Blogs+-+Instructional+Uses

= = =What is a Blog?media type="custom" key="2218127"=



Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a USER GENERATED journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. The entries (or Posts) are often displayed in chronological order.

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." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

Blogs can also contain links to other sites, images, movies, podcasts, and so on. Sometimes you can embed the movies (i.e.. from teachertube.com) directly into your blog (meaning it shows up as part of your page and not a link to another page) other times you just provide links to other sites that contain the content (which is better in terms of your storage quota).

Many blogs focus on a **particular** topic, such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author's daily life and thoughts. Generally speaking (although there are exceptions), blogs tend to have a few things in common:
 * A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest on top. Often, the articles are organized into categories.
 * An archive of older articles.
 * A way for people to leave comments about the articles.
 * A list of links to other related sites, sometimes called a "blogroll".
 * One or more "[|**feeds**]" like RSS.

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=Rationale for Using Blogs in Education= > >
 * 1) [|Rationale for Educational Blogging] by Anne Davis
 * 2) [|Quotes From Blogging Teachers] by David Warlick
 * 3)   [|Sample Blogging Assignments -ISTE Aligned] by David Warlick
 * 4)   [|A Vision for Classroom Blogging]- Anne Davis
 * 5) [|20 Reasons Why Students Should Blog]- Anne Mirtschin
 * 6) [|Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally]- Andrew Churches

=Blogging As an Educational Tool=


 * Sample Instructional Blogs**


 * 1) [|Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog] 1st grade class blog from Canada (ClassBlogmeister)
 * 2) [|A Duck with a Blog] school-wide elementary blog (Edublogs)
 * 3) [|Ms. Boyd's Grade 2/3 Blog] class blog for sharing student work from New Zealand (Blogger)
 * 4) [|Ms. Boyd's Writing Blog]class writing blog from New Zealand (Blogger)
 * 5) [|Mrs. Watt's 4th Grade Computer Class Blog] notice the use of categories
 * 6) [|Ms. Fullerton's 5th Grade Class Blog] (ClassBlogmeister)
 * 7) [|Mr. Klein's 5th Grade Blog] students take turns summarizing the day's activities (EduBlogs)
 * 8) [|Room5@Work] Mr. Baker's 5th grade class blog--notice the blog rules
 * 9) [|Mrs. Markwart Grade 6/7 Class Blog] teamed up with another class (ClassBlogmeister)
 * 10) [|Mr. Fisher's Class Blog] check out colonization blogs (EduBlogs)
 * 11) [|Guerrilla Season Book Blog] 8th grade book discussion blog with interaction from author (Blogger)
 * 12) [|Ms. Winze's Orchestra Blog] middle school orchestra teacher's blog (EduBlogs)
 * 13) [|Ms. Martinos' Algebra Class Blog] discussion of word problems (EduBlogs)
 * 14) [|Kakos Grade 10 English Blog] use blog to develop thesis statements (Blogger)
 * 15) [|Mrs. Hopkins American Literature Class Blog] students take on character role in blog throughout course (21Classes)
 * 16) [|12th Grade Class Blog] (21Classes)
 * 17) [|Student's Senior Thesis Blog] Every student has a blog to chronicle the development of senior thesis (Blogger)
 * 18) [|Novel Discussion Blog] //Their Eyes Were Watching God// Novel Discussion in groups (LearnerBlogs)
 * 19) Hamlet Character Blogs check out the ghost under group 4 (LearnerBlogs)
 * 20) [|Pre- Cal 20S] a math blog in which the teacher shares slides of daily lessons and also students take turns as "scribes" summarizing daily lessons (Blogger)


 * VBCPS User Blogs**
 * 1) Kempsville Middle School Blog
 * 2) [|Northern Ireland Project]
 * 3) [|MrMayo's Blog]
 * 4) [|Mr. Gibbs Class Blog]
 * 5) [|Trantwood ES Blog]
 * 6) [|Malkin Class Blog]


 * Educational Technlogy Blogs**
 * 1) [|2 Cents Worth]
 * 2) [|Alan November Weblog]
 * 3) [|BlogBoard]
 * 4) [|Blue Skunk Blog]
 * 5) [|Infinite Thinking Machine]
 * 6) [|Kathy's Kaffeeklatsch]
 * 7) [|learning.now]
 * 8) [|Moving at the Speed of Creativity]
 * 9) [|The Savvy Technologist]
 * 10) [|teach42.com]
 * 11) [|Teachers Training Teachers]
 * 12) [|The Tech Savvy Educator]
 * 13) [|weblogg-ed]
 * 14) http://www.tommarch.com/ozblog/
 * 15) http://practicaltheory.org/serendipity/
 * 16) http://chalkdust101.wordpress.com/
 * 17) http://khokanson.blogspot.com/
 * 18) http://intrepidteacher.edublogs.org/

= =

=Blogging Sites=

There are many Blog sites available both free and for purchase. However, [|edublogs] and [|21Classes] are the most frequently used sites in Virginia Beach.

Other examples of Blog Writing Tools include:


 * Blogger.com - free, host on your server or theirs with advertisements
 * [|Easyjournal] - free
 * [|Tribe.net] - free
 * [|Crimson Blog] - free, but might include pop ups
 * [|weblogger.com] - not free
 * [|Radio UserLand] - desktop software you buy - requires some server space for publishing
 * [|TypePad] - not free
 * [|Xanga] - free basic service

= Practice Using Blogs =

[|21 Classes Practice Blog]
=Creating a 21Classes Blog=

Most other services mainly offer blogs for individuals. With 21Classes you can become a blog host yourself in minutes. 21Classes is specifically designed to be used by teachers as it gives teachers complete control over content and student blog entries as well as security settings for their students� accounts. The site admin panel allows central control over the whole network.
 * What differentiates 21Classes from other blogs services?**


 * Key features of 21Classes**
 * Class homepage to communicate with students
 * Independent yet inter-connected blog accounts for students
 * Central console to manage students accounts with control over accounts and content
 * Multiple Options for registration process
 * Review capabilities of student entries
 * Upload images or insert videos
 * Make all or selected students' writings private



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=Creating an Edublogs Blog= [|Edublogs Overview]

Directions:

Other turorials specific to Edublogs: [|Writing posts and pages] [|Customizing your design] [|Configuring your settings] [|Playing with your plugins] [|Managing 'Users'] [|Using the 'Manage' tab]

 Here is a 45 minute tutorial to further help you create your Blog. media type="youtube" key="MWYi4_COZMU&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"