Blogging in the ClassroomsThe benefits

By: Felicia McNealy

Menu

Blogging?eChalk

Blogs are Not the EnemyConclusion

Bibliography

Blogging?

 I found this website, Education World, and article originally through Google. After reading it, I bookmarked the site on my delicious account very quickly!It starts out by explaining that blogging is now happening in Kindergarten, which I found extremely interesting.

Blogging?This article gave a lot of options to look at as far as program downloads go. Most of the options were targeted for Elementary Schools The following were a few of the options:

• Blogmeister • KidzBlog • Thingamablog

Though blogging is becoming a great and common tool for teachers to use, the safety of the students is a very important factor. This article not only gives tips to ensure safety for the identity of the student, but to control the content of the blog post.

Blogging?I liked this article because I thought that it gave some insight for those who want to start blogging in their classroom, but are not exactly sure how to go about it. I thought that it was definitely beginner friendly.

eChalk I came across this website through an article about

‘Student Safe’ Blogging on T.H.E Journal.This blogging site is great for both high school and elementary school educators because that is the audience targeted. The following is a quote from the article:“eChalk's Online Learning Environment, targeted toward K-12 schools, provides a Web-based suite of communications, learning, management, administrative, and collaboration tools, along with standards-aligned digital content. It now also includes blogging, which eChalk characterized as an alternative to the "mindless distraction" of sites like MySpace and in which teachers and administrators can keep the focus on learning in a secure environment”.

eChalkAs most educators, and to-be educators know, getting the approval of the administration is one of the most difficult steps to integrating something as new as blogging into the classroom. This website also has sections that explain the advantages to using eChalk in schools. This blogging site is not just helping students and educators, but parents as well! There is a section that explains to parents that blogging in the classroom is a good way to help keep them “in the loop” with school work and that the safety of the children is eChalk’s most important priority.Teachers Principle

sSuperintendents

Parents

eChalk

Though this article did not give a boat load of information, I still think it is was a great one because it links the reader to a blogging site that is not only really safe for kids and teachers, but helpful to parents and administrators.

Blogs are Not the Enemy

This article explains that even though lots of educators are wanting to integrate blogging into their classrooms, they still do not understand how beneficial blogs can be to a student’s learning experience.

Blogs are Not the Enemy

The article goes on to talk about the importance of realizing the importance of bringing the blog comments back into the classroom for discussion. It also outlines (with a little help from an inserted sidebar) how to explain to students what goes into a good comment.

Blogs are Not the EnemyI thought that this article would be a beneficial one for all educators, especially ones blogging. By bringing up blog comments during class, it is beneficial to both the teacher and the students because they then can discuss their thoughts with the class interactively. I also like that the article shows how to make effective comments because it ultimately helps the student express his or her ideas instead of just commenting something like “That was good” or “I don’t agree”. They actually state their view whether it is opposing or not.

Conclusion

All of these articles have the same central idea: blogging is a great addition to a classroom as long as the teacher knows the basics and finds a safe blogging site. Blogging is a great way to get students to express their views in a creative way. I chose this topic because ever since we created blogs in W200, I have decided that blogging is something that I want to integrate into my class as an English Teacher. I think that these articles capture why I think that it is a good idea and how to be smart and safe about it.

BibliographyJackson, Lorrie. (2005). Blogging? It’s Elementary, My Dear

Watson!. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from Education World Website: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml

Nagel, David. (2008). K-12 Online Learning Environment Adds ‘Student-Safe’ Academic Blogging. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from T.H.E Journal Website:http://www.thejournal.com/the/printarticle/?id=22798

Utecht, Jeff. (2007). Blogs Are Not the Enemy. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from Tech & Learning Website: http://www.techlearning.com/article7220