Educational Blogging

Liz PhilippiLibrary Systems AdministrationKarie Kimbley

Cornerstone Academy

What is a blog?• A blog (or weblog) is a website in

which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed with the newest at the top

• Blogging can take the form of a digital journal, or diary, where the students write for an audience with a specific purpose

Why blog?• Motivate student learning• Annotated links for classroom resources• Student assessment• Reflective or writing journals• Assignment submission and review• Dialogue for group work• E portfolios• Share course related resources• Teachers can network with other teachers

on a professional level

Security Concerns• No names• No personal information• District student and parent

permission slips• Many sites require a login and

password to post• Blog sites submit comments to the

teacher for approval before being posted

Effective Blogging• Use models• Bookmark examples of well

written blogs• Take a class period to discuss

what is an effective post• Guide learning how to give and

receive constructive criticism• Timely feedback

Assessment in Blogging• Start slowly by asking students to post

once a week in response to a specific assignment

• Optimize the journal format by evaluating student writing over time

• Involve students in their own assessment, have students comment on other post

• Encourage students’ development of voice by giving separate grades for grammar, style, and content when involved in language arts content

Resources

• Educational Technology Dept.- Student and Parent Acceptable use form- SBISD Blogging guidelines and responsibilities

• What is RSS video

Examples of Educational Blogs

• Karie Kimbleyhttp://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=63224

• Thornwood Library - http://thlib.edublogs.org/

• Valley Oaks Library - http://voelibrary.blogspot.com/

Professional Blogs• Website on how and why to use blogs in education• http://www.ivyrun.com/blogs/blogs.htm• Ning for teachers – has blogs, discussion groups,

and latest information• http://teacherlingo.com/• Andy Carvin on blogging• http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/

2007/03/march_30_participate_in_stop_c_1.html• Secondary ELA teacher• http://secondaryworlds.com/• Kathy Schrock’s blog• http://kathyschrock.net/blog/• David Warlick’s blog• http://2cents.davidwarlick.com/

Professional continued• Cool Cat teacher blog

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/• Teacher blogging about technology and education

http://tim.lauer.name/• Educational Technology dept. blog

http://www.sbisd-edtech.com/blog/• American Presidents

http://www.american-presidents.org/• Dr. Bishop’s RSS feeds of blogs on libraries

http://www.google.com/reader/shared/09240063359907140397

• Vaughn Branom’s RSS feed of blogs on bookshttp://www.google.com/reader/shared/04440787436975147776

Administrator & Principal blogs• A blog about a high school and it’s

technology changes• http://

changinghighschools.blogspot.com/index.html

• Example of a blog done by the principal for her faculty

http://principalblogs.typepad.com/nancyflynn/

• Good blog from a principal about technology use on the campus

http://principalblogs.typepad.com/matthillmann/

• Mike Falick’s – SBISD school bd. Memberhttp://mikefalick.blogs.com/

Blogger & Atomic Learning

• Go to Atomic Learning and log in; your username is your SBISD email address and your password is “alnsbisd”

• Select the “Our Tutorials” tab• Scroll down until you get to

“Blogging Workshop” and double click on that tutorial

• It will walk you through all the “ins and outs” of blogging using Blogger

How to set up Google Reader

• Go to Google and click on the arrow next to “More” at the top of the screen – in the list select “Reader”

Create an account using an email address and password of your choice

Second page in creating a Google reader account

Getting started adding blogs/sites

Click on Add and copy the address for the blog or site

This is what it looks like when you pull up your list

Presenters Information

• Karie Kimbley – Teacher, Cornerstone Academy

• Liz Philippi – Library Systems Administrator, Library Information Services