“We all have something to share and something to learn.”
I love this quote and it reminds me of what I love most about blogging - sharing and learning. Blogging differs from a web page because it allows for two way communication. The blogger shares ideas, inspiration, and information via posts and the reader learns and is inspired from the blogger. If the reader leaves a comment, the roles reverse! The dialogue between the content creator and the reader is published on the web to the public for all to read and is inspiring for both the author and the reader. Reading and commenting on blogs is as powerful as writing a blog post.
I love this quote and it reminds me of what I love most about blogging - sharing and learning. Blogging differs from a web page because it allows for two way communication. The blogger shares ideas, inspiration, and information via posts and the reader learns and is inspired from the blogger. If the reader leaves a comment, the roles reverse! The dialogue between the content creator and the reader is published on the web to the public for all to read and is inspiring for both the author and the reader. Reading and commenting on blogs is as powerful as writing a blog post.
Here are some tips for you as you begin to blog both as an individual and with students.
Tip 1: Establish your digital presence and get your account created! Blogging is a great way to connect your classroom to the world. My favorite site to get teachers started is http://blogger.com. It is part of the Google suite! Login with your gmail address and away you go! You can share classroom happenings, lesson ideas, books you are reading, educational links, videos, images, an article that sparked a thought, or an a-ha moment while teaching.
Tip 2: Start small and dream big! Every blog started the same way, with the first post. That is how blogs grow, one post at a time. Make blogging something that you get to do, not something you have to do. Post when you are in the moment and let the ideas flow.
Tip 3: Share! Blogs are meant to be read by an audience such as parents, students, and/or other educators. Share the link to your blog via newsletters, QR codes, e-mail, or on Twitter. My favorite QR code generators are http://www.qrstuff.com/ (make QR codes in color) and http://goo.gl/ (shortens a URL and if you click on details, generates the QR code too!)
Tip 4: Get your students blogging. Kidblog.org is the best place to create a classroom blog site. You, the teacher, manage the blogs and approve comments before they are posted. This is a great way to give students a purposeful reason to write and foster in them a desire to write with passion, care about grammar, proof read, and publish their work.
Tip 5: Sharing their writing with others is powerful and necessary to ignite their desire to write and publish. Give them some time each week to read and comment on their classmates blogs.
Tip 6: Connect your classroom to the world! You can easily get your students blogs out there so other students can comment on their posts using Twitter. Even if you don't have an account, just go to Twitter.com and do a search for #comments4kids. You will find teachers post things such as this tweet below.
Tip 4: Get your students blogging. Kidblog.org is the best place to create a classroom blog site. You, the teacher, manage the blogs and approve comments before they are posted. This is a great way to give students a purposeful reason to write and foster in them a desire to write with passion, care about grammar, proof read, and publish their work.
Tip 5: Sharing their writing with others is powerful and necessary to ignite their desire to write and publish. Give them some time each week to read and comment on their classmates blogs.
Tip 6: Connect your classroom to the world! You can easily get your students blogs out there so other students can comment on their posts using Twitter. Even if you don't have an account, just go to Twitter.com and do a search for #comments4kids. You will find teachers post things such as this tweet below.
Today is the day for your blogging birthday! Get an account and connect you and your classroom to the world! You will be glad you did!
“When we're connected to others, we become better people.”
- Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Resources to get you started:
Blogging Sites:
Walking a Path to Successful Blogging by Brent Catlett
Five Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts by Sue Waters
Mrs. Geldes Kidblog by Sharae Geldes
Six Essential Tech Tools for 21st Century Workflow - Ann Feldmann
Blogging Basics Prezi by Ann Feldmann
Thunder American History by Mr. Myers
Blogs to Read
You can include a link to blogs you read on your blog.
Technology Tools for Teaching Resources
Connect Your Classroom to the World
Twitter - #comments4kids
Written by Ann Feldmann
@annfeldmann1
I think that blogging is a great way for teachers to be connected with each other and a great resource as well. As a kindergarten teacher I don't think I will be having my students blog. I have heard that it is relatively easy to do with them, but right now I feel like I have enough going on in my classroom. I have considered started a blog of my own for my classroom, however I am already required to keep an updated classroom website for the district I work in and that keeps me busy enough.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed learning how to start and update a blog through the grad classes I have been taking. As Julia stated in the above comment, I likely won't start blogging with my first graders - at least not until I feel comfortable as a blogger myself. I would like to begin a blog this coming school year as a way to communicate with parents. I do use multiple forms of communication already (email, classroom website, Remind 101, Twitter, etc.); however, I do like how a parent could post a comment on a blog and questions could be answered directly on the blog!
ReplyDeleteI have had a great opportunity throughout the course I am taking to learn more about blogging and incorporating it to my classroom. I think that blogging is a great tool to keep parents and students informed about events, projects, and topics being covered in class. I love the idea of creating a blog for my students and having them write about their experiences in school and having them reflect on things they have learned. I hope to get my own blog started for my students soon. I am excited to see them begin writing and connecting with others!
ReplyDeleteThroughout this course I have learned just how easy and important it is to use blogging in the classroom. I agree with Janah that Blogging is a great way to keep parents informed about upcoming activities and projects. It can also be used as a tool, so if kids miss a day, they can see what the class was working on. Being an 8th grade Language Arts teacher, I can see my students using blogger as a educational tool in my classroom. They can practice writing and also put their favorite English websites on their blog, so that others can use them.
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