By now you've had several weeks of experience using a blog--this one--to learn and share ideas. This is just one way educators are using blogs to facilitate learning. Your role in this endeavor has been to read posts and comment. And, this week I'd like you to consider blogging from the other side--that of the author/content creator/poster. I'm hoping some of you may be wondering a) how you could use a blog or blogging in your role, b) what the benefits are of setting up a classroom blog, or c) how you can improve the classroom blog you already have in place. This week, we'll try to help you consider these questions as you consider the other side of blogging.
Edublogs is a blogging tool designed specifically for educators who are interested in using technology as a tool to communicate with students and parents. Each year they choose the top blogs for several different categories such as best student blog, best class blog, best podcasting, and best teacher blog.
To know more about the benefits of blogging, you should check out Edublog's Ten Ways to Use Blogs to Teach. Technically, this link will lead you to the top reasons to use “Edublogs” to teach, but the ideas are applicable to any blog you may create with any blogging tool. We don't use Edublogs as our blogging tool in our district, but their focus on educational blogs is well worth checking out.
After looking over the suggested ways to use blogs, check out several of the nominations for the top teacher blogs for 2011. Or, peruse a different category of nominees using the dropdown menu from the top of The Edublog Awards Blog. Then, come back here and tell us what you found that struck your fancy. Please include the link to that blog (or other resource) and explain why it struck you as useful or inspiring.
A final note: Although the discussion for this class takes place on a blog (which is a great way to use a blog, by the way), the primary focus for this class, ironically, is not blogging; we are merely using this blog to foster discussion and showcase new technologies that may be useful in your classroom. If you currently have or are planning to create a classroom blog, please take a look at these helpful hints, guidelines and other policies available on Sharepoint. In addition, we are eager to meet with you to help you get started, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.
