Guest Appearance on The Tightwad Teacher Podcast

Graphic Used Under a CC By-SA 2.0 License

The Guest Appearance

A couple of weeks ago, one of my Texas edtech colleagues, Kristy Vincent, invited me to be a guest on the Tightwad Teacher podcast. Kristy just recently became a co-host of the podcast, and she invited me to discuss a topic of my choice. Having just recently attended a thought provoking session on Developing a Culture of Sharing at SXSWedu (my blog notes don't do it justice), I suggested a focus on professional learning online through venues like Facebook and Twitter.

Kristy liked my idea and ran with it under the title of The Connected Teacher. I really enjoyed the conversation with Kristy as well as podcaster-in-chief Mark Cockrell and co-hosts Brian Brugger and John Mikulski. In addition to getting to share my ideas and view-points, I came away with some new insights myself. That's the way all good conversations should work out!

Learning from Podcasts

I have to admit, I have historically not been much of a podcast listener myself. I have tried on various occasions, but it just hasn't fit my learning style, which tends to be heavy on reading/watching but not just listening. Having now participated in a podcast, though, I think I might need to give this learning medium another try. Do you have a favorite podcast you listen to regularly? What is it and what do you like about it? When do you work in time to listen to podcasts? Please share your thoughts and a link to a podcast you listen to in the comments!

Take a Listen to the Tightwad Teacher

If you are a podcast listener, or even if you are not, I invite you to listen to Tightwad Teacher #38: The Connected Teacher. Of course I'm inviting you partly because I was part of it, but also because it was a good conversation about how teachers can connect online for their continued professional growth and it wandered into the use of social media in schools as well. If you listen, be sure to let me know what ideas or thoughts the conversation stirred in you by posting in the comments below. Thanks!

Create an Interest List for Professional Learning on Facebook

I was asked to be a guest this evening on the Tightwad Teacher podcast. The topic was The Connected Teacher. The podcast was live streamed, but it will also be edited and posted in final format next week.

In prep for the podcast, I created a little tutorial on how to create an interest list on Facebook to leverage Facebook for professional learning. I've blogged about Facebook for professional learning in the past, but I think the recent addition of interest lists to Facebook makes this endeavor even easier.

Below is the tutorial. I am also just learning to use Camtasia, so please excuse any blips! If this tutorial is helpful to you or gives you any other ideas for extending learning via social media, please share in the comments. Thanks!

Have You Ever Been Asked to Guest Blog? Advice Desired!

Used With Permission Under
Creative Commons License

When I first started this post I thought my answer to the question of being asked to guest blog was "no," but then I remembered an opportunity I did have a couple of years ago. I was pretty new to blogging myself at the time and didn't follow through with it. The request was from a reputable organization, so I wasn't worried about who was asking me. My lack of follow through was due to lack of self confidence at the time.

A colleague emailed me today because she had been asked to guest blog and wanted my advice. What should you look for? Putting your words and name on someone else's site seems very attractive, but we need to be careful where we put our words and our name, as it can reflect on our reputation down the road.

Here are some of the questions I told her I would ask. What kinds of questions would you add to this list? Please add them in the comments. All contributions are appreciated, and if you actually have guest blogging experience, it would be wonderful if you would tell a little about how that has worked out for you.

• I would want to know who the person or organization is behind the blog and what their background/reputation/experience is in the area I'm being asked to write about.
• I would want to know if my post would be edited in any way or if it would be posted as submitted. If edited, would I be able to see the final version and give a yea or nay as to whether it is posted?
• If the blog I'm being asked to post on is ad free, I'd want to know if it intends to remain ad free and if not, when will it be monetized and how? 
• If the blog is NOT ad free, I'd be careful to look at who/what they were advertising, remembering that my content could become associated with the advertisers and that my content could be making money for someone else.
• I would want permission to cross post the content back on my own blog.

What am I leaving out? Please add your wisdom in the comments below! Thanks!