Blogs

Pedagogy and blogs / Blog Safety / Where to Blog / Blog Software for your Server / Recommended Blogs

A web log, or blog, is a special kind of web site where you can post artlcles and receive comments from other people. It fosters collaboration and dialogue between people.

What is a blog?

From Commoncraft: Blogs in Plain English

TeacherTube version
You Tube Version

Blogs in Education

Learn about blogs in education through this webquest
Link here

Pedagogy and Blogs

• as a kind of web page for the class to keep them informed of events and assignments
• to provide links to relevant sites for their students
• to keep parents informed about class activities
• to invite responses from the students on curriculum topics
• to provide course notes
• to encourage reading and writing by their students

Here is a great series of lesson plans on blogging by Langwitches (Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano)

Blogging Unit for Download
This is a pdf of a series of blog posts. What follows are links to the individual posts which include embedded videos.

Introduce students (3rd grade and up) to the world of academic blogging. 

• Creating an Outline for Blogging Unit Plan
• Introduction to Blogging Lesson Plan
• Blogging Lesson Plan - Online safety
  
• Blogging Lesson Plan - commenting
• Blogging Lesson Plan - writing
• • Setting up the blog and getting started
  • Logistics of Formatting a Blog Post

How to Grow a Blog
This excellent blog entry by Konrad Glogowski gives some excellent strategies for helping students use blogs effectively for quality work.
http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2007/10/27/how-to-grow-a-blog/
You can also listen to or watch his presentation from the K12 Online Conference
http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=166

OLÉ! Orchestrating a Learning Ecology
Darren Kuropatwa, a reflective teacher, has created this blog which has everything a teacher needs to see why blogging makes a difference in a classroom. There are links to many helpful resources. A must visit.
http://oletango.blogspot.com/

Classroom Blogging
This wiki, created by Tom Barrett, has a wealth of resources to help you think about why and how you would use a blog with your class.
http://classroomblogging.wikispaces.com/

Blogging and RSS — The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators
Will Richardson describes what blogs are and provides some excellent examples of how they can be used in education.
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml

Will Richardson at NECC2004
This is a link to a short video about student use of blogs.
http://campus.belmont.edu/chenowit/dragonstale/WebLoggingSmall.mov

Blogs in Education
Here is a collection of links to a variety of blogs and blogging tools
http://awd.cl.uh.edu/blog/

Blog Safety

How Can Children Remain Safe Using Blogs?
This site, from the Government of Australia, gives practicle tips on using blogs safely.
http://www.netalert.net.au/01679-How-can-children-stay-safe-using-blogs.asp

Safe blogging with Blogger
Read how one teacher customized Blogger to create a safe environment for his students
http://outsidethecave.blogspot.com/2005/08

Where to Blog

The Blogmeister
This site is run by David Warlick. He has set up a blog that is open to teachers and classes. You can sign up to register a class, write and publish your own articles, as well as have students write, edit and publish articles. Classmates and the teacher can review the articles before the teacher submits it for final publication. Also on the site are excellent links to other educational blogs.
http://www.landmark-project.com/blogmeister/index.php

21 Classes
"21Classes lets teachers set up and manage a multi-user blog solution with independent blogs for students instantly and easily." Read what one teacher likes about it. Konrad Glogowski reflects on his use of blogs with his students.
http://21classes.com/

Edublogs
From Australia, this site offers blog space for teachers and students. There is now an education version which can be installed on the school server.
http://edublogs.org/

Blogger
This site offers templates to create your own blogs. You can sign up for free. See Safe Blogging above to learn how to alter the template to make it safer for students.
http://www.blogger.com/start

Blog Software for your Server

Wordpress
Wordpress is open source software which can be installed on a server. Your server needs to have php and MySQL installed. Wordpress also hosts blogs on their server. One downside to Wordpress is that you need to install a copy for each blogger.
http://wordpress.com/

Recommended Blogs to Read

Keep up to date on what is happening in blogs and education. The following blogs are well worth following.

Weblogg-ed
Will Richardson is a pioneer in the use of blogs and RSS feeds in the classroom. He has a blog on which he shares his ideas. Be sure to check his links to resources and practices.
http://www.weblogg-ed.com/

Techlearning Blog
This is a group blog with participation of a number of thought-provoking educators who are well-worth reading.
http://www.techlearning.com/blog/main/

Sample Blogmeister Blog: Kathy Cassidy's Class
This blog is by a grade one class
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

Moving At the Speed of Creativity
Wesley Freyer, the author, is a prolific blogger. He touches on all aspects of educational technology
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/

2¢ Worth Teaching and Learning in the new Information landscape
David Warlick, an educational technology guru, shares his thoughts, conference sessions and more.
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

2007 Weblog Awards - Best Education blogs
http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-education-blog-1.php

Enhance Your Blog

My Blog Log
Find out where your traffic comes from and where it goes. There is a free service as well as a paying one.
http://www.mybloglog.com/

Clustr Maps
See where your visitors are located.
http://www.clustrmaps.com/