Blogs

= What's a Blog? = A blog is a forum for digital discussions. You can post writing assignments and have students respond or you can have students write their own posts and other students can respond. A blog is very useful in the classroom and relatively easy to set up and manage. According to blogger: " A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others. And we're pretty sure the whole deal is just getting started." Blogger

// So welcome to shaping the world! //

Why blog?
A blog is a great alternative for both formal and informal writing assignments. The wonderful thing about blogs is that they allow all students an equal footing in discussions, especially the quiet students and students who process more slowly than the others. I've used blogs in a variety of ways. I have used them to extend discussions on books we read in class where each student had to write about a personal connection to the literature and then other students commented on the post. I've also used them as writing assignments where I have posted a prompt and required students to use the comment section to respond to my prompt.

Examples of successful blogs using blogspot, which is the blogging application associated with your Gmail account


 * This blog worked well with all types of students. As you can see the assignment requirements are on the left side and other important information is on the right. Students submitted 8-10 memoirs based on a particular prompt that I wrote using //The Glass Castle// as an inspiration. The students ended up writing A LOT and everyone read each other's memoirs. The Glass Castle
 * The Catcher in the Rye I set up this blog in the same way as I did //The Glass Castle// blog. I posted a writing prompt and the students responded via comments, which is really important for keeping track of the students' responses.
 * Into the Wild This blog was much more student centered. The students posted their thoughts and reactions to the novel and then others used the comment section to respond. Here is an assignment for you to see: Into the Wild Assignment

Teacher Trouble-shooting

 * Always limit membership - you must be very careful with this feature because students who have You Tube, Google and some other Internet accounts can access your blog and post inappropriate material, and you cannot trace them.
 * Be very specific about kids either creating a new post or a new comment. If you want to grade the students' responses to a teacher prompt, you should have them comment. This way you can keep track all of the responses based on the expectations of your prompt and simply scroll down and grade. I recommend printing out a list of students and manually assigning them a grade as you read.
 * If you want students to be able to comment on each other's work, then you need to have the students write new posts. They will respond via comment to each other's post.
 * You can access your students responses on your smart phone either through your email account or on the blog app. It is a great and easy way to check in immediately with your students' response.