Blogging As A Classroom Tool

G. Snyder

Working Connections 2010

Classroom Blogging

Edina Tech CampMichael Walker

Secondary Technology Integrationist

Portions of this presentation Portions of this presentation courtesy of:courtesy of:

Goals for this Session

• Define technological terms and reasons to classroom blog

• A little bit of background on the technology• Blogging style tips• Setting-up and posting your own live blog• Using the power of RSS feeds with your blog• Online resources for getting the most out of

your blog

What is a Blog?• A mash-up of the words “Web” and “Log” and can

be used as a verb or a noun• According to Wikipedia: “A blog is a user-generated

website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.”

• Started with online journaling and gained a lot of momentum in 1994. The term “blog” was coined by Peter Merholz in 1999.

• The site Xanga, launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, but over 20 million as of December 2005.

• 2001 - Present has seen wide mainstream media adoption as well as corporate and political campaign usage

weB LOG

Basswulf-Accessed via Flickr

Marcelo Tourne-Accessed via Flickr

• weBLOG

• Online, sequential compilation of personal observations and links that others can comment on.

Two Types of Blogs

• Personal blogs are written by an individual and are not endorsed by the company the individual works for. Typically not for profit.

• Corporate blogs are written by company employees and are endorsed, either directly or indirectly by the company.– Internal Corporate Blogs– External Corporate Blogs

Reasons to Blog

• Blogs allow informal communication with your students.

• You can quickly and easily update content.• User can subscribe to your blog with RSS feeds.

(Push Technology)• You can position yourself as a “Thought Leader” in

your field.• Improve search engine optimization (SEO) by

building incoming links.• PR opportunities can present themselves in the form

of links from mass media outlets.

Professional Uses

Reflect on teaching experiences

Provide Tips

Share curriculum successes

Classroom Uses-Teacher Blogs

Post calendar events, assignments, projects and contact

information

Communicate with parents

Online Reading Assignments and Writing Prompts

Photos and Comments on Class Activities

Links and examples for specific units

Examples of Student Work

Classroom Uses-Student Blogs

Personal Reflections

Bob Fornal-Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Attribute Share Alike

React to Current Events

Kwikrick-Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Attribute Share Alike

What are people saying about Blogs in Education?

Blogging is about reading and critical thinking not writing

-R. Bretag

paulbence-Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Share Alike

Writing is monologue; blogging is conversation

-W. Richardson

bd solis-Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Share Atribution Share Alike

The Blogging Cycle…

1. Read 2. Reflect

3. Write about what you know

•Hyperlink•Add Graphics•Tag

4.Repeat!

1. Read Critically

2. Reflect about what was read

Grim Reaper with a Lawnmower-Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Share Alike

3. Write about what you know.

• Hyperlink

• Use Graphics

• Tag

Drewm Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved

4. Repeat!

mag3737 Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved

RSS and ATOM• RSS - RDF Site Summary, more commonly

referred to as Really Simple Syndication• RSS feeds are XML (eXtensible Mark-up

Language) documents that are automatically updated when you post a new blog entry.

• Subscribers set-up aggregator software (reader applications) which link to the RSS document and check automatically for new content.

• User can collect (aggregate) all of their chosen blog subscriptions in one easy-to-use place because of the standardization of RSS.

Popular RSS Aggregators

• Google Reader and iGoogle (uses Google account)http://www.google.com/reader/

• My Yahoo! http://my.yahoo.com

• BlogLineshttp://www.bloglines.com

• FeedBurnerhttp://www.feedburner.com

• Technorati is a popular blog search engine tracking the content of over 72 million blogs.http://www.technorati.com

How can we do this with students?

Teachandlearn Accessed via Flickr Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved

1. Edina Student Web 2.0 Code of Ethics

2. Set up a Feed Reader for your class

Netvibes.com

Google Reader

3. Add an assortment of blogs/feeds to the reader pertaining to your

subject

4. Regularly check the feed & share blog posts that apply to your class.

5. Engage in rich discussion over the blog posts and formulate small group

and class comments.

6. Create student blogs and begin blogging

The Blogging Cycle…

1. Read 2. Reflect

3. Write about what you know

•Hyperlink•Add Graphics•Tag

4.Repeat!

Hands-On

Where Do We Start?

• Sign-up for a Google account for free.http://www.google.com

• Google purchased Blogger.com in 2003 and users now must log-in with their Google account to post, also for free.http://www.blogger.com

Blogging Style Tips

• Position yourself as an expert in your field.

• Post new content regularly. Stale blogs lead to stale traffic.

• Use an editor. It doesn’t have to be a professional editor, but another set of eyes never hurts.

• Be personable. Use an informal and conversational tone.

• Identify the niche market of people who you are trying to reach. Then, write things that they will find interesting.

• Stay focused on your target niche. Don’t abandon them to pursue others.

• Keep the business / educational goals of your blog in mind.

What to Avoid

• Don’t violate any contractual agreements or obligations.

• Don’t divulge company trade secrets or other confidential information.

• Don’t be disrespectful.

• Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in a face to face meeting.

Marketing the Blog

• Digg: Mammoth traffic; tech-focused; tech-savvy users.http://www.digg.com

• Delicious: Pretty big traffic; somewhat tech/design-focused; a lot of bloggers browse Delicious for “things to link to”.http://del.icio.us/

• Reddit: Lower traffic; politics/random stuff; everyday users. (Wired)http://www.reddit.com

• Newsvine: Lower traffic; politics and news; everyday users.http://www.newsvine.com/

• Links from other relevant blogs and websites to yours also help to increase traffic.

Tips for Success• Always use grammar AND spellcheck tools.• Have other people review your posts. (Google Docs is great for

this)• Links from blogging sites in your ‘industry’.• Be compelling and original (Don’t say: This is cool, check it out)• Continuous updates are key.• Know your audience, but write what’s interesting to you.• Write to a niche market first. Things will expand on their own.• Always give credit where credit is due.• Develop a thick skin for criticism. You will be criticized.• Use a consistent and friendly tone of voice• Build relationships with other bloggers• It’s all about the content

Web Resources• Thinking in Web 2.0

http://web2.wsj2.com/thinking_in_web_20_sixteen_ways.htm• Blogger

http://www.blogger.com• Google Reader

www.google.com/reader • Google Blog Search

http://blogsearch.google.com/Wikis and Blogs in Educationhttp://wikiblogedu.org/

• Creative Commonshttp://www.creativecommons.org

• Technology at Harvard Law - RSS Specificationhttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss