Blogs

**// What is a Blog (weB LOG)? //**
A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently. Source: http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html#B

While some blogging software permits readers to post their own comments, this feature has to be turned on by the blogger, and a significant number of prominent bloggers have not enabled the comment feature. At the other extreme, the Slashdot weblog, featuring news about technology and tech policy, is essentially written by its audience. What the best individual blogs tend to have in common is voice -- they are clearly written by human beings with genuine human passion. Source: http://www.blogscanada.ca/BlogDefinition.html

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not. Source: [|_http://www.blogger.com]

Examples of Blogs in Education
[|Super Students Blog] Students take turns reporting the daily happenings in their classroom. [|BookBlog] where students post answers to questions about books and reading. [|BookRaves] where students and teachers review books they have read. [|Poetry Blog] Teacher Bob Sprankle turns his kids onto blogs by publishing thier poems as they finish them. [|Primary Classroom Weblog] Another example of students reporting daily news. [|7th Grade Math] A math teacher posts assignments for students to respond to. Uses of Blogs in the Classroom Ideas for ways to use blogs in education. [|Developing Expert Voices Project] End of the year assignment and student work posted on blog. [|Class Blog Pre-Cal 20S] Students scribe notes from the day and post them to the class blog. [|Town Legends] Blogs provide an audience for student writing. [|Traders in Time] A project that partners with the author of the book, Traders in Time. [|Global Issues and US History] A highschool teacher posts assignments on blog for students to respond to. [|The Write Weblog] 5th graders chronicle their learning about writing [|Meriwether Lewis Elementary School] An example of a school using a blog for their school website. [|Traits Talk] A blog kept by a group of teachers sharing their experiences with 6 Traits Writing. [|The Principal’s Blog] at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School averages dozens of comments about each posted entry, and the vast majority come from the middle school’s own student body. [|Blogs for Kids] Librarian blogs, teacher blogs, author blogs, student blogs...

Uses of Blogs in Education
** You can encourage your students ** ( ** either on your weblog using the comments feature or on their own weblogs ** ) ** to blog... **
 * You might like to create a reflective, journal type blog to... **
 * reflect on your teaching experiences.
 * keep a log of teacher-training experiences.
 * write a description of a specific teaching unit.
 * describe what worked for you in the classroom or what didn't work.
 * provide some teaching tips for other teachers.
 * write about something you learned from another teacher.
 * explain teaching insights you gain from what happens in your classes.
 * share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom.
 * provide some how-to's on using specific technology in the class, describing how you used this technology in your own class.
 * explore important teaching and learning issues.
 * You might like to start a class blog to... **
 * post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework assignments and other pertinent class information.
 * post assignments based on literature readings and have students respond on their own weblogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work.
 * communicate with parents if you are teaching elementary school students.
 * post prompts for writing.
 * provide examples of classwork, vocabulary activities, or grammar games.
 * provide online readings for your students to read and react to.
 * gather and organize Internet resources for a specific course, providing links to appropriate sites and annotating the links as to what is relevant about them.
 * post photos and comment on class activities.
 * invite student comments or postings on issues in order to give them a writing voice.
 * publish examples of good student writing done in class.
 * show case student art, poetry, and creative stories.
 * create a dynamic teaching site, posting not only class-related information, but also activities, discussion topics, links to additional information about topics they are studying in class, and readings to inspire learning.
 * create a literature circle.
 * create an online book club.
 * make use of the commenting feature to have students publish messages on topics being used to develop language skills.
 * ask students to create their own individual course blogs, where they can post their own ideas, reactions and written work.
 * post tasks to carry out project-based learning tasks with students.
 * build a class newsletter, using student-written articles and photos they take.
 * link your class with another class somewhere else in the world
 * their reactions to thought-provoking questions.
 * their reactions to photos you post.
 * journal entries.
 * results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit.
 * their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class.
 * You can have your students create their own weblogs to... **
 * learn how to blog
 * complete class writing assignments.
 * create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing.
 * express their opinions on topics you are studying in class.
 * write comments, opinions, or questions on daily news items or issues of interest.
 * discuss activities they did in class and tell what they think about them (You, the teacher, can learn a lot this way!).
 * write about class topics, using newly-learned vocabulary words and idioms.
 * showcase their best writing pieces.
 * You can also ask your class to create a shared weblog to... **
 * complete project work in small groups, assigning each group a different task.
 * showcase products of project-based learning.
 * complete a WebQuest.

Source: http://www.pembinatrails.ca/program/technology/uses_of_blogs_in_education.htm

Creating Your Own Blog
Find out how to create a blog account and a new blog using [|Edublogs] [|Blogging with Edublogs] A wonderful educational site about blogging using Edublogs

//**[| Setting Up a Personal Blog in Blogger.doc]**//
 * How to Set Up a Personal Blog in Blogger**

[|Blogger] Easy to use online blogging program. [|Edublogs] Free education blogs [|Introduction to Edublogs Instructional Video]