Blogs and Blogging for Learning

...A Resource from the Jan.24th Workshop & March 1st Rainbow District Workshop

SCREENCAST slides published - Feb.10th / BLOG slides published March 1(download PDF)

WIKI part - due to be published / PODCAST portion - due to be published

Use the menu system at the lower right

Susan Lister

M.EdTech, B.Ed.

Workshop Resource Slide Show ...

In January, 2006 I was booked to teach two workshops for the ITeach Workshops for the Nipissing University Bachelor of Education Program - I also promoted the workshops to the two main school boards in the area so we ended up with a mix of 'veteran' teachers in the crowd which resulted in a request to do an additional Blogging Workshop in March. Feel free to review a follow-up posting on my blog . To support the workshops I provided access to a Moodle website here: http://newmediaworkshops.com/moodle/ - besides getting access to the links document from the presentation, there is also a place to further discuss the issues, updated links, etc. feel free to email me at susanDOTlisterATnewmediaworkshopsDOTcom to get the access code.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Blogs, Podcasts, Wiki's and Screencasts - A Teacher's Introduction

Broaden your teaching strategies (or at least your geek language!) by learning about these new tools.  In this workshop you will get an overview of four powerful learning technologies which you can apply to your teaching.  I will  1) provide many examples of how they are currently being used (from Primary to Senior),  2) address some of the associated problems and 3) highlight some of the reasons why a teacher would want to incorporate blogs, podcasts or screencasts into their curriculum - What do the students get out of it?  What learning opportunities arise?  Lastly, I will outline some of the software and skills needed to produce these tools.  The workshop is focused on  "Awareness" as a first step into these new teaching strategies - you will not create blogs, podcasts, wiki's or screencasts during this session but my goal is to leave you WANTING TO!!

Blogs - What are they?

 

You need not look any further than the latest election coverage in Canada to realize that blogs are an integral part of the information world.

But what are Blogs?

Wikipedia defines a blog as...

" A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order."

Let's get the inside scoop on blogs and learning from those doing it!.....

Required Reading :

Additional Sources:

What is blogging? - Insight from the bloggers

Four Multimedia Files to help explain things:

  1. Will Richardson's High School Students Talk about Blogs 5min
  2. The Weblog Project - A blog of short videos explaining what a blog is.
  3. College Journalism Students Explain what a blog is - 1min46sec.
  4. Zachary, A 5th grader talks about his blogging experiences. 4 min.
 

Additional Sources :

The 3 Parts of Blogging - from a consumer standpoint

     

If you are only interested in reading blogs there are three things to know:

Where to find the content you are interested in -

  • Technorati is a great place to start - http://www.technorati.com/
  • Once you find a blog that interests you, check the person's blogroll (aka blogs they follow)

The importance of the conversation -

  • Don't be afraid to post a comment - for many bloggers, it's about the exchange!

How to "get" the blog postings -

  • RSS feeds....your delivery vehicle disguised as an "Aggregator"
  • You "subscribe" to a blog using an aggregator (by subscribing, you don't have to keep revisiting the blogs to see new info., it comes to you through your aggregator)

 

Additional Sources:

What is RSS?

Where to Search for Blogs

Aggregators:

 

Blogs - Common Features of this Creature

Search Ability

Archives

Recommended Links

About the Author

Comment Area

Blogroll (blogs this author reads)

 

  

Blogs - Common Features of this Creature - Aggregators

 

Online

Or

Desktop

 

  

Bloggers as Producers

If you are going to author a blog, you need to think additionally think about:

What is the purpose of your blog and/or why you are going to blog?

Will you host it on your site or use a readily available web service?

How will you "manage" it:

  • Comments, links available, blogroll, categories, postings, drafts of posts, etc.

You now have an added option for conversation (blog to blog)

 

Slide Explanation: The image on the right shows the "back end" or administrator side to my blog. How and What you can do as the administrator really depends on the type of software your blog is built on. For my blog, Technology Enhanced Learning (http://newmediaworkshops.com/telblog/), I use wordpress (http://wordpress.org/) which I've loaded onto my own website however there are many other types of blogging software (see: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm - Blog Software Comparison chart). If you don't have your own website, you have several online options for setting up a blog:

Blog Examples - Professional Development & Reflection

Personal blogs of teachers:

  1. http://msfrizzle.blogspot.com/ - Ms. Frizzle, Middle School Science Teacher
  2. http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/ - Clarence Fisher (Can) - Elementary Teacher - excellent example of maximizing blog effectiveness.
  3. http://budtheteacher.typepad.com/ - Bud Hunt (US)- Veteran Tech-saavy High School Literature Teacher
  4. http://epdpcerc.blogspot.com/ - one of many blogs from Darren Kuropatwa (Can) - Math Teacher
  5. http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/ - Jo McLeay, (Au) High School English Teacher

 

 

A Transformational Opportunity....

Other Noteworthy Teacher Blogs you may wish to subscribe to :

Blog Examples - Course/Class/School Communication/Presentation

     

http://pinebrookkinderblog.blogspot.com/ kindergarten - Blog showcasing student work

http://blue1.emerson.u98.k12.me.us/magazine/ - Conners Emerson Literary Magazine - Showcase Blog

http://grade4classroom.blogspot.com/ - Mr. Redknap's Homework Blog

http://blashdebbie.blogspot.com/ - From the Principal's Desk - Informational Blog

http://eslpage.blog-city.com/ - ESL course curriculum, assignments, podcasts - Course Site Blog

 

Teacher/School-centred - Blog as a web page

Slide Explanation: In the box above, I have provided some screencaptures of class and school blogs for communication or presentation purposes. Some purists would say that these are not "real" blogs because they do not encapsulate the 'essence' of blogging which would involve more interaction and more reflection. Yes, there is a 'potential' for comments but typically these solicit such. On the otherhand, what these blogs do represent is the harnessing of one of the features that allowed blogging to become so popular - the ease of publishing. A course, showcase, or informational type of blog could be the first step into the world of blogging for students, teachers and parents since it allows all parties to get used to the interface and the 'groove' of a blog.

Other Examples :

Blog Examples - Linking up with Studies

   

Connecting with professionals:

http://www.polarscience.ca/

http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/authorblogs/

http://weblogs.about.com/od/authorblogs/

Students studying "The Secret Life of Bees" invite the author to play in their blog.

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/

Student to Outside World to Student

Additional Resources:

Blog Examples - Course Blogs - Student Powered

     

It's all about community!

Mr. K is doing something right! Check out any of his blogs: http://www.blogger.com/profile/6306028

http://www.resco.ca/machineblog/ - A great example of collaboration between higher and lower grades. A grade 4 class teams up with Grade 10 students.

Class 613 - student -to-student commenting - http://hetherington.learnerblogs.org/2006/02/22/olympics-vs-primetime-by-maya-and-brianna/#comments

 

 

Student to Student to Teacher to Student

Slide Explanation:

Here is an explanation from the Simple Machine Site, noted above: Join us as a group of grade four students from The Academy at King Edward and grade tens from Jasper Place High School explore the world of Simple Machines! The fours are studying simple machines as part of their science curriculum and will be drawing (on the computer) their favourite machines. The tens will then communicate with the fours using this blog to discuss how the drawings will be animated. The animations will then be displayed here beside the drawings!

You can see by the examples above that it's possible to create a highly interactive and supportive community online but these types of blogs are rare in K-12 education blogs, mostly because of the amount of time it takes from the teacher to nurture and for the bloggers to mature. Most of these more interactive blogs probably started out where students are asked to post answers to a teacher-prompted question, or post their homework answers or post reflections (before an exam or about a guest speaker or workshop). In the beginning, there is potential for student-to-student exchanges, but they do not happen very often....One reason might be the activity's Teacher-centredness and how discussions occur in the classroom - rarely in the classroom do we get a good student-to-student domain. Also, if I lean on my experience as an online instructor and think back to the length of time it takes for me to 'train' an online class that they are 'most welcome' to answer each other's queries in the "Help wanted/Help Offered" discussion thread, it isn't until the 3rd or 4th week that student-to-student messages occur within that particular thread- and that's with a lot of encouragement and support.

Therefore, if you're striving for a rich community of learning to occur within your class blog, you must be prepared to spend a lot of time modelling, nurturing and perhaps "unlearning" how to comment as suggested by Konrad Glogowski, an elementary language arts teacher in his posting "Readerly Comments" - http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2006/02/27/readerly-comments/ . Also, when you're skimming other education weblogs take note of the times the instructor is posting....

A good example of how Glogowski employs blogging in his language arts class is captured by this quotation:

I encourage you to blog about your thoughts, brainstorming ideas, and your views on the novel in general. You will be given plenty of time in class to record your thoughts on your blog. This will help you arrive at topics that you as a reader find especially interesting. It will also give me an opportunity to read your comments and respond to them. Think of blogging about the novel as thinking out loud. If I can hear your ideas, I can join the conversation. In other words, by writing about the novel from your own point of view, you can gradually develop your own “map” of the novel, find your own way into this text. Once that’s done, your essay will practically write itself. http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2006/02/06/worlds-waiting-to-be-explored/

Other Resources and examples:

What do Blogs bring to the learning table?

  1. A learning opportunity using technologies to which the student is accustomed.
  2. Write anytime, anywhere, technology
  3. A forum for reflection and thinking aloud.
  4. Family can be more informed about what's going on inside the classroom door and therefore become greater “audience”.
  5. Students gain "A Voice" - a public one!
  6. Teachers who blog afford themselves opportunities to join with like-minded people and self-directed professional development.
 

Bogged Down With Blogging

Walk gentley into the world of blogging. Consider the following:

  • developing a cyber-safety awareness
  • Getting parents on board
  • setting blogging rules
  • distinguish between posting in such places as "myspace" vs. academic blogging
  • How will you assess the blogging activity?
  • Are you disadvantaging any students by incorporating blogging into your course?
  • What if every class in the school required blogging? (The one binder, many subjects approach)
  • Don't start until you've decided what pedagodgical purpose blogging will have in your course.
 

FROM: http://www.epals.com/help/safety/: What you need to make sure your students or children know:

  • Never give out any personal information (such as last names, addresses or phone numbers) to anyone without the permission of a parent, guardian or teacher.
  • Never arrange a face to face meeting without a parent, teacher or guardian present.
  • Never respond to messages that are suggestive, obscene, threatening or that make you feel uncomfortable. Always let a teacher, parent or other trusted adult know if you receive an upsetting message.
  • If you are suspicious of someone you've met online, always tell a responsible adult, like a teacher or parent.

Other Resources:

  • http://psychcentral.com/blogs/privacy.htm - Sharing Yourself Online: Privacy While Blogging
  • http://hetherington.learnerblogs.org/rules-for-blogging/
  • http://www.safeteens.com/safeteens.htm
  • http://www.techcorps.org/resources/internetsafety/getnet.htm
  • http://news.com.com/Blogging+101--Web+logs+go+to+school/2100-1032_3-5895779.html?tag=st.prev
  • http://pc20s.blogspot.com/2005/09/students-made-this.html
  • http://msfrizzle.blogspot.com/2005/11/classroom-rules.html
  • http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060228_241578.htm - Big Brother is Reading Your Blog
  • http://www.brynmawr.edu/etc/etcblog/2006/03/dangers-of-facebook-myspace.html - Dangers of Facebook or Myspace
  • http://shareski.blogspot.com/2006/02/myspace-hits-home.html
  • http://www.jarche.com/node/699 - Blogger's Rules - Harold Jarche
  • http://collect.myspace.com/misc/safetytips.html - MySpace Safety Tips
  • http://www.cybercrime.gov/rules/kidinternet.htm - Cyberethics for Kids
  • http://www.sbc.com/Common/images/safety/game.html - Internet Safety Game
  • http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexfl.htm - Netsmartz Kids
  • http://www.msad56.org/computerpolicies.htm - Computer Policies
  • http://nonscholae.org/ - A site devoted responsible use of the Internet
  • http://www.wired.com/news/technology/1,70287-0.html - MySpace Parent's cheat sheet
  • http://wiredsafety.org/ - The world's largest Online Safety Website
  • http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-to-soothe-myspace-fever.html
  • http://www.eschoolnews.com/eti/2006/02/001305.php - Internet Safety for Kids
  • http://www.isafe.org/ -
  • http://coe.nevada.edu/slefevre/playsafe.html - A webquest about Internet Safety for 6th Grade Computer Literacy
  • http://csriu.org/index.html - Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
  • http://www.ou.edu/oupd/kidsafe/start.htm - The Police Notebook - Kid Safety on the Internet
  • http://www.kidscom.com/games/isg/isg.html - KidsCom - Tips for Internet Safety and good manners!
  • http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/mahlness/2006/03/family-internet-night.html - Family Internet with Powerpoint
  • http://classblogmeister.com/bloggers_contract.doc
  • http://adifference.blogspot.com/2006/01/safe-blogging-resources.html

Next Steps - A Teacher's Options

Baby Steps - Start on the Periphery:

  • Start reading and posting comments on a variety of blogs (use bloglines, feedreader, etc.)
  • Use blog posts in class as discussion starters.
  • Follow a specific blog and post "for the class" in the comments area.

Ramp it up a bit:

  • Start a professional development blog (edublogs & blogger are two hosting options)
  • Start A Class Blog where you are the only author and there is no expectation of exchange.
  • Start a Class Blog where all your students will post assignments as a comment to your assignment posting etc.

Full Steam Ahead:

  • Start a class community, like Darren Kuropatwa and Barbara Ganley
  • Three suggested places to start: Learnerblogs / Classblogmeister / Ontario Blogs (Ontario Schools only)

Other Resources:

Next Steps - Blogging Activities

The Learning with Blogging Continuum...

Least Interactive
More Interactive
Use a class scribe system where students take turns posting the notes from the day.   Post Quiz Questions / Other students post answers / Author comments on correctness
Start a class e-portfolio - showcase student work   Course Value Added's - Have students post annotated links and resources.
Provide resources for continued investigation of class topics.   Try an online literature circle with the reporter taking on the task of summarizing everyone's posts.
Create a course/class newsletter    

*many of the ideas above are from Anne Davis' blog

Additional Resources:

http://www.diaryproject.com/ - a place where students post about Body Image • Current Events • Diary Deck Night • Discrimination • Drugs • Family • Feelings • Friends • Health • Loss • Miscellaneous Ramblings • Music • Other • Poetry • Point of View • Racism • Relationships • Religion / Spirituality • School • Self Esteem • Self Harm • Sexuality / Gender • Stress • Tolerance • Violence • Who Am I?

Next Steps - Blogging Activities

The Learning with Blogging Continuum...

In thinking about interaction and community building... Here is a list of Untried Class Blogging Activities

  • Point/counterpoint
  • Students share favourite poem and other student analyses
  • Post two questions for an exam and answer 2 (cannot be by the same person)
  • MadLibs - student creates a story (keeps it secret) but posts word list request. When another student supplies the required word, the first student then posts the newly created story.
  • Fractured Stories - A student posts their short story and a second student writes an alternative ending.
  • 20 Questions Game
  • Track a Process - Writer posts a draft, 2 peers review, writer posts re-write, teacher/family/others review, student posts final copy and adds it to his portfolio category.

Your Instructional Focus

     
What will be the product or goal of your blogging?
 

Making thinking Public

Develop Voice

Deep Thinking

Creating Community

 

 

Develop lifelong learning skills

Student Knowledge Management

Authentic Work / Authentic Audience

Improve literacy (all types)

Let's Get Blogging!

Additional Resources:

Visit the Technology Enhanced Learning Blog - www.newmediaworkshops.com/telblog