backup-converted \ http://blogs.concordsch.vic.edu.au --html-extension --page requisites --domains=blogs.concordsch.vic.edu.au,lumil.concordsch.vic.edu.au,scratch.concordsch.vic.edu.au,scuttle.concordsch.vic.edu.au,loops.concordsch.vic.edu.au
Note: This is the first time I've used wget like this so there may be unnecessary switches included.
This spider the all of the blogs and download them for offline viewing, rewriting all of the links in the process. Links to media and other pages will also be downloaded from specified domains (blogs.concordsch.vic.edu.au, lumil.concordsch.vic.edu.au)
2. Use vbscript to set individual student folders for burning to CDRom
A simple vbscript (or other) can be used to create the file structure for burning the CDRoms, most likely we'll delete all other blogs leaving only the individual student's blog. We're also going to make a static index page which describes the blogging program and why we're doing it, mostly for the benefits of the parents. The index page will then link to the static version of the student's blog. So the script will also need to rewrite the static link to point to the correct blog.
3. Burn and distribute
Freefolio is out as a demo (hat tip Stephen Downes) and its an eportfolio platform using WordPressMU and Structured Blogging. The fact that it uses structured blogging has really got me interested in what they're doing. Well done to them for giving this a go. Refer to my post just a few days about structured blogging.
According to this they are going to release freefolio as open source so I look forward to seeing how they implement the structured blogging templates, as it sounds like it parses XML on the fly. So I had a little bit of a sniff around.
They have 6 different types of posts: Record, Training/Couse, Learning Event, Showcase, Case Study and SWOT. I choose the SWOT template and filled in some dummy text and the following meta data was insert into the page along.
<!-- the following is structured blog data for machine readers. --> <subnode alternate-for-id="sbentry_1" xmlns:data-view="http://www.w3.org/2003/g/data-view#" data-view:transformation="http://structuredblogging.org/subnode-to-rdf-interpreter.xsl" xmlns="http://www.structuredblogging.org/xmlns#subnode"> <xml-structured-blog-entry xmlns="http://www.structuredblogging.org/xmlns"> <generator id="wpsb-1" type="x-wpsb-post" version="1"/><showcase type="showcase/swot"><description>description text</description><strengths>strengths text</strengths><weaknesses>Weaknesses</weaknesses><opportunities>Opportunities</opportunities><threats>Threats</threats><tags>tag1, tag3</tags></showcase> </xml-structured-blog-entry> </subnode>
So they've invented (I think) a showcase/swot format, and I guess they're the only ones that use it.
So I looked through the site but I couldn't find any reference to why they are using Structured Blogging or how they hope to use it for. There was no mention about what services/application will read the freefolio data, except that Amazon may be able to access the reviews. What are the benefits in using freefolio and how does it differ from a regular WordPress, except that it has less themes? There doesn't seem to be an aggregation using the different types, not even like Vox does, maybe that's down the track. There is a only a single site-wide feed off all blog posts, not site wide categories or site-wide tags.
Also the stylesheet (http://www.w3.org/2000/06/dc-extract/dc-extract.xsl) doesn't appear to exist anymore, so is structured blogging (the PubSub version anyway) dead? Is anyone else using these microformats? If they aren't where is the discussion their development and an invitation for others to contribute? Maybe they need to host the styleshee, or does that defeat the purpose?
Update: I write these posts slowly and there is now a post about structured blogging and freefolio here. The post suggest how XML can be used to track learning progress or develop an organisational knowledge bank. But is structured XML data any better than tags? And is the hassle of using those templates worth the hassle and how many templates do we need to fit all our eportfolio needs.
I discussed in my previous post Aggregation Groups and WordPressMU, I share how we are using groups and categories to aggregate content in present it rich ways, celebrating community and diversity.
Structured blogging suggest even more useful and powerful ways in which additional meta data can be attached to a blog post.
Consider an excursion to CERES that our students might attend as art of their study of Cultures of the Commonwealth. Currently, on returning from the excursion a student would write a single blog post about the excursion and the learning associated with it. Meta data describing the content of the post is attached by user (group memberships), date posted, categories used (Cultures of the Commonwealth) and tags (CERES, excursions).
What other meta data is missing?
We know when the post was written but we don't know when the excursion occurred, it may be written in the post but that is no help to us in trying to aggregate or mash-up in other meaningful ways. We don't know who went on the excursion (besides the author), although writing about a place and using its agreed tag doesn't mean you've been there. We don't know where CERES is?
Structured blogging, an "open standard" to build machine readable content that other services understand. The now defunct PubSub formed partnerships with many companies to embed structured machine readable content into blog posts and released plugins for WordPress and TypePad blogging systems. There were the broad categories of reviews, events, lists, people, audio, video with each category having a separate specific form. For example, book reviews, movie reviews, restaraunt reviews, and so on. The different forms have drop down lists of mandatory data, our excursion above would've been an event, with a date and time, a location, a purpose and with attendees.
Structured blogging in the format that it was released was too cumbersome and didn't offer bloggers any incentive to use the system. Ultimately, the companies search, presumably based on similar technologies failed to gain traction, and the company folded. It could be argued that school's and students have a greater need for the benefits of a structured blogging system and teachers could require it to be used.
The simplified Vox blogging model is along similar lines and is very popular. It gives the blogger the choice of regular posts, photo posts, audio posts and video posts. Yet it doesn't have events or locations.
Maybe a compromise with teacher added events available as a drop down list somewhere in the writing dashboard.
After deciding to dismiss Learning Management Systems for decentralized but complimentary webservices and tools, the problem of aggregation arises. Out of the box WordPressMU doesn't aggregate posts from multiple blogs so alternatives need to be found.
One solution is to use a feed reader such as the open source web based Gregarius, which we used to aggregate posts with some success. Gregarius will read subscribed blogs feeds and organise them by categories and tags. It also has themes and plugins which allows some customization. However, Gregarius requires the refresh button to be pushed in order to update. Gregarius doesn't allow multiple users (although that is in its timeline) so multiple installations would be required to aggregate different content for different purposes, for example, whole content and different class content, without complicated and rigid use of categories and/or tags.
Many in the WordPressMU community advocate using a separate single WordPress install running a autoblog plugin, which uses the site-wide feed from WordPressMU and republishes the content in the another blog. The separate WordPress blog can be installed in a sub-folder and thus appear to be integrated. This solution however has a number of limitations. First that it relies on the feeds and therefore is not necessarily up to date and second that it only aggregates all content. It can't be used to aggregate groups, such as classes or sections without cumbersome use of categories and/or tags.
Our Solution
To solve the aggregation issue we have developed plugins and group specific themes that allows blogs to join group blogs where their posts are doubled posted. WordPress does plugins and themes very very well, although particularly if you're running WordPressMU you need to be careful that you're plugins are well written so not to cause performance problems.
Group Blogs
We have designated specific blogs as group blogs, these include the root blog of which every blog is a member, class blogs and section blogs. Rather than the user being a member of a blog, the blog is a member of the group blog. What that means is that every post made on a member blog is cross posted to each of the group blogs it is a member of. Category information is cross posted as well, comments are disabled on the group blog and the permalink points to the original blog post. An admin page lets the site admin, designate blogs as group blogs and assign other blogs as members. There is an option to set groups as public or private although this is not yet implemented. Students and teachers can use the group blogs for scanning and reading posts and the group category clouds and calendars give a snap shot of school activity and learning.
Each group blog uses a modified group theme which are stored in a separate groups themes directory which includes the user's avatar next to the post, and points comments to the original user's blog.
Special Categories
Special Categories can be used for aggregating subject or topic data on the group blogs. For example, a class (or section) may be currently learning about "Inventors and Inventions." Students and teachers use an agreed upon tag to identify blog posts, photos, videos and bookmarks so that they can be aggregated using a WordPress category page on the group blog. Widgets are used to pull content from Scuttle and photos from lumil using the same tag. Some static content can also be included. Currently this requires creating a specific page in the theme using the category id (which is beyond most teachers) but plugins such as category page plugin show how this could be achieved using plugins. I imagine a plugin that lets widgets be set per category via the admin presentation section so that the sidebar widgets can be arranged differently on the Inventors and Inventions category page as opposed to the main page on the group blog. As well as sidebar widgets maybe the whole category page could be arranged with widgets.
In this way each group blog category page could be customized if desired. Special events may not have any bookmarks but they would have blog posts and photos. While Secrets of the Sea, would have blog posts, web page bookmarks, photos and videos.
Sorry the code for this is not yet released, I'm hoping to get it out before the melbourne wordcamp.
In my previous post Constructing a Personal Learning Environment with WordPressMU, I didn't spend time explaining why we're doing this and why you may want to do the same.
What is a PLE?
A PLE is a fancy name for a set of complimentary webservices which facilitate online learning. This is in direct contrast with the Content Management System (WebCT, Moodle, SharePoint) which try to achieve the same goal through a single service that does everything.
By selecting webservies that use open standards (common open APIs and RSS), select the best blogging system, the best forum, the best social bookmarking service, rather than being stuck with what our chosen CMS offers (or doesn't offer). Also the best can be different for different students, maybe "the best" is not the right words? Insert the "most suitable" instead. The most suitable blogging system for you , may not be the most suitable for me and with a PLE it doesn't matter because open standards allow different sites and services to exchange information and work together.
Digital Portfolios
At Concord, we're using blogging with our Secondary students for our digital portfolios. Previously we've used PowerPoint and FrontPage but this year we're blogging. Digital Portfolios facilitate reflection on learning and the celebration of learning. Digital Portfolios are used to showcase the range of learning experiences and provide evidence of learning; they are taken home at the end of the year as a record and memento.
Students select media (photo, video and work samples) and write text and use categories and tags to organise their content. Unlike traditional digital portfolio, web based digital portfolios are seen as a living document that is published to the school community as it is worked on, rather than just at the end of the year as a completed whole product. Blogging as a digital portfolio also offers the opportunity to use alternatives to text, including photo blogging, podcasting and video blogging. Blogging also invites others to respond to the work of others, to provide feedback, supporting evidence and encouragement.
Aggregated content
Tags, categories, group memberships and other meta data (such as date created) allow content created through social websites and webservices to be aggregated in meaningful ways. More on this in the next post.
During the last two years we have been using WordPress as a Personal Learning Environment. In 2006 used multiple single installs while in 2007 we moved to WordPressMU. WordPress allows us to host the software on our own Intranet so that we don't have to worry about privacy and security, but of course we miss the diversity and other advantages of being live on the Internet. We have used a sub-domain or our school's domain that we could (and hope to) in the future make live, without breaking any links.
Why WordPress?
WordPressMU was chosen for a number of reasons:
Of course, WordPressMU does have a few limitations, especially managing user's files and a few persistent bugs.
We're also using Scuttle for social bookmarking, ccHost for sharing digital media (creative commons samples and Scratch projects and sprites), lumil for photo sharing, and Firefox with a few add-ons but it is WordPress that draws them all together by aggregating content and establishing connections. There is other stuff going on as well but I'll share that when I can.
In the next few posts I outline how we're using WordPressMU, the plugins that we've written and the way we're using it with our students.