(photo: cavorite)

Most Edubloggers will not yet be familiar with the concept of blog “Carnivals” or “Festivals”… but they’re worth understanding, as they can be powerful vehicles for promoting and improving an online community or practice or interest. The Carnival of the Mobilists, for example, is just a little more than a year old, but has snowballed into a community of hundreds of contributors, thousands of contributions, and in this - its second year - now offers sponsored prizes including international travel to for the best host, US$250 to each month’s best contributor, and US$500 for best post of the year.

A blog carnival or festival involves bloggers who share a common interest. Each week, those bloggers contribute their best post of the week to a common location, such as an email address. One blogger, the “host,” accesses the email, sorts out the contributions, selects the best entries, and writes a “carnival post” that links to the contributions - sometimes hosts perform these duties in very creative ways. Contributors who are selected then write an article that links back to the host’s “carnival post”. It is also a tradition for the host to showcase any newcomers to the carnival each week, and to select their “favourite” entry.

In this way, the Carnival serves to promote the best writing of its contributors, and creates an informal, growing community online.

Now: here is the opportunity to create our very own Carnival of the Edublogs. If you write a blog that reflects or reports on innovation or improvement in teaching and learning, please do one or more of the following:

• Email carnival.edublogs@gmail.com if you would like to host an upcoming Carnival this year.
• Email carnival.edublogs@gmail.com with a link to one of your best recent posts if you would like to contribute to the first ever Carnival of the Edublogs, next month!
• Subscribe to the Carnival RSS Feed on the Carnival of the Edublogs blog, so you know when each Carnival is released.
• Promote the Carnival! Invite other Edubloggers to host or contribute to, or read, the Carnival of the Edublogs, and write an article on the Carnival on your own blog.

Have a wonderful 2007 - I hope you can come to the Carnival!

Update: It seems that Alexander Hayes (”It’s all too bloody interesting and thats why I’m still up at 1.48AM”) and Stephen Downes (”It’s all very interesting and it keeps me up nights as well”) have both just found the Carnival of the Mobilists, too!  Will you be coming to help launch the Carnival of the Edublogs, guys?

Bookmark this page or subscribe to the feed now, in preparation for receiving the best posts on education each week!