Blogs


 * =What is a Blog?=

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a USER GENERATED journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. The entries (or Posts) are often displayed in chronological order.

A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

Blogs can also contain links to other sites, images, movies, podcasts, and so on. Sometimes you can embed the movies (i.e.. from teachertube.com) directly into your blog (meaning it shows up as part of your page and not a link to another page) other times you just provide links to other sites that contain the content (which is better in terms of your storage quota).

Many blogs focus on a **particular** topic, such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author's daily life and thoughts. Generally speaking (although there are exceptions), blogs tend to have a few things in common:
 * A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest on top. Often, the articles are organized into categories.
 * An archive of older articles.
 * A way for people to leave comments about the articles.
 * A list of links to other related sites, sometimes called a "blogroll".
 * One or more "[|**feeds**]" like RSS.

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=Rationale for Using Blogs in Education= = = =Blogging Sites=
 * 1) [|Rationale for Educational Blogging] by Anne Davis
 * 2) [|Quotes From Blogging Teachers] by David Warlick
 * 3)  [|Sample Blogging Assignments -ISTE Aligned] by David Warlick
 * 4)  [|A Vision for Classroom Blogging]- Anne Davis
 * 5) [|20 Reasons Why Students Should Blog]- Anne Mirtschin
 * 6) [|Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally]- Andrew Churches

There are many Blog sites available both free and for purchase. However, [|edublogs] and [|21Classes] are the most frequently used sites in Virginia Beach.

Other examples of Blog Writing Tools include:


 * Blogger.com - free, host on your server or theirs with advertisements
 * [|Easyjournal] - free
 * [|Tribe.net] - free
 * [|Crimson Blog] - free, but might include pop ups
 * [|weblogger.com] - not free
 * [|Radio UserLand] - desktop software you buy - requires some server space for publishing
 * [|TypePad] - not free
 * [|Xanga] - free basic service

[|**VBCPS Blog Site**]
=Blogging As an Educational Tool= [|Classroom Uses of Weblogs.doc]


 * Sample Instructional Blogs**
 * [|Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog] 1st Grade Blog (ClassBlogmeister)
 * [|A Duck with a Blog]
 * [|Ms. Boyd's Grade 2/3 Blog]
 * [|Mrs. Watt's 4th Grade Computer Class Blog]
 * [|Mr. Vincent's 5th Daily Planet Blog]
 * [|Ms. Fullerton's 5th Grade Class Blog]
 * [|Mr. Klein's 5th Grade Blog]
 * [|Room5@Work]
 * [|Mrs. Markwart Grade 6/7 Class Blog]
 * [|Mr. Fisher's Class Blog](check out colonization blogs)
 * [|Ms. Winze's Orchestra Blog]
 * [|Ms. Martinos' Algebra Class Blog]
 * [|Kakos Grade 10 English Blog] (BlogSpot)
 * [|Ms. LeClaire's English 10 Blog] (BlogSpot)
 * [|Mrs. Hopkins American Literature Class Blog]
 * [|12th Grade Class Blog]
 * [|Student's Senior Thesis Blog]
 * [|Novel Discussion Blog]
 * Hamlet Character Blogs
 * [|Pre- Cal 20S] (a math blog in which the teacher shares slides of daily lessons and also students take turns as "scribes" summarizing daily lessons)


 * VBCPS User Blogs**
 * [|Kempsville Middle School Blog]
 * [|Northern Ireland Project]
 * [|MrMayo's Blog]
 * [|Mr. Gibbs Class Blog]
 * [|Trantwood ES Blog]
 * [|Malkin Class Blog]

> [|ozblog]
 * Educational Technlogy Blogs**
 * [|2 Cents Worth]
 * [|Alan November Weblog]
 * [|BlogBoard]
 * [|Blue Skunk Blog]
 * [|Infinite Thinking Machine]
 * [|The Junk EduBlog]
 * [|Kathy's Kaffeeklatsch]
 * [|learning.now]
 * [|Moving at the Speed of Creativity]
 * [|The Savvy Technologist]
 * [|The School Technology Leadership Blog]
 * [|teach42.com]
 * [|Teachers Training Teachers]
 * [|The Tech Savvy Educator]
 * [|weblogg-ed]

=Creating a 21Classes Blog=

Most other services mainly offer blogs for individuals. With 21Classes you can become a blog host yourself in minutes. 21Classes is specifically designed to be used by teachers as it gives teachers complete control over content and student blog entries as well as security settings for their students� accounts. The site admin panel allows central control over the whole network.
 * What differentiates 21Classes from other blogs services?**


 * Key features of 21Classes**
 * Class homepage to communicate with students
 * Independent yet inter-connected blog accounts for students
 * Central console to manage students accounts with control over accounts and content
 * Multiple Options for registration process
 * Review capabilities of student entries
 * Upload images or insert videos
 * Make all or selected students' writings private

[|Creating a 21Classes Classroom Blog.doc]

=Creating an Edublogs Blog= [|Edublogs Overview] Directions: [|Creating+an+Edublogs+Blog - Updated 10-24-08.doc] Instructions [|Admin Training-handout.doc]

=** [|Be A Better Blogger In Just 30 Days!!] **=

Other turorials specific to Edublogs: [|Writing posts and pages] [|Customizing your design] [|Configuring your settings] [|Playing with your plugins] [|Managing 'Users'] [|Using the 'Manage' tab]

__**Other Uses of Blogs: ** __


 * **Art- Post student artwork and critique the work.**
 * **Post artwork around a particular theme.**
 * **Research on lab implementation..**
 * **Follow up for staff development**
 * **Troubleshooting**
 * **Posting articles and receiving reflections.**
 * **Communication between teachers for workshops**

Here is a 45 minute tutorial to further help you create your Blog. ||