blogs

= Blogging in the Classroom =

What is a blog?
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What are the "rules" that bloggers should follow?
Find out at EdTech Magazine

Blogs vs Wikis
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 * **Characteristic** || **Blog** || **Wiki** ||
 * Home page display || Newest posts first || No standard, typically welcome page ||
 * Prominence of newest pages || Automatic and Continuous || None except through special pages or manual actions ||
 * Multiple pages display || Stream of posts, newest first || One page at a time ||
 * Authorship || Usually single and clear for each post || Frequently multiple and unclear for each page ||
 * Changes in published pages || Rare and absolute --no reversion || Frequent, with versions retained ||
 * Who can create and edit? || Usually one blogger or small group || Frequently anyone or all registered users ||
 * Conversations and feedback || Only comments and linkbacks || Talk/discussion pages, but also direct addtions to pages ||
 * Writing and formatting || HTML, but also WYSIWYG || Program-specific wikitext markup and partial WYSIWYG ||
 * When do changes and new pages appear? || Immediately, but can save drafts || Immediately ||

Skim through the following blogs to get a feel for how they are used.


 * [|The Year of the Hangman] - Eric Langhorst
 * [|25 Days to Make a Difference]
 * [|Nina Writes: Stories About Making a Difference]
 * [|Room One] - Mapua School
 * [|The Daily D] - Mrs. Dorman
 * [|Weblogg-ed] - Will Richardson
 * [|The Secret Life of Bees] - Mr. Richardson
 * [|Excellence and Imagination] - Clarence Fisher
 * [|Room 208/209] - Bob Sprankle
 * [|The Sam Jackson College Experience]
 * [|Egypt Days]
 * [|Cliotech] - Jennifer Dorman
 * [|Madness in the Method]
 * [|A Really Different Place - Mattea's Blog]
 * [|A Really Different Place - Main Blog]
 * [|Blog-ology]
 * [|Top 100 Education Blogs]

How can YOU integrate blogging?
Brainstorm ways that you envision blogs being integrated into your classroom. Post your ideas on the discussion tab at the top of the page.


 * Here is a list of blog integration ideas from __[|Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms]__ (Will Richardson), pages 40-42**


 * You might like to create a reflective, journal-type blog to . . .**
 * reflect on your teaching experiences
 * keep a log of teacher-training experiences
 * write a description of a specific teaching unit
 * describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work
 * provide some teaching tips for other teachers
 * write about something you learned from another teacher
 * explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes
 * share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom
 * provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class
 * explore important teaching and learning issues


 * You might start a class blog to . . .**
 * post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework assignments, and other pertinent class information
 * post assignments based on literature readings and have students respond on their own blogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work
 * communicate with parents
 * post prompts for writing
 * provide examples of classwork, vocabulary activities, or grammar games
 * provide online readings for your students to read and react to
 * gather and organize Internet resources for a specific course, providing links to appropriate sites and annotating the links as to what is relevant about them
 * post photos and comment on class activities
 * invite student comments or postings on issues in order to give them a writing voice
 * publish examples of good student writing
 * showcase student art, poetry, and creative stories
 * create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning
 * create a literature circle (where groups of students read and discuss the same book)
 * create on online book club
 * make use of the commenting feature to have students publish messages on topics being used to develop language skills
 * ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions, and written work
 * post tasks to carry out project-based learning tasks with students
 * build a class newsletter, using student-written articles and photos they take
 * link your class with another class somewhere in the world


 * You can encourage your students to blog . . .**
 * their reactions to thought-provoking questions
 * their reactions to photos and content you post
 * journal entries
 * results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit
 * their homework
 * their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class


 * You can have your students create their own blogs to . . .**
 * learn how to blog
 * complete class writing assignments
 * create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing]
 * express their opinions on topics you are studying in class
 * write comments, opinions, or questions on daily news items or issues of interest
 * discuss activities they did in class and tell what they think about them
 * write about class topics, using newly learned vocabulary words and idioms
 * showcase their best writing pieces


 * You can also ask your class to create a shared blog to . . .**
 * complete project work in small groups, assigning each group a different task
 * showcase products of project-based learning
 * complete a WebQuest

Create your class blog
Here are a few blogging host services to consider:

For Students and Teachers


 * [|21 Classes]
 * [|Edublogs]
 * [|Class Blogmeister]

For Teachers
 * [|Edublogs]
 * [|Blogger]

[|Getting Started with Blogger]
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