I’ve been rereading Dan Pink’s Drive http://www.danpink.com/drive and I’m convinced that the key to developing young bloggers is to focus on what he calls “Motivation 3.0″ — the operating system that runs on intrinsic motivation for the task itself. I know that’s how the writers in my dissertation were driven and I suspect the same for us amateur bloggers.

The best example of Motivation 3.0 for K-12 bloggers I’ve seen is the model that The Tempered Radical http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/ and middle school teacher, Bill Ferriter, uses. He invites students to return for “working lunch” to create blog posts for the class’s blog, “The Blurb,” that has an international audience. Students write because they feel the power and gratification of having a voice. Here’s an interview with just a few — http://marinegrafics.blip.tv/file/1340790/

So marks for blogs? I encourage either the freedom to blog without grades or possibly a writer’s circle approach where students blog and critique each others to learn to blog effectively. Or for my graduate course in the spring, I’m planning to ask teachers to set up an ePortfolio in which they record their progress in developing their PLEs and they’ll be analyzing their blogs to see how they are using them and how they are adding value to their learning.

Going for Motivation 3.0 won’t be easy but I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort. If we turn a generation of students off to blogging then we’ve robbed them of a lifelong tool for learning.

Discussion to be continued, I’m sure. Thanks, as always, for your inspiration.

I’m a newbie at this and exploring blogging and Twitter for my PLE are two big goals for the course. Plus learning to integrate these into my online course if I see the value.

And, I, once a healthy skeptic, am hooked now. I’m enjoying always having a blog post that I’m writing in my mind (aside: makes me think of James Thurber whose wife would catch him thinking/writing in public and say “Dammit, Thurber, stop writing.”) And the teacher in me who loves to share is getting a kick out of sharing on Twitter.

Glad you liked the “Golden Rule of Blogging.” You’ve inspired me to create a few tips for newbie bloggers that I’ll share in my classes to help everyone get off to a good start.

If you like Symbaloo then you might like to use it as a resource management tool in your online course. I’m experimenting using a Symbaloo Webmix to scaffold for an online open course I’m going to begin soon and then for my university course in the Spring. I think it could make a great dashboard for helping organizing the content students are developing via blogging and tweeting as well as make class resources really handy. Here’s a sample for a copyright online open course — http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAABHnFJ3cAA41_k0ZQOA== (click on link to add this page to see. Hmmm that may mean you need to create an account first). At this point I can only find where webmixes are created by individuals but I’m hoping there’s a group function I haven’t found or maybe that will be added.

Best of luck with your course. I think PLENK 2010 is a great place for us to learn about course design.

I am working on my own online class and that kind of sharing is one of the core competencies. I have only recently begun to leave more comments. My stepping out period.

You may be just curious about Second Life now as a way to connect with other PLENKers, but, who knows, you may find that it’s a terrific tool for your PLE and continuing professional growth. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) usually holds weekly events — http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Membership/Member_Networking/ISTE_Second_Life.htm — and I always enjoy sessions with the Atlantis Seekers hosted by Bernajena Pinazzo — http://atlantisseekers.ning.com/

Thanks for checking out my blog. See you around SL Cris

I liked the original version, as I do try to “live” the PLU!

The cosmos is my home and my learning environment. There is so much I can learn from a cosmic perspective.