WordPress in Your Linkedin Account

Did you know that you can have your blog posts show up automatically in Linkedin? Think about it. You can create a portfolio with all your wonderful work in your WordPress blog; samples of your learning, writing, images, video, audio, slideshows and all kinds of other great examples of why you are the best candidate for the job or school for which you are applying. Bring both together with this very easy to install WordPress plugin for Linkedin. Read more about it at the official WordPress Blog.

Organizing 21st Century Life & Stuff

I have been wrestling with managing all the digital stuff I create at work and home. Where do I save it all? How do I back it up? How do I keep organized between the numerous jobs?

I have been working with Jason Theodor’s LifeFocus Card ideas to organize my day, with David Allen’s Getting Things Done process for organizing my tasks and projects but what about all the digital artifacts I create?  Matt Cornell has a GTD inspired file organization system he uses that looks interesting.  There are many tools online for archiving.  That’s not a problem.  But where do I start to get a handle on all the stuff I create?

I had an epiphany the other day.  What is it I do all day?  What do I do and what do I make?  The answer came in the form of a list, of all things.  I create stuff in the following categories:

  • Art
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • Theories / Philosophies
  • Curriculum / Syllabi
  • Schedules

Knowing what I create and how I spend my time helps me get perspective about the kind stuff I generate and maybe reveal some insight on how to organize it.  Stay tuned.  This is an ongoing experiment to establish a meaningful way to move through my digital life.

Who’s Keeping Students Safe Online?

We, as a community, need to help students embrace the power of online collaboration and the social aspect of many Internet-based tools while demonstrating the necessary steps in protecting their privacy. This is a team effort. We all need to step up and help our young people understand appropriate use of online technology.

Fewer than 25 percent of educators feel comfortable teaching students how to protect themselves from online predators, cyberbullies and identity thieves, says a new study from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology, Policy Research and Outreach (ET PRO). – By Zach Miners January 2009, District Administration Magazine

How do students learn to be safe online? This is a critical issue for all of us to address. How do we want to prepare our children to be safe online? I did an informal survey in my classes a few weeks ago. I asked students if they had any training on Internet safety, either at school or at home. In one class only two out of thirty individuals raised their hands to confirm some discussion about the topic. This was a typical ratio in all of my classes.  Where are these students learning to be safe?

Children ages 10-14 spend more time on the Internet than watching television, but the report, the 2008 National Cyber Ethics, Cyber Safety, Cyber Security (C3) Baseline Study, found that only a handful of states have education curriculum requirements for teaching children how to protect themselves online. – By Zach Miners January 2009, District Administration Magazine

Teachers and parents have to first teach ourselves about safety and then advocate and support it for our young people. I am convinced that if we understand the issues clearly we will better model the behavior for students.