Blogs

What is a blog?
Use this short video "Blogs in Plain English" to find you answer.

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__Reasons for use__
Blogs are websites in which users post their thoughts, writings, images, widgets, videos, and whatever else they would like to share with an audience online. Other can view and comment on what the author posts. It provides students with ownership over their own learning.

Content Ideas for Blogs
Here is a list of blog integration ideas from __[|Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms]__ (Will Richardson), pages 40-42
 * 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 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 blogs, creating a kind of portfolio of their work
 * communicate with parents
 * 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
 * showcase 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 (where groups of students read and discuss the same book)
 * create on 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 in the world


 * You can encourage your students to blog . . .**
 * their reactions to thought-provoking questions
 * their reactions to photos and content you post
 * journal entries
 * results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit
 * their homework
 * their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class
 * You can have your students create their own blogs 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
 * write about class topics, using newly learned vocabulary words and idioms
 * showcase their best writing pieces

==Here is a list of blogs that Jennifer Dorman from Discovery Educators (http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/blogworkshop) that you can look at to see how they can be utilized in your classroom.==
 * You can also ask your class to create a shared blog to . . .**
 * complete project work in small groups, assigning each group a different task
 * showcase products of project-based learning
 * complete a WebQuest
 * [|The Year of the Hangman] - Eric Langhorst
 * [|25 Days to Make a Difference]
 * [|Nina Writes: Stories About Making a Difference]
 * [|Room One] - Mapua School
 * [|The Daily D] - Mrs. Dorman
 * [|Weblogg-ed] - Will Richardson
 * [|The Secret Life of Bees] - Mr. Richardson
 * [|Excellence and Imagination] - Clarence Fisher
 * [|Room 208/209] - Bob Sprankle
 * [|The Sam Jackson College Experience]
 * [|Egypt Days]
 * [|Cliotech] - Jennifer Dorman
 * [|Madness in the Method]
 * [|A Really Different Place - Mattea's Blog]
 * [|A Really Different Place - Main Blog]
 * [|Blog-ology]
 * [|Mrs. Smith's Honors Class]
 * [|AP Calculus AB]
 * [|Top 100 Education Blogs]

Video "Why let our students blog?"
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