The Newspaper Clipping Generator

Calling all teachers - who like the cutesy! I am sharing this resource, The Newspaper Clipping Generator, which I read about on another blog. It is really neat and would be fun and appropriate for students to use when they are learning to do expository writing activities.
It is also simple to use and quick! I sure wish the article I generated (shown above) was true - oh well I can still hope! :)

Managing Multiple Twitter & Facebook Accounts

As I have blogged about recently, I have been experimenting with using multiple Twitter accounts for professional and personal purposes. One of the tools I have been using to manage these accounts is called Seesmic Desktop. This application is a free download, and allows you to view and post to multiple Twitter accounts from one screen. You can also view and manage your Facebook status here as well.
While there are many applications out there for this same purpose, this is the first one that I have found that will allow me to do most of the things I want to do from one spot. If you have tips or experiences in using other Twitter/Facebook management applications, please share them in a comment to this thread!

Are you a Gmail Ninja?

I live and breath by my Gmail (and all of my Google tools). Here is a link to a great resource that highlights some of the best Gmail has to offer you!

Click here to find out not only if you are a Gmail Ninja, but what belt level you are.....Am I A Gmail Ninja?

We have covered many of these features in our Google Classes, and this is a handy little resource to review. Also, remember to check the Google Labs periodically for new and exciting features.

Oh, and be sure to call me "Master" Mann, next time you see me! ;)

Google Reader -Shared Items Widget

Calling all Google Reader users!

For those of you who don't know, Google Reader is an RSS reader where you can organize many of the "things" you read/check regularly online, from blog posts, to tweets, to online photo albums, to website updates, etc.

I discovered a neat little widget in Google Reader this morning concerning sharing items. In Google Reader, you can click a button to "Share" something you are reading with your friends or designated contacts. These items can be accessed from the "Shared Items" section in Google Reader, or, a weblink. For example, here is a weblink to my Shared Items page.

All of these posting are done for you automatically when you click the "Share" button in Google Reader. Now, Google has created a great widget which will display access to a list of your shared items on your Blogger site. All you have to do is go to your Shared Items page and simply click to "Add a clip" and then click the "Add to Blogger" button. It is that simple! Your blogger layout will immediately open up, "dump" the widget in, and then, you can drag it around to wherever you want it to appear on your blog. (You can also get the HTML code to paste it on any other blog or website too.)

You can see my Shared Items list, here on sidebar this blog - check it out! :)

Social Networking - Keep Tweeting!

I read a very interesting blog post this morning referencing an article advocating for teachers to use Twitter, especially those of us who teach online. I really have to agree! Just in the small amount of time I have used it with our MCSD ITS group, we have been able to keep up with one another throughout the day as we are all in different locations and directions. Working a shorter contract than the other ITSs, I also continued to keep up with our staff after I left for summer break. Several MCSD entities are Tweeting now, too, for example the school district news is being tweeted here.

The Twitter account I use for Kaplan has also made me aware of various staff development opportunities and allowed me to get to know a few of my colleagues. The CTL Events tweets about the classes and workshops offered, and it reminds me of what is going on each day. I would liek to see our MCSD Instructional Technology Center use a similar strategy next year. Hopefully MCSD will unblock Twitter for employees in the district.

I have also been experimenting more with Facebook this summer. Facebook is blocked at MCSD and is not something I regularly have time to participate in during the school year. I decided to make it one of my little summer projects to get more involved and to test out all of the capabilities (to see what the fuss is all about). I have also been curious as to how and if it can be used for educational purposes.

I must admit, I am enjoying both social networking tools. Am I mainly sharing the mundane day-to-day "junk" that most people surely don't care about... yep! But, somehow it "works" and my friends and family seem interested.

I subscribed to a Twitter app on Facebook which automatically updates my status in both places (Facebook & Twitter). It has worked ok, but I am still struggling with the separation of persoanl and professional accounts. I'll continue to investigate and report more on that later...

Until then... follow me... if you wish! KerriMann or KaplanMann

To Tweet or not to Tweet?

In my recent experimenting with Twitter, I have come across several questions. One, that I have especially thought about lately, is whether or not to have multiple Twitter accounts.

Here's why... my personal, strictly social Twitter account, is where I post silly random quips during the day to interact with my family and friends. Personally, I don't think anyone is interested in those posts but my family and friends, and their interest could still be debated. :)

So, would I then want another "professional" Twitter account where I post updates of what I am doing related to work? The thought of this is rather aggravating because I already have way too much "technical clutter" to keep up with, i.e. several blogs, numerous blog subscriptions in my RSS reader, 10 email accounts, 5 wikis, a Facebook page and a partridge in a pear tree.

We have all heard horror stories of people losing their jobs for things they have posted on their Facebook and MySpace pages. Should that encourage us to keep personal and professional postings separate? We should all make note, though, that anything posted online can be found - even if we think we are keeping it private.

I went ahead and decided to create a "professional" Twitter account to interact with my colleagues at Kaplan University. I am going to experiment with using these 2 accounts for a while and then make a decision as to what to do. To begin with, I am simply going to update my status with what I am doing in regards to Kaplan on this new account. Even though I don't think my Kaplan Colleagues would be particularly interested in the fact that I am sitting in line at Starbucks, like my friends might be (because they would reply and ask me to bring them one), it still may be a way to build a community with co-workers who I only interact with online. For this reason, I may do some off-topic, personal posts on the professional Twitter account later.

What about you? Do any of you have ideas regarding how to handle the personal vs. professional aspects of social networking? If so, I would love to hear/read your comments!

Also, here is a link to a nice review of apps which will manage multiple Twitter accounts.