The growth of Web 2.0 technologies is changing the ways in which people use the Internet. Blogs are online journals that are publicly accessed and easily updated, and are part of this new Internet. The extreme ease of creating and maintaining a blog make it a valuable classroom tool for both teachers and students. Technorati is an Internetsearch engine used for searching blogs and they have indexed over 12 million weblogs, or blogs on the Internet as of December 2007 (Wikipedia, 2008). There are a number of free Web sites that have made blogging as simple as sending an email.
Technology is a great classroom motivator because it is the most obvious way teachers can engage students. Technology isn’t part of our students’ lives these days. It is their lives. Teachers are often given or buy the newest gadgets and/or programs to use in their classrooms with their students. Usually, very little training is offered with the new technology, the curriculum doesn’t require it, and the teacher doesn’t have the time or the energy to figure it out. So the newest hardware and/or software sits in the corner, collecting dust and is only turned on when the principal comes by for an observation. However, blogging is FREE!!! All it requires is a computer and an Internet connection. If a student can write, a student can blog. The parameters might have to change, but anyone, anywhere, at any time can blog. Blogging can be a valuable resource for any classroom.
REMEMBER: Blogging provides a way for students to connect their learning with the outside world. Blogs provide a space for students to share their work, for parents to actually experience what happens inside the classroom, and for all participates to collaborate together.
Blogging in Plain English Video
Who Can Blog?
- Principals can blog to get information out to their staff as a type of virtual faculty meeting.
- Parents can blog about a school by keeping each other informed of various school activities.
- PTAs can blog about fundraisers and other school activities.
- Teachers can blog with other teachers to develop learning activities and lessons.
- Teachers can blog as a class activity.
- Students can participate in a class blogging activity.
- Students can create own blog about their personal interests to meet others with similar interests.
Characteristics of a Blog:
- Like a journal, there are regular entries.
- Entries are in reverse-chronological order, with the newest posts found on top.
- Comments – this is what makes blogs interactive. The reader has the ability and is encouraged to leave comments for both the writer and other readers.
What to Blog About?
- Respond to a writing prompt, a question, or a math problem
- Weekly learning summaries
- Respond to a reading
- Reflections
- Find the facts to support or debate a statement
- Critique a Web site
- Current events
- Write a news story for a school/class newsletter
- Report on a vacation, field trip, or virtual field trip
- “Discuss” a hot political topic
- Suggestion box for the classroom or school
- Ask questions about various topics
- Suggestion study/organizational tips for each other
- Give “Recipes for Success”
- Ice Breakers at the beginning of the school year
- Lab research collaboration
- Continuing stories or vocabulary
(all suggestions courtesy of http://www.teachersfirst.com)
The topics for blogging could be far reaching, very specific or maybe even somewhat private depending on how it’s approached. Blogs could be used to garner ideas of how other students spend their free time, what they plan for the future, and what they are concerned about.
Why Comments?
The comments on a blog are what make blogging interactive and collaborative. Comments given on the blog are also very motivational to everyone involved. Constructive comments encourage students to improve their writing skills. According to Technorati, 94% of blogging students checked the site often to see whether their own posts were replied to by others. Bloggers want and expect feedback from their readers. As bloggers receive more comments from others, they became more self-motivated to continue to blog.
Safety Concerns:
- Because it so easy to upload classroom pictures, videos, and audio, it is very important to get parent permission before including students in a classroom blog. In addition, most blog sites require the participates (students) to have a working email account. Therefore, again, parent permission is a must.
- You can choose a setting on the blog that will not allow search engines to search your blog. This will prevent most people to find your blog unless they are really looking for it.
- To eliminate any negative or inappropriate comment made by others, you can (and should) moderate all comments before they are posted.
Where to Begin?
There are a few website I would recommend you use to create a free blog for your classroom:
There are many other sites, but these three are not blocked by the school board’s SmartFilter and are accessible on our school computers. Once you have chosen a site, it is simply a matter of creating an account and jumping right in. You can include pictures, videos, and audios on these blogs. The only thing you are limited to, is your imagination.
Examples:
I have provided a few links to both teacher and student blogs so that you can see real life examples of blogs.
Your Assignment
Now it is your turn. Before beginning, think about your pupose for blogging and do a little planning in your head. Next, go to http://edublogs.org, create an account, and begin to create a blog. Experiment with widgets and familiarize yourself with their Help & Support. They prize themselves on their service and almost any question you have on how to do something can be answered within this part of their site.
Good luck, and remember….this is supposed to be FUN! Don’t get frustrated with the process. You are learning something new and it won’t come easy unless you want it to. You can do it! Blogging is for everyone.
