Most blogging services have extensive help content for folks to get started and take advantage of the features offered. As a part of the Blogger help service, they also have a extensive library of screencasts an example of which follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnploFsS_tY
Beyond Blogger-- any good blogging service (as well as other Web 2.0 services) should have a good HELP facility. If they don't, folks can't learn how to use them, and they won't. The site will not get the traffic it needs to obtain the advertising dollar$ required for sustainability. And... get the picture?
This leads me to discuss a "tough love" topic. Consider the educator that says "I need someone to show me how something works" vs. the one that uses HELP and other training resources associated with the 2.0 service, to obtain the knowledge. Or the educator that says "as soon as I learn one, another one comes along" vs. the one who does not lock themself into one tool. Finding the tools to meet instructional needs might be a good classroom exercise. The students have the opportunity to direct their own learning and refresh the learning process -- a method to motivate the "digital natives".
The speed of the changes and the additions to the Web 2.0 tools is rapid. In the course of a school year, the features and the user interface of a service may change a dozen times. Dozens of additional tools and sites may being created in that same school year. So how does one keep up. The short answer is Just In Time Learning. The need to know prompts the go and find the knowledge. If we as educators don't know the answer, we have 25-30 (or more) employees that have (or should have) that job description. They are called students. When you need a feature, get them involved. When the tools you have may not meet the need, get them involved to find the right one.
In this day and age, we cannot afford to have the knowledge that kids acquire limited to the knowledge of the adult in front of the room. This certainly goes beyond just tech tools.
Comments welcome ... please be nice (-;
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I have definitely seen both types of teachers described in your blog. Hands down I would rather work with those who are willing to read a manual, access the help section, or use various onine support resources. I think the one thing that we need to teach students for the future is how to learn. The only constant you can bank on is change.
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