Module #2: Social Networking - Blogging

Blogging

speedofcreativity.org

Blogging is today's newspaper, book, magazine, and thinking pad all rolled into one.  The beauty of a blog is that it provides the creator with a true freedom of expression.  It allows us to create freely and express ourselves in ways that weren't available 20 years ago.

This form of expression is ripe for the classroom:  

• Many teachers at all levels use blogs to provide a painting easel for students to create. 
• Some teachers use them to share information about what is happening in their classrooms (a much more direct form of communication than sending newsletters home each week. 
• Many teachers use blogs to share their projects or ask advice of other educators.   The opportunities are endless.

I thought that I would share a few of the blogs that I like.  I have tried to break these into the three categories that I have just listed.  PLEASE share your favorites with us by inserting a link in one of the comments below. (It may say "no comments:" now, but click on it and add your thoughts.)

Student Creations

• Mrs. Ripp's Class (7th graders using KidBlog)
• Mrs. Wideen's Blogging Maniacs (2nd graders using KidBlog)

Sharing What's Happening in the Classroom

• Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog (3rd grade)
• Erin Hoffman's Techie Tuesday (High School)  **

Sharing Ideas with Other Educators

• TeachThought - Rich source of resources for teachers.
• Cool Cat Teacher - Vicki Davis who is a high school business teacher.  The most widely read educator blog in the world.
• Cult of Pedagogy -  Jennifer Gonzalez from middle school language arts. Now a consultant dedicated to "making you more awesome in the classroom."
• Sunny Days in Second Grade
• Dr. Z Reflects

Resources

• Introducing Social Media to Elementary Students (Edutopia)
• Teach 100 - Daily Ranking of Education Blogs

The best way to learn about blogging is to read blogs. Select at least 4 blogs concerning your educational interests to follow throughout this class. You can select from the list above, or you could look for suggestions at Top 23 EdTech Bloggers to Follow in 2018 or you could Google it by entering the term, Blog, and then your area of interest, i.e., Universal Design for Learning.

Following Blogs

Once you have found the blogs you want to follow, you need to find a way to get to them easily.  Yes, you could bookmark them in your browser and then click on them daily.  BUT, there IS a simpler way. 

It is possible to use a Feed Reader to check your blogs daily and inform you when something new has been added.  There are many of these feed readers, but to make it simple, I am going to suggest using the Feedly Chrome Extension.

Here is a short video on how to install Feedly Tutorial.*
 
* I am recommending using Chrome as a standard - for simplicity sake.

Once you have added Feedly, add at least the four blogs that you have decided to follow.

Getting Into the Blog-o-sphere

You have already entered the blog-o-sphere by beginning to follow some bloggers.  What did you learn?  What comments did you leave on the bloggers' postings?  Did you get any responses back from anyone? 

Now that you have reviewed the postings of accomplished bloggers, what do you think?  Was it useful? How could you make blogging useful to you?

It is time for you to create your own blog-o-sphere identity. You will begin by creating a blog and then begin to share your ideas, experiences and resources. In the past we have said that blogging involves Reading, Commenting, and Writing/Creating.  You have already had the opportunity to read and comment.  Let's hope that you continue with this enthusiasm as you embark on your blog writing/creating experience.

Writing/Creating a Blog

Writing is the key to it all. This is where you can share your ideas with world. It is where you have to confront your thoughts. I once had a professor (Dr. David Moursund) who told me that he didn't know how he felt about a topic until he had written about it. Writing requires you to organize your ideas so that you can express them in a clear and cogent manner.

First thing you must do is create a blog. Do you already have a blog?  If so, review these steps and then move on. The easiest blog to create is in Blogger.  Some of you have created blogs using other tools like WordPress or Kidblog.

WordPress: A powerful blogging tool that is used by many of the leading bloggers.  I know of a number of them who have even moved their Blogger blogs over to WordPress because of the additional advantages.  If you are interested in continuing your blogging after this class, you may want to open a blog on WordPress.

Kidblog: If you haven't heard of Kidblog, you might consider it for your students.  It has many advantages

• It is easy to use. 
• Each student has his/her own blog.
• All of the student posts can be directed to appear in the class blog. 
• All postings and comments can be moderated by the teacher

There are probably many other pros and cons for KidBlog so if you have experience using it or like to explore new software, please inform all of us about what you find.

Here is a 5-minute video by Adam Bellow on How to Use KidBlog.  They allow you to have one free active blog.  If you want more, it will cost you $5/month.

How to Start a Blog
I have written many instructions on how to begin a blog but I just found an extraordinary blog posting that Tells It All.  This posting, How to Start a Blog Today, by Scott Chow is an easy to understand simple step-by-step tutorial.  I must warn you that he has written this to market the BlueHost website, but it is possible to do all of this for free using Blogger, WordPress, KidBlog or any other blogging system you find useful.

• If you don't have a blog, decide on a blogging system that you would like to use and then follow Scott's steps. 

• If you DO have a blog, read through Scott's steps and see how it might step up your game.  I know that it gave me a couple of good ideas.

REMEMBER!!!  Blogging is PUBLIC!! It is NOT in an enclosed eLearning discussion group that ONLY you, your classmates and Dr. Z will read.  It is in the public. All of your classmates will be reading it. People in the public may read it.  DON'T write it like you are answering writing prompts on a test.  Write it in a manner that will interest your colleagues.  

You will find the ACTUAL ASSIGNMENTS on the eLearning Website.

What to Write?  Sometimes it's tough to find what to write.  The MOST important part of blogging is to be PASSIONATE about what you write.  Here is a collaborative list of ideas for writing prompts.  Look there for inspiration but share your own ideas and sources for inspiration as well.

Once you have an idea, here are some hints for making effective postings.  You may have found some other ideas about what makes a posting interesting.

• Begin with an active title. (i.e., Making Your Blog Postings More Interesting; 5 Ways to Extend Your Summer Vacation; How Blogs Changed the Writing Process in my 10th Grade English Class; or ????)
• Include an image or photo of some sort.  You can find a wealth of photos you can use (as long as you cite them as I have done below) at Flickr/CreativeCommons  (www.flickr.com/creativecommons)
• Always include at least 2 links to something relevant on the web. This means that when you discuss the Dr. Z Reflects and Clif's Notes blogs, you must have links to those websites so that your reader can examine them.  It is similar to the APA citations you have to do in your research papers, only it is MUCH easier to include. Include links to your classmates' postings.  Build community.
• Your postings must have depth and that is more than can be captured on the single page.  Writing a post can be a small research project that will provide readers a deeper understanding of the topic.  This depth is provided by the additional links you provide your readers.
• End your postings with questions to elicit responses from your readers.

Here are some blog postings on how/why to create good blog postings.

• How to Write an Awesome Blog Post in 5 Steps
• Epic Classroom Blogging for Kids
• Cool Cat Teacher's collection of resources about blogging
• Teaching with Blogs  
• 10 Tips for Corporate Blogging
• Example: France Bans Smartphone Use in Schools
• 7 Highly Effective SEO Tips for Bloggers
• Ultimate Guide to Writing Blog Posts that Rank in the Google Top 10

So how do you see yourself using blogs in your future teaching/training careers?

Vlogging Challenge


If you are interested in taking the challenge, explore this posting, How to Create a Free Video Blog (or "Vlog") by Gretchen Siegchrist.  Don't think that she is a certified teacher, but she provides a series of steps with a plethora of resources.  Spend some time and challenge yourself to take the next step.

The only tricky part in inserting a video into your blog is EMBEDDING it so that it will play like my video above.  The easiest way to do this is to upload it to YouTube and they will then give you the HTML code that you would insert into the HTML code of your blog posting.  If this sounds like GREEK to you, then ask a friend (or classmate) or search on the web or ask Dr. Z.

Let's Hear from You!!

Respond to this experience in Blogging.  Insert Comments below to add your ideas and suggestions.  Make this a 2-way process.  You won't be graded for your comments but this is a wonderful way to build our community. 

• How do you use blogs?  
• Which blogs to you like to follow?  
• What suggestions do you have for using blogs in an educational situation? 
• Have you already posted this on your blog?  Insert a link to your blog so we can read it and learn more about you.