Blogging
Grades: All
What is a Blog? A blog is a type of website where the owner shares information or opinions on a semi-regular basis, and invites others to comment.
Anyone who has something to say and is looking for an audience can be a blogger. Blogging has become popular with people in many different fields, such as science, entertainment, politics, sports, gardening, cooking, parenting, as well as in education.
Here is a Teacher Tube Video called Blogs in Plain English - it explains blogging in simple terms. (If you have a TT account, you can login to skip the initial ad - if not, it's short!)
Blogs have 2 components: a POST, written by the person who owns the blog, and COMMENTS, written by guests as a response to the post.
There are different ways that you can use blogs with your students:
Here are 3 good Blog sites you might consider:
WRDSB Wordpress Blogs - http://blogs.wrdsb.ca
KidBlog - http://kidblog.org
InstaBlogg - http://instablogg.com
InstaBlogg allows you to create one-time-only blog posts, without having to set up an account. It's a great way to try out blogging, without a long term commitment.
Here are some suggestions of what you and your students might blog about:
Here are some blog resources / teacher blogs:
Happy Blogging!
What is a Blog? A blog is a type of website where the owner shares information or opinions on a semi-regular basis, and invites others to comment.
Anyone who has something to say and is looking for an audience can be a blogger. Blogging has become popular with people in many different fields, such as science, entertainment, politics, sports, gardening, cooking, parenting, as well as in education.
Here is a Teacher Tube Video called Blogs in Plain English - it explains blogging in simple terms. (If you have a TT account, you can login to skip the initial ad - if not, it's short!)
Blogs have 2 components: a POST, written by the person who owns the blog, and COMMENTS, written by guests as a response to the post.
There are different ways that you can use blogs with your students:
- The teacher creates the posts and the students in the class write comments as a response to the post. (This is a great way to start.)
- Both the teacher and the students in the class can create posts and comments. (This is very empowering for students, but becomes much more work to keep up with, and monitor, fyi.)
- The teacher invites a guest to create a post on the class blog, for example: an author, actor, business person, someone from the community, etc.
- The class invites another class to blog with them. (This can be a class down the hall, or a class in another school, another city, or another country!)
Here are 3 good Blog sites you might consider:
WRDSB Wordpress Blogs - http://blogs.wrdsb.ca
- these blogs are hosted locally on a board server
- you can sign up for a WRDSB blog at the link above and set it up yourself, or you can sign up and take a course through PD place, or you can follow the directions on my blog course outline at http://blogs.wrdsb.ca/watts/category/workshop
KidBlog - http://kidblog.org
- this is an awesome blog site to use with students - very simple to set up and easy to use with students - very limited choice of templates and settings
- KidBlog is designed to give every student the ability to create posts, as well as comment
InstaBlogg - http://instablogg.com
InstaBlogg allows you to create one-time-only blog posts, without having to set up an account. It's a great way to try out blogging, without a long term commitment.
- In a few minutes, you can create a post and be ready to share it with your students!
Here are some suggestions of what you and your students might blog about:
- current events
- your classroom read aloud novel
- special events going on in the class or school
- class trips
- anything your students love to discuss and share opinions about
- a favorite debate topic
- creative solutions to problems
- a brainstormed list
- ask your students for blog post suggestions!
Here are some blog resources / teacher blogs:
- Blogging in the Classroom
- a sample parent letter
- my Technology Support blog
- Mark Carbone's blog
- some award winning educational blogs
Happy Blogging!