9.15.2008

Thing 3 - Blogs in Education

As you've seen, blogs are easy to create and maintain and can often be created for free using one of a number of blog services. They also encourage interaction through the use of comments and many services allow users to upload media (images, videos). For these reasons, blogs are great classroom tools. Educators use blogs as student writing spaces, classroom organizers, professional reflection spaces, and for many more purposes.

Take a few minutes to have a look at these education-related blogs. Some of them are intended to be used with students, others are not. Remember that people express themselves in different ways and you may not enjoy everyone's writing style or the content of their blogs. They are merely examples of how educators are blogging.

James Logan Courier - high school student journalism
Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog - 1st grade, Moose Jaw, Canada
Teaching Learners with Mutiple Special Needs - resources
librarian.net - putting the rarin back in librarian...
ScienceFix.com - middle school science
Bud the Teacher - about teaching
Hobo Teacher - comical, about teaching
G-Town Talks - from a school superintendent
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day - for ELL, ESL, & EFL
Check Out Class Blogs! - nice list of classroom blogs
List of blogs related to education in various categories
100 Most Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Educators

Then, give some thought to how you might use a blog in your classroom. Read this good post for some ideas.



To complete Thing 3 you must:
A. Post a comment on this blog
B. Post a comment to another blog of your choice
C. Look at your blog settings
D. Reflect on Thing 3 on your blog




A. Post a Comment
Scroll down to the bottom of this page and you'll find a link to "post a comment." Clicking it will allow you to leave a comment about this entry. Go ahead and do that. Then, remember that you can leave a comment for any of the 23 Things assignment entries. (However, if you have a question that needs an immediate answer, it's better to email us!)

B. Comment Again
Comments are important in the blogosphere. They provide feedback to the blogger, allow the blogger to get to know his/her audience, and connect bloggers who write about similar topics. Now that you're in a commenting mood, go back up to the list of education blogs (edublogs) listed above and post to at least one of them. Or better yet, visit the blogs of other participants in this project (listed on the right) and post a comment on one of them. Depending on the blog service used and settings applied, posting comments may require information like your name or email address, or they may allow anonymous comments. Some might have the comments setting turned off and not allow you to leave any at all.

C. Your Blog Settings
Login to your blog dashboard and have a look at the settings, including how to turn comments on/off (but do not turn your comments off, as we will leave comments on your blog!) Watch the video for a brief overview of blog settings.




D. Reflect - Blog Prompts for Thing 3
How might a blog support the work you do? How might you use a blog with students? How might they respond to a blog assignment? What concerns do you have about educational blogging?








50 comments:

  1. I like the Special Needs blog because it brings back memories of my some Trey and all the work he has do in the classroom.

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  2. I thought the blogs were great! The websites of the day are interesting and entertaining. I also liked the blogs given in a lists according to grades, how perfect for someone just beginning a blog or running out of ideas on what to include!

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  3. Moose Jaw and Yellowknife, Canada have always intrigued me because of their remoteness to the rest of the world (their cool names had something to do with it as well. To be able to see what these kids are doing in their classroom reinforces how technology has brought our world closer.

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  4. I was really impressed with Mrs. Cassidy's blog. Even though I don't teach first graders I could respect and relate to how she really tries to make learning meaningful for her students. It looks like they're involved in some really neat projects. I love how they went out in the snow to learn a new word. I also liked what they recorded as being important in regard to literacy. They said that in their classroom you were bound to hear conferencing between the teacher and student and that you would hear noisy reading instead of silence. I'm anxious to explore some of the other blogs out there!

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  5. Some of these blogs are so boring and full of minutiae. Can we shrink things down a bit? I mean, isn't "brevity the soul of wit"?

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    1. I agree with you with the fact that some of these blogs are boring and lengthy. I could barely stay focused while I read through them. Not sure if students would be able to keep focused while reading some of these blogs.

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  6. I really enjoyed seeing how Mrs. Cassidy used her blog to keep everyone informed about what was happening in her classroom. I also thought it was a good idea to use pictures to help document the happenings in the classroom. I found the science blog to be a bit interesting in how it contained numerous videos of science experiments and could be a very useful tool to help organize videos that we would like to share with our students. Lastly, I also like how the one blog was used as a reference for teachers to look at for information regarding how to best help learners with special needs.

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  7. Sciencefix had some good information and videos related to the science content. This could be used to reinforce what was learned in the class or as "extras" for the students to view. Hoboteacher was funny...sounds like things we would talk about with each other at lunch or after school.

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  8. I liked the Superintendents post on how a Teacher and family friend impacted his life. I felt it was refreshing for a community leader to give his opinion in a honest and frank way, on how his former teacher would give "life tips" as well as be a classroom teacher. I think a lot of that has left our classroom, where the Teacher purely teaches to a test. MM

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  9. I really enjoyed the teaching learners with multiple needs blog. It was interesting to see how they used things students today are familiar with and modified them for learners with special needs: hooking up a switch to use YouTube and Facebook looking posts to keep students interested. Very cool ideas.

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  10. I read the teaching learners with multiple needs blog and really enjoyed it! I love how the teacher put pictures of different activities for students with special needs. Each of the activities were made from items found at home. It was great to see how she made fun and creative items for her students and didn't have to spend a ton of money!

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    1. I agree! I loved the crayon activity that is shown right on the first page...so creative! Although I don't see us using that in our gen. ed. classrooms (core type classes), use in an art class or with our own families is a possibility.

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  11. I really like ScienceFix.com. The posted experiments are great and seem like something I could do with my experiments (along with some courage and step-by-step instructions). This could be an awesome way for absent students to get a glimpse of a missed lab or a "live" review for a test or final. :)

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  12. I really like the Hobo Teacher. I can sure appreciate the posts and his humor. A positive outlook or a funny take on things can sure lighten the load some days!

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  13. The blog that caught my attention was for a Language Arts class. I got some great ideas of how I could use a blog in my own classroom. They had definitions and examples of similes, metaphors and personification. The students went on the blog and wrote examples of each. The blog also had idioms and the students had to use it correctly in a sentences. At the end of the page, the teacher offered quizzes to practice and links to enhance the skills.

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  14. The hobo blog is hilarious! I appreciate those who are blunt and tell it like it is! I also really liked the superintendent blog "G-Town Talks." I enjoyed that she not only writes about the learning going on in her district, but in her personal life as a mother and wife well. As an educator and more importantly a mother, I could really relate to this blog!

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  15. I found Qrious interesting. It's a bit outdated, with the last post being on Sept. 4, 2011, but it had some good ideas. See my blog, Ravens of the Lost Arts for more information.

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  16. Librarian.net is feisty and entertaining! Not a fan of the political facet so much, but found the book recommendations interesting! I'm going to check out the Hobo teacher so many liked!

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  17. I like the way teachers are using blogs for their classrooms, but worry about privacy issues with posting pictures. ScienceFix.com has a useful format with the experiments and videos. Librarian.net was okay, but I can do without the politics. The Hobo Teacher was witty and entertaining and, yes, we do need to laugh!

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  18. Checked out 100 Most Inspiring and subscribed (!) to the White Board Blog. Hobo teacher reminds me that we can't make this stuff up! Good to remind ourselves and laugh some days.

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  19. I think using educational blogs can be successful if used to keep students informed and allow them to interact with you about educational happenings. Students can really interact with educators. I do worry some about the times when student's cross the boundaries of appropriate vs. inappropriate. There is a limit to what we can do about web posting outside of the school day because students are protected by the freedom of speech ammendment.

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  20. I think that as long as sutdents keep things appropriate and blogging doesn't become a monitoring nightmare, it can be a neat tool for kids to use. They will (likely) feel as if their voice is being heard and may give shy kids a chance to speak up.

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  21. I really enjoy the blogs that involve the students the best.

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  22. Read over the Hobo Teacher blog and it made me smile! Love to hear that our craziness is seen by others in the field!!! I like the thought of blogging (venting) all of the insanity we see and deal with on a daily/weekly basis...anonymity key, of course. I also saw a wonderful activity (melted crayon pictures) that would be SO FUN for students to do in an art class. I am considering doing it with my kids and nieces/nephews. It caught my attention, originally, as an activity to do with students who have special needs.

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    1. I also enjoyed reading Hobo teacher. I always wanted to write a book of all the "memorable' moments of my 26 years of teaching

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  23. I think it it most ideal to use a blog as a tool to inform both parents and students. I like the idea of having students comment and respond to questions and ideas that I post. I think that using a blog can be informational and help you gain insight from your students in a manner that they may not feel comfortable in the classroom.

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    1. I would love for parents (and students) to be more involved with getting information about and interacting with what is going on in the classroom. It seems that sending home weekly letters and, in some cases, sending out the daily emails to help keep parents abreast of what is going on, isn't used by many and it's just another thing that we, as teachers, do that parents don't take advantage of! I think that students might jump onto "blogging" with us more but what about those who don't have access to computers. Probably a rarity but it does happen to a handful of our students. And, when we suggest going to a library (ie. Caroline Kennedy) they look at us like we're completely nuts!

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  24. I like using blogs to find creative ideas for the classroom. I thought the project on Teaching Learners with Special Needs Blog was so clever. It won't work with my content, but I might try with my kiddos at home :)

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  25. The Hobo Teacher blog was pretty funny. Yes we as teachers need a release sometimes...
    I liked the science blog - cool to see experiments on there!
    I tried a blog once - with video snippets and clues for quiz questions and info to help out on projects...It was barely used by my students (frowny face).

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  26. I really enjoy the idea of the blog being used by both teacher and students. It does make me nervous when it comes to monitoring the appropriateness of students posts, but the pros seem to outweigh the cons. I especially like the idea of posting videos that re-teach concepts to students that they can view when they are at home working on independent work.

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  27. I enjoyed reading the Hobo Teacher Blog. I will continue to check in on that one! I also agree with Mr. Bajorek. The blogs that involve the students are fun to look at. I think that it is a great idea to get students to interact with eachother.

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  29. The first blog was interesting! The cartoons in the courier and the student input made it entertaining. I also love the political cartoons. I need to include more of them in my class. They're great for recognizing bias. I like that the students can publish on the blog... it's another way for them to have a published product!

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  30. Missy's "Potty in Space" video on her blog was hilarious... scientific and a littel gross, just what middle schoolers like:-)

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  31. Really liked the funny ones, especially Hobo Teacher. Really think we need to write down all our funny stories!

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  32. Blogging should be fun, but who monitors comments?

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    1. You can! But it is a major pain if you have a lot of students!

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  33. I enjoyed reading ways to use this in the classroom. Maybe some day I will feel comfortable doing it!

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  34. Hobo Teacher is hysterical. I'm sure we could all send in equally hilarious stories. The one called 33 Ways to Use Blogs in the Classroom is pretty good. I'll go back to it as a reference.

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  35. I enjoyed reading the blogs about social studies. The Teacher Hobo blog was very funny. Also enjoyed learning how teachers use technology.

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  36. The Mr. Fix Science blog was informative. The video was a little slow and the sound was not always clear.

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  37. I like the idea of Larry Felazzo's Websites of the day. This idea allows teachers to add additional information or resources so it is there for students to use. In many cases, students may want to see more information about a particular topic that interests them.

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  38. I enjoyed looking through the different blogs. Can students pictures be posted on blogs?

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  39. I also enjoyed looking thorugh all the blogs. I wish more of my students would use the tools I have provided for them in the past, and it is a great tool for parent communication. Hobo teacher ws also pretty funny:)

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  40. I like how different all of the bogs are! It shows how creative you can be. I saw one blog in which each student came up with a poll question. If you clicked on their link, you could participate. Each student also had their own blog and a link to it on their teacher's blog. this is a little more elementary school (small class size) but nevertheless a cool idea!

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  41. I am loving the realm of ways to create blogs and the different ones that are out there for me to use in my classroom! bookmark, bookmark, bookmark. Going to try timetoast.com with my students first.

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  42. I am an introvert...therefore I am not comfortable blogging. I do enjoy reading them. Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom was interesting and thought provoking.

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  43. I liked the ideas for blogs in the classroom and the 100 best blogs.

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  44. Wow I just read several blog entries linked from this page. Job hunting is very different then it was in the past.

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  45. Basiri Tutoring use a test-based approach in tutoring math to elementary school students. Our approach helps our young learners achieve new heights in their math skills and allows them to excel in inquiry based learning.

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