Promoting "Eight Weeks To Web 2"


Doug Peterson, a retired teacher and friend, has has put together a series of lessons for anyone wanting to learn a bit about "web 2.0".  The lessons are:

Week 1 – Upgrade Your Web Browser
Week 2 – Get a New Email Account
Week 3  – Get a Delicious/Diigo Account
Week 4 – Get a Twitter Account
Week 5 – Read Some Blogs
Week 6 – Start Your Own Blog
Week 7 – Listen to Some Podcasts; Create Your Own
Week 8 – Exploration of Other Web 2.0 Functionality

...and are available at http://goo.gl/hrLVp

Since I'm in the middle of an extended motorcycle trip that's not giving me much computer time, I must admit that I haven't gone through Doug's tutorials in detail, but from my brief overview, I'd like to make some personal recommendations:

  • For week 1, I highly recommend Google Chrome as the web browser to use since it can sync your bookmarks and extensions between home and school. For installation at school, use the "portable" version, and install and run it from your personal drive (that's the M drive in DSBN). It can be downloaded from http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/google_chrome_portable
  • For week 2, get a Gmail account over any other recommendations Doug makes. There is no debate about the merits of Gmail and its integration with other Google products. If you are still a Hotmail user, switch ASAP (it seems to get hacked regularly) and configure Gmail to read in your Hotmail until you can tell all your friends about your new Gmail account.
  • For week 3, I prefer Diigo over Del.icio.us for school use, particularly for the private class groups you can create and that it allows you to use your Google ID to log in. You can check out my Diigo account at http://www.diigo.com/user/pbeens or Doug's at http://www.diigo.com/user/dougpete.
  • For week 4, my twitter ID is pbeens if you want to follow me, although my account gets a little quiet during the summer. Doug's account can be found at http://twitter.com/dougpete, and be sure to check out his "Ontario Educators List" for tweets from ~500 teachers, administrators, and consultants from Ontario. The address is http://twitter.com/#!/dougpete/ontario-educators.
  • For week 6, my recommendation is Blogger, again, because of its integration with Google.
  • For week 8, check out Google Sites over the other "wikis" Doug mentions. I like Google Sites so much it's the one I use for my personal site, my school website, my subject association website, and what I ask my students to create their ePortfolios in. 
These recommendations have made quickly and will undoubtedly change as my colleagues start going through Doug's tutorials and asking questions.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I'll do my best to respond. Please keep in mind though, that the recommendations I've made are based on personal experience and biases, and are not necessarily the best solutions for everyone. 

You can of course also respond directly from the master himself on each of his lesson pages, which you will find at http://dougpete.pbworks.com/w/page/18146330/Eight%20Weeks%20To%20Web%202

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