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So this pushes past my feeble understanding of XML, but Tracy Logan of the Wayne/Finger-Lakes BOCES in NY seems to have some pretty interesting ideas of how to bring state standards into the 21st Century. Here’s a snip of an e-mail I got from him, reprinted with his permission:

There are a lot of very interesting things we can do with the standards once we have methods of directly referencing them — some of the ideas we’ve tossed around are structured folksonomies (where teachers could use something similar to del.icio.us but pre-filled with Standards-based tags) to categorize webpages; use standards-based tagging for their blogs; tie standards from every state to the Dublin Core (and from there, back to other states), and so on.

Anyway, to date, he hasn’t found any other states trying to tie standards and resources together in this fashion. Either have I (which isn’t saying much.) Anyone out there have any ideas?

From the “Blogvangelism in Traditional Media Dept.” comes the latest Educational Leadership issue which focuses on “Learning in the Digital Age” and features an article I wrote titled “The Educator’s Guide to the Read/Write Web.” While the article will not be free online anytime soon, the abstract is below. You’ll have to visit your local library or an online database near you to get the whole thing (unless of course you want to buy it.)

The Internet is no longer only a place to research information. It is now also a forum through which users can publish and disseminate their own writing. Richardson describes some of the main tools that make this new “Read/Write Web” work—blogs, wikis, really simple syndication, and podcasting—and gives examples of how each can be used to enhance students’ research capabilities, connect students to content experts, and provide a wider audience for student work. He argues that the new research and publishing possibilities the Web opens up, which millions of young people engage in, have implications for keeping teaching relevant. Schools must reexamine what kinds of skills students need to participate meaningfully in this online exchange of knowledge and ideas. Teachers need to reconsider their teaching methods, their use of textbooks when more updated material is available online, and their ideas about student collaboration and the audiences for student work.

In general, it looks like a pretty good issue, headed up by Marc Prensky and packed with what seem to be some pretty forward thinking articles.

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The finalists for the Edublog Awards 2005 are out and I’m humbled to have made the cut in the best individual blog category. I have no clue what that means in terms of numbers of people who may have offered this site in nomination, but I’ll be the first to admit it feels good to be acknowledged in this way by my peers. Thanks to those of you who made the effort and to those of you who continue to read and connect with my ideas and experiences. (Insert Sally Field moment here.)

The even better news is the company I’m keeping. I consider Stephen Downes, and Barbara Ganley to be among my top five in terms of “trusted sources” and most relevant teachers. Both are big nodes in my network. To be honest, I’m not familiar with Ulises Ali Mejias, although a first read of his “A Nomad’s Guide to Learning and Social Software” (nominated in the “Most influential post, resource or presentation” category) suggests maybe I should be.

Just as side note, I think it’s really interesting the diversity of blogging styles in this group. Stephen is the ultimate filter; his sole purpose is to find relevant posts or publications and to give a cogent thumbs up or thumbs down to the reader and move on. Barbara, on the other hand, is the ultimate reflector, bringing us in to her practice with finely woven, link filled narratives. Me, I feel like I’m from the “a little bit o’ dis, a little bit o’ dat” more frenetic school of blogging. That’s what’s so cool about blogs is that they are as diverse as the personalities of the authors.

The other piece of news is there are a slew of new edblogger sites and sources to be checking out the next few days. So if you get the urge, head on over and make your selections. Vote early and often, and let’s celebrate the work that people running the awards and the nominees (and so many others) are doing.

UPDATE: Here’s the direct link to the voting.
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