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Here we are at WLMA!!!

WLMA oct 13

look we're blogging!!!!

Classroom Blogs: Ideas

If you haven't caught on yet, Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (Corwin Press, 2006) is the best (and only?) in-print guide to using the read-write web in the classroom. I've been carrying it around in preparation for this presentation, and enjoyed reading it just about everywhere. If you're considering using blogs in the classroom, get Will's book, start reading his blog, Weblogg-ed, and you're on your way!
The following is a quick summary of chapter two, "Weblogs: Pedagogy and Practice", where Will Richardson establishes six functions of educational blogs.

• Class Portal
  The "class portal" serves as a main communication tool with students, and, by extension, parents. Post the curriculum, assignments and all class-related handouts and rules. This is also a way towards classroom transparency and an excellent communication tool with other teachers and school administration. Everyone knows what you and your students are up to!
  
• Online Filing Cabinet
  Add student weblogs to your Class Portal and you've got a complete record of class activities - and you're paperless! Students post and therefore archive their work. This opens the door for peer-to-peer interaction online.
  
• E-Portfolio
  Students select the best work and write a post reflecting on each work they choose to share. This can span classrooms, and even years of study. Almost any file type (images, text documents, slides, movies, audio files) can be uploaded to a blog.
  
• Collaborative Space
  Students can work together to become experts on a topic, and then share their knowledge with others. They can also learn from other students, teachers, professionals, or experts, without being restricted by physical location. Blogs can build an educational community beyond the classroom. For example, Will Richardson's class became the expert on The Secret Life of Bees and collaborated with Sue Monk to create reader guide to the book.
  
• Knowledge Management and Articulation
  Teachers can use blogs to communicate with colleagues. This is a great tool to use internally in an organization - for committees or continued dialogues.
  
• School Website
  This solves the problem of the never-updated web site. Blogs can be updated in a flash, and then used to communicate school announcements, reflections on school events, parent-driven newsletters, etc. For example, Principal Tim Lauer provides an excellent example in Lewis Elementary web site.
  

Teacher Resources for Blogging in the Classroom

• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
  Buy this book for your library! Will Richardson is the author of Weblogg-ed and now he's brought us this how-to-guide for educational blogging. It's a must-have for a K-12 educator who want to explore blogging in-and-out of the classroom. Get it now!
• TeachersFirst
  This online tutorial on blogging is one-stop-shopping for a classroom teacher. It's chock full of practical ideas for blogs in the classroom, and has a safety overview.
• SupportBlogging! is a wiki designed by Steve Hargadon to encourage educators to talk about how they are using blogs in the classroom. Check out what educational blogging can be and add to the conversation! Find the wiki at http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com. Particularly helpful is the page titled “Student & Teacher Blogs” because it links to lots of great examples of educational blogging. Add your blog to the list!
• Anne Davis comes the rescue with a fabulous how-to wiki on educational blogging - Improving Instruction Through the Use of Weblogs. It's very visual and provides lots of examples.
  
• Blogical Minds is an excellent example for teachers to follow on how to guide students through the blogging process. Anne Davis (again!) is leading this project, and her blog is a good place to read reflections from an educator using blogs in the classroom. Also, be sure to visit the web quest that teaches elementary students the basics of writing a blog entry: Blogging: It's Elementary!
  
  

Blogging for Authentic Communication

Blogs can be a motivator for students, and a challenge for teachers. Blogging pulls on students intrinsic motivation by giving them a place for authentic written communication with their peers. For teachers, blogging with students can be a challenge because it requires establishing a community in a new medium, and can increase the frequency and level of written communication between teacher and student. Teachers must model how to use blogs appropriately and effectively by becoming an active blogger with his or her students. This requires reading, thinking and writing thoughtful feedback on their work.
Konrad Glogowski voices his thoughts on this topic as he plows through pages and pages of student blog entries while working on his PhD thesis on how blogging communities are used in education. Check out his Blog of Proximal Development, which is an all around good read. Of particular interest to me is his reflection on the Teacher as Blogger and how blogs force teachers to take on a new voice in a blogging community; moving away from 'grader' and towards 'co-creator'. A teacher’s voice may change and develop from one of authority to one of reflective co-learner. This pushes the teacher to be a facilitator of community in an online environment. Students will come away with the abilities to read, write, and respond thoughtfully, but only because the teacher is modeling this for them.