Edublogs

toc =Edublog/Blog/Weblog= The edublog (Commonly referred to as a blog or web-log) has recently emerged as an online multimedia tool to support academic instruction. Edublogs are increasingly being used in educational settings as a means of communication; an instructional resource, a collaborative tool, and a showcase for students work (Ray 2006; Richardson, 2006). Blogs have rapidly become interactive forums for communication. Blogging allows a single student or a group of students to post text, hyperlinks, images, and multmedia. A blog can be thought of as a highly evolved discussion board. With access to a classroom blog, students have the opportunity to write and share their work with others. Classmates can then comment on the work their classmates. The teacher who manages the blog can determine which postings to add or delete. The teacher can allow visitors to respond to the postings. This ability allows parents and interested community members to get involved in the learning process and helps build a collaborative learning environment (Kramer, 2008). =Blogging Benefits= (Green, Brown & Robinson, 2008; Richardson, 2006; Britton, DeLong-Cotty, & Levenson, 2005). =Concerns & Solutions=
 * Creates enthusiasm for writing: Blogging has a unique ability to generate enthusiasm for writing and communicating ideas
 * Increases perceived accountability, therefore increasing quality of work
 * Enables educators to teach about responsible journalism. Students who are posting blogs reach an audience with their posts, and learn the power of the published word.
 * Promotes reflective thinking
 * Nurtures collaboration and relationship building
 * Guides students in finding their own voice and developing their individual interests. Blogging provides the wings to ideas that might otherwise be trapped in the mind.
 * Encourages peer support from one another
 * Increases opportunities for student to receive and offer feedback from peers and teachers
 * Engages students in conversation and learning: Educational Blogging is more than just being about writing. Unlike traditional forms of publication that are one-way, when the work is done at the end of the publication process, students can be engaged in ongoing conversations about their ideas and thoughts.
 * Empowers students with the opportunity to write for authentic purposes
 * Extends learning beyond the classroom walls
 * Encourages students' initiative to be engaged at more than just the head level. It involves writing from head and heart. Students often have not learned to do more than live from the heart, while adults have concentrated their efforts on more cerebral approaches. This means adults and children can bridge the gap that exists by writing together, creating a community of writers in their classrooms where there is no pseudo-community, only community where humans write.
 * Encourages student participation from all grade levels. While blogging may appear directed toward higher levels of education, it is also appropriate to introduce blogging at early grade levels. By introducing blogs early on, students will welcome blogging as a part of everyday education, ultimately leading to more participation. Furthermore, this demonstrates to students that their voices and opinions are valued regardless of age.
 * Allows and encourages interactions with experts and others outside the classroom
 * Gives repetitive and conventional assignments a new face. Blogging can bring traditional (Or what students may call "dull") assignments back to life for the students. This interactive multimedia web tool can make assignments, such as book reports, more interactive. Therefore, the students will have more drive to complete the assignments. By giving the students this opportunity, they can create attention-getting, dynamic assignments drawing the teacher to the assignments and encouraging a new look at the concept of grading.
 * Blogs are posted to the World Wide Web and can be viewed by anyone.
 * Student privacy is paramount, so it is important to never publish last names or personal details obout students. Teachers should discuss privacy issues in detail before allowing their students to blog.
 * Blogs display what your students produce, errors and all. Students will misspell words and use poor grammar. Teachers should work with their students on these skills and offer support strategies to minimize embarrassing entries.
 * Teachers should review their school's Acceptable Use Policy with their students to ensure that discussions remain clean and on topic.
 * Outsider comments on your blog can be moderated. Blog creators can choose to approve all comments, rather than allowing comments to automatically appear.
 * Teachers managing the blog can delete or edit anything they wish after it has been posted on a blog.
 * Students' posts can be previewed before allowing them to become public.

=Blog Examples= [|Mighty Writers] : A 3rd grade blog [|Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog] : 1st grade Canadian students sharing their learning [| E-Learning Journeys] : A professional blog from the Information Technology instructor at Qatar Academy in Doha: Julie Lindsay [|Adventures in Educational Blogging] : A 5th grade classroom in Singapore [|Betchablog] : Education + Technology + ideas [|Grade4-Posterous] : A Grade 4 project: Students taking pictures and blogging about what they find to be unique elements of their Japanese culture [|Sample Student Blogs: To Kill a Mockingbird] : 12 individual blogs created by high school students to enhance their understanding of literature and communicate their thoughts

=Blog Resources= [|Improving Instruction through the use of Weblogs] [|31 Days to Better Blogging] [|Encouraging Learner Autonomy] "[|Learning from Blogs] " by Anne Davis, professor at Georgia State University Blogging for teachers and students, made easy: [|10 ways to use your edublog to teach]

=Free Blog Sites= [|Edublogs] [|Blogger] [|EasyJournal] [|Tribe.Net] [|HomeSchoolBlogger] [|WordPress.com] [|ClassPress] [|BlogStream]

=Why Let Our Students Blog?=

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