What is a blog?
Blog (blŏg) – noun or verb used like journals and diaries on-line; include text, artwork, links to other blogs or Web sites, and a whole array of other content; read by others and can be commented on; postings are usually in reverse chronological order; Synonym: weblog
“The assignment was posted on the teacher’s blog.”; “I had to blog the teacher for help on the assignment.”
Blogger – noun any contributor to a blog
Blogging – verb the process of creating or maintaining a blog
Multi-Blog – an on-line “conversation” taking place between several blogs
User Friendly Technology
Blogs are surprisingly easy to use and convenient for teachers and students. They require minimum technical knowledge and are quickly and easily created and maintained. Blogs are very convenient for students because they are accessible from any home or library computer with Internet.
Educational Benefits of Blogs
· Motivational
· Easy to Use
· Effective form for collaboration and discussions
· Excellent opportunities for outside of classroom learning and teaching
Using the Blog in the Classroom
Blogs can serve at least four basic functions.
1. Classroom Management – post important class announcements and assignments
2. Collaboration – getting together to further education in cooperative learning activities
3. Discussions – open time to discuss various topics
4. Student Portfolios – organization and developing work
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Blog Risks to Consider
**School districts have guidelines and acceptable use policies (AUP) regarding the use of school and division-wide computer networks and the Internet. These terms and conditions identify acceptable online behavior and access privileges. Policies regarding the displaying of any student work must be adhered to strictly. Take the necessary steps to secure parental permission before using the blog in a participatory manner.
**Blogs can be viewed publicly! Students need to be trained on issues regarding access, privacy, security, and free expression.
**Content of blogs should be recognized as the opinion of the blogger, and, therefore, may not necessarily be factual!
Preparing Students for Blogging
· Determine that all students are aware of the AUPs and they agree to abide by them.
· Secure parental permission and inform parents of procedures.
· Teach students safe, acceptable, and sensible behavior as online authors and readers.
· Teach the non-posting rules of no complete names, e-mail accounts, or references to reveal location.
· Set clear expectations and consequences regarding tone and respect.
Steps for Getting Started on Blogs
1. Go to one of the available free blogging sites (Blogger at http://www.blogger.com/ is very popular)
2. Provide the necessary information requested. (username and password)
3. Create a title for your blog.
4. Accept terms
5. Select a template
6. Publish!
Blogging for Us – The Teachers of the Future!
Blogging is increasingly becoming more and more popular with students all over the country. Websites like Myspace and Facebook are based on the same ideas as blogging. In the future teachers may be able to save time and avoid plagiarism through providing and accepting assignments through a blogging system. Overall, this article provided us with effective information on using blogs in the classroom and provided information that makes it easy to apply to our future curriculums.
32 comments:
Great job!!! How did you do the different colors. I could not figure that part out.
Your site is different than group four. I like the way you added in other ideas that related to your article. Nice job.
i love the format that you guys choose. it really caught my eye. nice work!!
the comment above was posted by kim DAvis
group 5
I like that you all wrote about the risks and warnings of students being able to have access to blogs, what information they put out there, etc. Good job!
Your blog was really easy to read! I like how you guys broke it down into bullet points. It was very informative! Great job guys!
I like the format. My group also did this article and I thought that your blog was more of an outline of the original article though.
I like how you decided to go with almost an outline type format rather than an essay format. It made your post really easy to read. I thought it was informative too. Good Job!
Group Two...
Great job on your blog! i thought it was very important that you not only talked about how blogging is helpful in the classroom, but also added the risks it may provide. A big problem on the internet can be children leaving person information on websites, such as names, etc,. im glad that you went over the importance that teachers who choose to use blogs in their teaching must make sure the students are well informed of the use of the blogs.
I really like the way your blog is formatted. It was easy to read and I like how some points were bullet pointed. Great Job!
I like the way your group included the ways kids can learn by using blogs. I also like the way they put the warnings about blogs so teachers and students can properly use blogs. I also liked the way your group included sites to where people, such as teachers can get their students to start blogging.
The design of your blog was awesome. I also liked the way you broke down the article. If you needed specific information I felt like you could skim the article and find it easily.
This was a good article... I like that you guys added the WARNING section... alot of our articles use 'uses for blogging' and the 'positives' for blogging... but there are also things to be aware of, such as privacy and what type of behavior/language is acceptable.... Good job. =)
What an easy and nice flow this had. I really liked how you layed out the prep instructions for preparing a class to blog. Good job!
I loved your Blog! The information given was very useful. You even gave an explaination of what a Blog was. I thought it was very unique to not only tell the positive reasons for using Blogs but to also included the risks of using a Blog.
Really like your blogging site. Its one of the best that I've seem!
I found your format really really really fun!!Especially the little warning sign!! Ifound it informative, without being overbearing, so you could rea through it quickly, and still feel like you learned something.
Ok, its been said like 20 times, but I'm going to have to agree. This was a very good blog. Job well done. By putting the bold black background and easy to read paragraphs and bullets, it catches our attention and allows us to conveniently read through it. Also I liked the warning section. Very good points were made and I completely agree with them. Good job.
I like how your group broke up everything and provided a lot of information on blogging from every aspect. It was easy to follow. Good job!
For clarification...
I am the real Judy. I didn't post anything on September 1st.
On September 2, 2007, I posted my comments on Blog Three and Blog Six.
I liked how the summary was organized. It was easy to read and to the point. There was a lot of information to consider.
You guys did a nice job, I thought the blog was easy to read and covered all of the areas that it needed to. I liked how you gave the definition of a blog, the ways they are used and also the dangers. Anyone who didn't know about blogs before, knows now after reading your article.
The information you included in your blog was very helpful and informative. You did a good job covering the subject matter with important details and not irrelevent facts. I like how you even included steps on how to get started with blogging. Good Job!
This blog was nicely done. I like last section because of the reference to websites that are popular like myspace and facebook. It was a nice execution of technical writing.
I think your team did a great job. I liked how it was broken up into different sections. That made it more apealing to the eye and earier to understand. I also thought it was good how you all provided not only the benefits of blogging but you gave us the risks as well. Nice work!
I like the lay out of your blog. Although I think blogging is an efficient way to interact in the classroom, I like the points you made against it. There are precautions that students themselves have to be aware of not just the teachers. I thought your "warning" section was very informative because students do need to be aware of the con side of blogging.
i agree with everyone else, the layout was really eye catching. the information provided was also very easy to read and understand. good job!
Wow your team did a great job! It is organized very well and touches on all the major points of blogging in the classroom.
Great job! I really like how you added pictures it made the article a lot more interesting.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I thought it was well thought out and written very well. It was interesting that you also added in the risks of participating in Wiki's. It gave a whole different perspective. It is also nice to hear the negatives, so you can fully understand your options.
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