How to Use Blogs in the Classroom
Teachers, Educators and Professors are increasingly using blogs, wikis, social-networking sites, and video-sharing sites in the classroom setting to enhance the teaching and learning experiences. These new technologies give students the opportunity to refine their thinking by connecting with and writing to a larger audience.
Blogs are becoming a popular teaching tool. Edublogs.org is the blogging resource that I use to host two blogs for the courses that I teach and the third that I write to share random thoughts on blogging in cyberspace. They makes it very easy for teachers and students to start blogging.
Lets take a look at blogging in the classroom.
Education Blog = Edublog
Highlights of the Edublog Lens
- Top Uses for an Edublog
- Positive Features of Using a Classroom Blog
- Edublog on Wikipedia
- Blogs Create a Shared Learning Experience
- Reasons to Use Edublogs' Edublog
- The Networked Teacher
- Networked Student on YouTube
- More about Networked Teachers and Networked Students
- 10 Ways to Use Your Edublog to Teach
- Using Blogs to Connect with a Larger Audience
- Why Let Our Students Blog? on YouTube
- Get Started Blogging with Edublogs
- The Latest News from The Edublogger
- How to Create an Edublog on YouTube
- How to use the Edublogs Posting Interface on YouTube
- Voki Speaking Avatars are Cool
- Ways to Use a Voki in the Classroom
- Voki - Avatars in Education Lens
- How to Add a Voki to Your Blog
- Using Vokis in Education and in an Edublog
- How to Add Voicethread to Edublogs on YouTube
- A Featured Lens on Web Resources for Educators
Top Uses for an Edublog
Teach.
Blog.
Blog about Teaching.
Teach about Blogging.
Classroom Blogging in the Amazon Spotlight
Classroom Blogging: 2nd Edition
Amazon Price: $18.85 (as of 12/23/2009)
Author David Warlick takes a look at blogs, wikis and other tools that are shaping a new information landscape in his book Classroom Blogging.
This book will help teachers become bloggers and how to make their students bloggers.
Positive Features of Using a Classroom Blog
He has students in his Social Issues in a Networked Society keep their own blogs.
Source: Sanchez J. October 2006. Teaching with Blogs. University of Texas at Austin.
- Student Feedback
Direct, personal feedback can be provided to each student every week. - Student Evaluation
Determine if students are understanding the course material by reading their blogs. - In Class Examples
Student Blog posts can be used as examples in class when explaining new concepts or to review previous concepts. - Paper Topics
Blogs can be utilized to help the students select their paper topics in class based on topics that the student may blog about. - Student/teacher Conferences or Interaction
Joe Sanchez felt that by writing weekly comments to the students his office hours were being utilized by every student. In addition he was able to have ongoing dialogues throughout the semester on a very personal level. - Knowing Your Students
Reading Students Blogs may give an instructor more insight into their students, learning about their acadmic goals, interest and online activities. - Teachable Moments
When students write about their experiences in a blog they provide the instructor with many teachable moments that naturally emerge during the course of a class.
Link to Teaching with Blogs Article
- Teaching with Blogs | EDUCAUSE CONNECT
- An article on Teaching with Blogs by Joe Sanchez from the University of Texas at Austin.
Edublog on Wikipedia
An edublog is a blog written by someone with a stake in education. Examples might include blogs written by or for teachers, blogs maintained for the purpose of classroom instruction, or blogs written about educational policy. The collection of these blogs is called the edublogosphere by some, in keeping with the larger blogosphere, although that label is not necessarily universally agreed upon. (Others refer to the community or collection of blogs and bloggers as the edusphere.) Similarly, educators who blog are sometimes called edubloggers. Communities of edubloggers occasionally gather for meetups or unconference sessions organized using a wiki at edubloggercon.com.
Blogs are a real force.
Carlos Watson
Reader Feedback on using Blogs in the Classroom
What do you think about using blogs in the classroom?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byGreat idea.
das_danger says:
its a great idea considering so many children are computer oriented anyhow.
Posted May 01, 2009
Comfortdoc says:
If you are interested in using Blogs in the Classroom, see the Edublog website, http://edublogs.org.
If you are interested in using Vokis in the Classroom, see the Voki in education page, http://www.squidoo.com/voki.
Posted February 22, 2009
Madz** says:
I would like more obvious links on this site. To get to make new sites and to make avatars.
Posted February 13, 2009
Are you crazy?
Blogs Create a Shared Learning Experience
Whether its blogs, or wikis, or RSS, all roads now point to a Web where little is done in isolation . . .
That's not to say that in this new world students don't do their own work. But it does mean that responsibility for that work is in some way shared.
Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants.
From TechLearning's review of Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms on Amazon
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
Amazon Price: (as of 12/23/2009)
A comprehensive guide on how to incorporate podcasts, screen-casting, blogs and other multimedia features into today's classroom.
Described as "An absolute must for anyone attempting to keep up-to-date with Web tools for the classroom."
Edublogs - Education Blogs
Edublogs: Blogging Made Easy for Teachers & Students
More Information on Education Blogs
- Edublogs - education blogs
- Get free education blogs at Edublogs
- Edublogs Campus - Create, manage and control your own edublogs
- Create, manage and control your own edublogs
Reasons to Use Edublogs' Edublog
- You can sign up for a free education blog in seconds.
- You can use it to transform your teaching or talk to other teachers.
- It is powered by WordPress, the best blogging tool on the web.
- It is safe, secure, supported and 100% free of charge.
- You can embed video, create podcasts and customize your space.
Brief Edublog Review
Edublogs are...really easy and enjoyable to use.
P. Donaghy
How Edublogs Makes Blogging Easy
- You can effortlessly create and manage students blogs.
- Edublogs is packed with useful features and customizable themes.
- Edublogs is ready made for podcasting, videos, photos and more.
- Edublogs provide step by step support with our helpful video tutorials.
Blogs, video-sharing websites,
and social-networking sites give students the opportunity to tune their thinking and writing to a larger audience.
The Social Web
- The Social Web from Technology & Learning
- A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. This article takes a look at tech guru Will Richardson's new book, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms."
The Networked Teacher
Image Source: Alec Couros. Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Canada.. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
Networked Student on YouTube
The Networked Student concept map was inspired by Alec Couros' Networked Teacher.
More about Networked Teachers and Networked Students
- The Networked Teacher | The Edublogs Magazine
- This popular graphic of the Networked Teacher represents the modern teacher.
- The Clever Sheep: The Networked Teacher
- One of my e-learning colleagues pointed me to this image that speaks to much of what I've been writing and podcasting about. It was posted quite a while ago, but many teachers would still be unable to relate to many of the terms on this diagram.
- The Networked Student...in plain English
- This CommonCraft inspired video does an excellent job of explaining what a truly networked student looks like. And more importantly, what the teachers role is for them.
- The Networked Student, The Networked Teacher
- Beth Knittle's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom.
- Future VLE - The Visual Version
- The Future of VLE or Virtual Learning Environment from Scott Wilson's Workblog.
- Scott Wilson's Future PLE Diagram
- Jason Rhode, PhD discusses Scott Wilson PLE (Personal Learning Environment) diagram.
Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools in the Amazon Spotlight
Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools
Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 12/23/2009)
Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging Web 2.0 technologies and their use in the classroom and in professional development.
Topics include blogging as a natural tool for writing instruction, wikis and their role in project collaboration, podcasting as a useful means of presenting information and ideas, and how to use Web 2.0 tools for professional development.
10 Ways to Use Your Edublog to Teach
Source: Edublogs.org 10 ways to use your edublog to teach.
Note the spelling has been adjusted for an American audience.
- Post materials and resources
The web is a fantastic tool when it comes to distributing resources - all you have to do on your Edublog is upload, or copy and paste, your materials to your blog and they'll be instantly accessible by your student from school and from home. What's more, you can easily manage who gets to access them through password and plugin safety measures. - Host online discussions
If you've ever struggled to create an online discussion space - you're going to love what edublogs will do for you. Students can simply respond to blog posts and discuss topics you've set them through comments of through our simple forum functionality - commentators can also sign up to receive emails when their comments are replied to and you can easily manage and edit all responses through your blog's administrative panel. - Create a class publication
Do you remember the good old days of class newspapers? Well, they just got a lot easier with your Edublog - you can add students as contributors, authors and even editors in order to produce a custom designed, finely tuned and engaging collaborative online publication by your class. - Replace your newsletter
Always enjoyed photocopying and stapling pages and pages of newsletters on a Friday afternoon? Though not! It's ridiculously simple to post class information, news, events and more on your edublog. - Get your students blogging
It's all very good sending your students off to blog sites, or even creating them for them, but you need to operate as a hub for their work and a place where they can easily visit each others blogs from. Your Edublog can be used to glue together your students blogs, and besides which, if you're asking your students to blog--you should certainly be doing it yourself. - Share your lesson plans
We all love planning and admin, right? Well, using an Edublog can turn planning and reflection on classes into a genuinely productive - and even collaborative - experience. Sharing your plans, your reflections, your ideas and your fears with other educators both at your school and around the world using an edublog is a great way to develop as a teacher, and a brilliant use of a blog. - Integrate multimedia of all descriptions
With a couple of clicks you can embed online video, multimedia presentations, slideshows and more into your edublog and mix it up with your text and static resources. No CDs required, no coding necessary - just select the video, podcasts or slidecast you'd like to use and whack it in your blog to illustrate, engage and improve your teaching toolbox. - Organize, organize, organize
You don't only have to use your edublog as a pedagogue--you can equally easily use the tools to organize everything from sports teams in your school, to rehearsals for the upcoming production. You can set up as many edublogs as you like, so don't be afraid to use a dedicated one for a dedicated event - your can even use it as a record to look back on down the line. - Get feedback
here's nothing that says you can't allow anonymous commenting on a blog (although you're also entirely within your rights to put all comments through moderation!) but why not think about using a blog as a place for students - and even parents, to air issues, leave feedback or generally tell you how great you are. - Create a fully functional website
One of the great things about Edublogs are that they are much, much more than just blogging tools. In fact, you can use your edublog to create a multi-layered, in-depth, multimedia rich website - that hardly looks like a blog at all. So, if you'd rather create a set of static content, archive of important information or even index for your library - you can bend an Edublog to suit your needs.
Blogs - Different Things to Different People
Blogs can be so many different things
to so many different people.
Lee Rainie
RSS for Educators in the Amazon Spotlight
RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/23/2009)
Expert, author John Hendron shows how to use a news aggregator to harness the power of RSS for a variety of purposes, including classroom projects, professional development, and keeping students and parents informed.
Many Web 2.0 tools, including blogs, podcasts, and wikis, have been made even more useful with the advent of RSS technology.
Using Blogs to Connect with a Larger Audience
Teachers are using blogs, social-networking sites, and video-sharing sites in the school setting are giving young people the opportunity to tune their thinking and writing to a larger audience.
When students know that anyone in the school with an Internet connection - or around the world, for that matter - can read what they have written or created, it is remarkable how quickly their thinking improves, not to mention the final product.
Source: Mark Franek. September 2007. Web pulls world into classroom. The Christian Science Monitor.
Why Let Our Students Blog? on YouTube
Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy on Amazon
Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy: The Next Powerful Step in 21st-Century Learning
Amazon Price: $27.95 (as of 12/23/2009)
Author Diane Penrod takes a look at the the social, developmental, and pedagogical issues surrounding the use of blogs to enhance literacy.
She also addresses the implications that blogging has for current and future students in 21st century learning.
One Laptop Per Child Connects Children
One Laptop Per Child offers another way for students to connect by giving them computers.-
One Laptop Per Child the Gift that Gives Twice for Christmas in 2008
-
In 2007 Americans bought 100,000 laptops for children across the world. This year, One Laptop Per Child hopes to give 1 million laptops to children in the least developed countries around the world for 2008. Once again you can give a laptop and get...
Books on Blogging and Education Available on Amazon
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
Amazon Price: (as of 12/23/2009)
RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/23/2009)
Making the Most of the Web in Your Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis, Pages, and Sites
Amazon Price: $28.95 (as of 12/23/2009)
Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy: The Next Powerful Step in 21st-Century Learning
Amazon Price: $27.95 (as of 12/23/2009)
Blogger Essential Training
Amazon Price: $49.95 (as of 12/23/2009)
Get Started Blogging with Edublogs
The Latest News from The Edublogger
The Edublogger is the official 'how to' Edublogs blog. Edited by Sue Waters, it contains lots of advice, directions and discussion about how to make the most out of your blog and other web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byHow to Create an Edublog on YouTube
Edublogs Video Tutorials
- Video Tutorial | Edublogs - teacher and student blogs
- Welcome to Edublogs Video Tutorials - each of the videos below is less than 5 minutes long and between 4-8 MB in size.
How to use the Edublogs Posting Interface on YouTube
Blogging Reflects a Desire to be More Public
Reality TV, blogging and self-publishing are all evidence of a society's or culture's desire to be more public.
And that's a sign of a healthy or energetic culture.
Maureen Corrigan
My Collection of Edublogs
My Edublog: Nutrition & Wellness Bio 50
Established for the face to face and online versions of the Nutrition & Wellness College Course that I teach.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMy Edublog: Grief, Loss & Bereavement Edublog
Established for the online Graduate Course, HSP 5200, Grieving Family Systems Course that I teach.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMy Edublog: Ruminations of an Online Instructor
Established as a place to share reflections from a Physician - Professor on Teaching and Blogging in CyberSpace.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byVox + Loki = Voki
"Vox" is Latin for voice.
"Loki" is a prankster character in Norse Mythology.
Voki Speaking Avatars are Cool
Voki speaking avatars are cool and lots of fun to create; educators use them to add a human element to their sites or to engage students.
Sue Waters
Edublogger
Image Source: NutritionDoc Voki. (This is the one that my daughters think looks the most like me.)
Ways to Use a Voki in the Classroom
Source: Helen Otway. January 2008. Voki avatars in the classroom. More than just knowing stuff! Edublog.
- Students can create avatars that are similar in looks or personalities and record a message that tells about themselves.
- Students can exchange these avatars with e-pals either within their own setting or anywhere in the world.
- Students can generate questions to ask their avatar e-pals.
- ESL (English as a Second Language) students can use the speaking avatars to practice and listen to their speech. They may use the computerised voice first then record their own voice when they feel more comfortable. Writing, reading and pronunciation are all practised.
- Students can create an avatar that resembles a character from a story, add a setting and give it speech. The speech could be from the story or a creative point of view (POV) from the character on an event.
Voki - Avatars in Education Lens
There was so much on using Vokis in Education that I decided to devote an entire lens to the topic.-
Voki - Avatars in Education
-
A Voki is a talking voice character, a computer-generated version of oneself. The more generic term for a Voki is a speaking avatar, a digital representation of a person or being. Teachers and educators are discovering some of the unique roles these...
Using Vokis in Education and in an Edublog
Voki is a combination of "vox", which is Latin for voice, and "Loki", which, is a prankster character in Norse Mythology.
- Adding A Voki Speaking Avatar To Your Blog Sidebar | The Edublogger
- Voki speaking avatars are cool and lots of fun to create; educators use them to add a human element to their sites or to engage students. But they can be a bit
- Adding A Voki Speaking Avatar To A Post or Page of Your Blog | The Edublogger
- Our last post showed how to add a Voki speaking avatar to your blog sidebar using a Text box widget. Why? Because voki avatars are cool and lots of fun to
- Get a Voki Speaking Avatar to Greet Visitors to Your Site and More... - Classroom 2.0
- Add "human" element your website check out my new voki avatar meta web 2.0 avatar, and then publish your blog website use your voki avatar introduce topics aid instruction those better audio/visual learners http://voki.com get voki now!
- Voki avatars in the classroom | More than just knowing stuff!
- Over the last week I have been playing with Voki.com to create my own speaking avatar to embed into my blog or ning pages. The avatars can be customised by
- Voki Home
- Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters--animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone.
- All teachers are learners - All learners are teachers
- Thoughts on using Voki's for students from Lauren O Grady with a great potential in the classroom for students not comfortable being videoed.
How to Add Voicethread to Edublogs on YouTube
More about VoiceThread
- VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, docs, and videos
- A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or phone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam).
Education and Blogging Resources on Amazon
A Featured Lens on Web Resources for Educators
Another lens with information about Web Resources for Educators.-
Web Resources for Educators
-
It's an incredibly exciting time to be a teacher. There are a growing number of resources on the web for teachers and students alike. The purpose of this lens is not only compile a list of some of the amazing tools strewn about the web, but also to r...
The Latest Comments to the Edublogger
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBlogs are not just for geeks anymore.
Carlos Watson
The Latest Blog Buzz about Edublogs
- Reflections on winning the Edublogs Award | anseo.net
- Having said this, I'm absolutely thrilled to have this achievement to add to my site and I'm very proud to have the Edublog awards badge positioned on the front of Anseo.net for evermore. Click the stars to rate the post from 1 to 5: 1 ...
- Edublogs awards – thanks! | Bright ideas
- Thank you so much to ards 2009ll the people who took the time to vote for Bright Ideas and other blogs that were nominated in the 2009 edublogs awards. The.
- The 2009 Edublogs Awards Ceremony and Results… this week! – The ...
- The 2009 Edublogs Awards Ceremony and Results? this week! Dec 13th, 2009. by Sue Waters. There's only days till the Edublog Awards Ceremony?.so it's time to record the details in your Calendar! This year the event will be held in ...
- Introducing Premium Support And Premium Themes | Edublogs ...
- Christmas has come nice and early for Edublogs supporters, with two fabulous new features in your Supporter Tab. Premium Support Do you have a question about.
The Latest News about Education Blogs
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMore about Donors Choose
An organization that helps teachers fund educational projects like using computer technology in the classroom.-
Donors Choose
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DonorsChoose.org is dedicated to addressing the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and experiences in our public schools. DonorsChoose.org attracts contributors from all walks of life through an approach called Citizen Phila...
Donate to Donors Choose
DonorsChoose.org is dedicated to addressing the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and experiences in our public schools.
Reader Feedback on Edublogs
Do you have an Edublog? Would you use an Edublog?
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Reply
- RuntFarmSeries RuntFarmSeries Nov 19, 2009 @ 3:30 pm
- Thanks for a wonderful primer on how Web 2.0 is changing education in some interesting and exciting ways. Many parents and teachers seem to be worried that "getting wired" makes children less active learners. Your lens explains so clearly and informatively how blogging and connectivity can build a powerful learning experience. Love the "Networked Student" video you included here. Nice work! 5 *****
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Reply
- spirituality spirituality Apr 18, 2009 @ 3:24 am
- Great lens - you've been blessed by a squidoo angel :)
Benefiting Donors Choice
This lens benefits Donors Choose, an organization that allows teachers to propose projects to teach and benefit students. by Comfortdoc
Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT is a respected physician, an expert in life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement, professional health educator, professor...
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