Part I: What is Blogging?
Part II: Need more information? check this out!
For a more detailed explanation of blogging, click the following link to read the EDUCAUSE "7 Things You Should Know About Blogs" article
Part III: Blogging in the classroom
The concept of blogging can be applied to any subject area classroom for a multitude of purposes and functions. Blogging can be a great way for the teacher to be connected to their class and could function as a digital portfolio for students.
PART IV: How to Get Started
InterNet AccessTo start blogging, you must have internet access in order to set up your blogging platform. If your school does not have a 1:1 technology initiative for students, allow your students to bring their own devices so that they can access the internet.
Email AccountBoth the teacher and student must have an email account in order to start a blog.
purposePrior to introducing blogs to your classroom, you must decide what it is you want students to gain from this experience. Will the blog serve as a class blog? Or will each student create and maintain a blog? Will you require students to comment on the blogs of others in the class? Is the blog a collection of assignments or the focus of one unit within a given subject? Will the blog serve as a digital portfolio for students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter?
Familiarize YourselfAllow yourself the time to explore blogs that already exist on the internet. This will help you to gain ideas that could benefit your students. Also, allow yourself the extra time to create a blog and explore the features that the blogging platform has to offer. The more confident you are with blogging, the smoother it will be to introduce blogs into your classroom.
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Blog AccountSeveral platforms exist for creating your blog. These are the ones that I would recommend:
Blogger- This blog platform can be accessed through Google and is FREE to use!
Tumblr- This platform offers the opportunity to be expressive with videos, music, and images to your blogs. FREE to use.
WordPress- Another popular blog platform that is FREE with the option to upgrade. example blogs & Other Resources |
Part V: my thoughts on blogging
To be honest, I don't think I ever envisioned myself having a blog when I was first required to maintain one. When I thought of the word blog, I instantly thought of people rambling on about anything and everything in their personal lives. However, it wasn't until one of my college graduate classes required me to create a blog that I truly understood the value in blogging.
To me, educational blogging is a great way for students to maintain a digital portfolio of their completed work. It also allows for social interaction, such as student-to-student and student-to-teacher. Because the blog can be updated from any location, it makes the task of completing an assignment much easier. For example, remember when you were in school and had to spend time peer editing your classmate's work and you could only do that while in class? With blogging, students can post their assignment to their blog and their peers could comment on the other student's work virtually from any location and any time of day.
The obvious drawback to blogging is simply the fear of inappropriate content being posted and harmful comments being made to other students. It is important to give students CLEAR expectations of what is appropriate/inappropriate content and that disrespectful/harmful language will not be tolerated.
Bottom line, give blogging a try. You might end up liking it like I did. :-D
To me, educational blogging is a great way for students to maintain a digital portfolio of their completed work. It also allows for social interaction, such as student-to-student and student-to-teacher. Because the blog can be updated from any location, it makes the task of completing an assignment much easier. For example, remember when you were in school and had to spend time peer editing your classmate's work and you could only do that while in class? With blogging, students can post their assignment to their blog and their peers could comment on the other student's work virtually from any location and any time of day.
The obvious drawback to blogging is simply the fear of inappropriate content being posted and harmful comments being made to other students. It is important to give students CLEAR expectations of what is appropriate/inappropriate content and that disrespectful/harmful language will not be tolerated.
Bottom line, give blogging a try. You might end up liking it like I did. :-D
Are you ready for the next tool?