If you are new to blogging or simply aren't exactly sure how to incorporate blogging into the classroom, please check out these handy dandy links. No need to reinvent the wheel here, folks. The internet is chalked full of "blogging in the classroom" ideas and information! Obviously, you can complete searches that are content specific to your teaching specialization.hbo
- Blogging in the 21st Century
- Read Write Think - Teaching with Blogs
- Ultimate Guide to the Use of Blogs in the Classroom
- How to Blog with Young Students
Now, for the fun stuff! Below are links to blogging sites/applications that really work for teachers:
- Audio Boom - audio blogging site.
- Blogger - blogging platform.
- EduBlogs - blogging platform designed for teachers (so cool!).
- iPadio - broadcast from your phone to the internet live.
- Podomatic - a podcast publication tool.
- Tumblr - simplified blogging platform.
- Vocaroo - very barebones website but allows you to record your voice so you can email it or post it online.
- Voice Thread - if you visit the website, watch the video of Micheal Fort
- Wikispaces - free for educators!
- Word Press - blogging platform.
Of course, this list is just to get you started. There are many , many more blog applications for teachers to use.
When I taught in Virginia I use to keep a class blog for my preschool parents. With the parents prior written permission, I would post daily with photos from our day in preschool, our daily objectives and any other administrative information. The blog was password protected so only invited readers could access it. The parents loved it and it served as a superb communication tool. So, take a minute to think about it: How could you use blogging in your classroom?
Cheers to Blogging,
Sara
Thank you very much Sara for such an informative piece on Web 2.0. The links on incorporating blogging into the classroom are especially important. Reading through the sites has really expanded my horizon of ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of extending the use of blog to other stake holders like parents is excellent. You deliver much more information about work with their children than you would otherwise do.
It is a refreshing piece.
Hi Crispin, I am glad that this introduction to classroom blogging has helped you! :)
DeleteI really like the idea of blogging within the classroom. I think most kids are familiar with the concept of sharing moments on the web. Often when we take a cute photo my daughters say mom...will you Facebook (micro-blogging) that? They love hearing comments from friends and family read to them. I'd love to see how a preschool blog could work. Maybe with some podcasts highlighting things the children say. It could protect their identity but the parents would certainly be able to identify the voices. Hmmm....now you've got me thinking.... :)
ReplyDeleteThat's adorable (referencing your daughters and "posting"). :) And, I love the podcast idea - so awesome.
DeleteHi Sara! I really like your ideas of using blogging to keep parents informed of what is going on. I am always looking for ways to increase parent communication. I also think blogs could be for students. They could blog about what they learned or instead of responding to short writing prompts on paper, they could respond to them in blog format, then other students could comment on their work. I think this would be a little different for students and would foster great collaboration.
ReplyDeleteHi, Caitlin. Yes, using blogging as a parent communication tool was wonderful for me as a classroom teacher. The parents loved it, too! Great ideas for student use too!
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