Educational blogging?

WHAT, WHY, & HOW…

1. Video: Blogs in Plain English by leelefever (November 30, 2007)
2. What Exactly is a Blog, Anyway? by Andy Carvin (May 22, 2006) PBS Teachers: Learning.now
3. Kids are blogging their brains out:Students in Glenwood Springs are learning to take pride in writing, teachers say by Pete Fowler (April 7, 2007) Vail Daily beta
4. Profs contribute to new blog by Alan Montes (September 20, 2006) Yale Daily News
5. Panelists: Blogs are changing education – winners of the first-ever ‘Best of Education Blog’ Awards discuss blogging’s impact on teaching on learning by Dennis Pierce (March 24, 2006) eSchool News Technology News for Today’s K-20 Educator
6. Favorite Education Blogs of 2008 by Jay Matthews (April 7, 2008) Washingtonpost.com
7. Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes (2004) Educause Review, vol. 39, no. 5 (September/October 2004): 14-26
8. Bloggers Cafe: A Vision for Classroom Blogging (PDF Download to read) by Anne Davis (2008) International Society for Technology in Education: 7
9. Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally by Andrew Churches (April 1, 2008) techLEARNING Educators eZine
10. 20 reasons why students should blog by Anne M. (March 14, 2008) On an e-journey with generation Y

*GUHSDAZ has approved the use of Edublogs – a free blogging platform

Mrs. G’s Suggestions for blog site uses with students

• Establish calendars for homework and other class information
• Use it as a way to communicate with parents
• Post prompts for writing
• Create authentic writing purposes with immediate audiences
• Provide examples of class work, vocabulary activities, or games to reinforce instruction
• Provide online readings for students to read, react to, and write from
• Gather and provide links to internet resources for specific purposes
• Create activities (WebQuest & Launch Pages)
• Have students initiate the post to be responded to
• Provide links to additional information about topic being studied in class – readings to inspire learning
• Create a literature circle
• Create an online book club, poetry club, creative writing club, etc.
• Have students create their own individual course blogs – post their ideas, reactions, and written work (electronic portfolio aspect)
• Build a newsletter with student-written articles and photos they take
• Use to generate a project-based learning
• Peer responses to each other’s writing
• Link to other classes somewhere in the world