Blogging

= ﻿ ﻿Blogging With Blogger =

What is a blog?
media type="custom" key="7316961" "Blogs in Plain English." 30 November 2007. Online video clip. Teacher Tube. 26 November 2010. < [] > ﻿  A blog is a page on the Internet, a way to publish to the Web. At first, blogs were called Web logs. They served as a place where people could log places they visited while on the Internet. Over time, users began to communicate comments and reflections about the sites they were visiting, resluting in ongoing conversations about the Web sites. Most times, blogs focus on particular topics and contain links, pictures, lists, videos or other media sources related to the blog topic. ﻿ Simply put, blogs allows groups of people to communicate with each other on specific topics.

Making Thinking Visible
Blogging encourages students to think about and expand on ideas and thoughts about their content, culture and community. Blogs allow students opportunities to interact with content and other students' work using background knowledge and current understandings to respond to new ideas, comment on posts, and make real-world connections. The blog becomes an interactive community focusing on learning and sharing information as students read and then comment on what they have read.

Things to Think About

 * Consider the audience - why someone would visit the blog
 * Establish goals: instructional, classroom community, purpose, etc.
 * Use a schedule for posting: how often should posting and commenting occur?
 * Allow students to vary length of entries
 * Have students write on themes
 * Provide content resources for students
 * Have students use digital cameras and scanners to incorporate graphics and other media into a blog
 * Match the tool to the project based on the authentic purpose and audience: author biography, photos, descripting headlines, links, categories, etc.

Ways to use Blogs in the Classroom

 * ** ﻿ Teachers** || **Students** ||
 * post class information / weekly newsletter || write own blog / daily journal ||
 * post assignments / vocabulary lists || reflect on what they think about specific topics as they write about those topics ||
 * reading material for students / practice exercises || learning log / E-portfolio of student work ||
 * sharing student work || reading response journal ||
 * link resources that relate to topics of current study || gathering data ||
 * networking || sharing experiences ||
 * organize/conduct in-class discussions || online debate ||
 * resources for parents || assignment review - a record of incremental progress ||
 * lesson plans || student newspapers ||
 * absent student information || photo essays ||

Google's Blog Tool

 * Go to [|www.blogger.com]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sign in using your Google account. If you do not have a Google account you will have to create one.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Enter a blog title and choose a blog address. This is the address visitors will use to access your blog. Do not include odd symbols or spaces. It may take a couple of tries before you find an address that has not been previously taken.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Choose a template you like for your blog
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">You are ready to begin posting and customizing your blog

Google Widgets for Your Blog

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Google Maps
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Google Forms
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Google Calendar

Other Widgets of Interest

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Video from TeacherTube or YouTube
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Voki
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Flickr
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">SlideShare
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ISSUU
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Poll Daddy

Resources Used to Create Page
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Heskett, Tracie. __Blogging in the Classroom__. Westminster: Teacher Created Resources, Inc., 1999. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Worcester, Tammy. __Google Tools for Teaching and Learning__. Eugene: Visions Technology in Education, 2009.