What is a blog?
Blogs began simply as web logs. Crane describes blogs as "someones personal dated 'log', frequently updated with new information about a particular subject or range of subjects....
blogs can display not only text but pictures, video, audio and even store other files to link to like Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations" (p.17). Richardson (2010) adds that a blog "allows an author (or authors) to publish instantly to the Internet from any Internet connection" (p.17). Many writers refer to blogging as a new form of journalism. That definition is currently too limiting. To begin exploring blogs consider viewing (like I did) Common Craft's explanatory video "Blogs in Plain English".
There are many sites that host blogs. Some charge fees, others provide less support and fewer templates and options. So far I've explored 5 sites. The first two are:
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| Wordpress |
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| Blogger |
There are many blog hosting sites. Most are free and I'm discovering that it often comes down to the bloggers skill level and personal preferences when choosing your platform. The two main sites I would suggest exploring are Wordpress and Blogger. Now that I've had a chance to explore both (wordpress for my electronic portfolio, blogger for this course) I must say that I have found blogger more attractive visually and much easier to use.
At school, these sites are not supported so I'm directing staff to educational sites:
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| edublogs |
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| Class Blogmeister |
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| KIDBLOG.org |
Edublogs looks straight-forward and similar to blogger. There is a slight monthly fee if you wish to eliminate advertising. Class blogmeister is a little more complicated as you need a code to begin, so if you haven't attended a David Warlick 'event' you need to e-mail him for a code. The one that we're going to go ahead and work with this year is kidblog.org as it is aimed at elementary and middle school students and it seems to be the most simple and direct to use with young children. Kist (2010) points out that sites like this have "all the benefits of social networking but only with people who belong to the organization" (p.54). So far kidblog.org has not been stopped by our boards filters.
What are the characteristics of a blog?
When you set up your blog you will need to select a name and web address. This is your chance to capture people's interest. Make you title catchy (and something your students will remember). Add a photo of yourself, an avatar or a logo. As you make choices for your blog, this is your opportunity to think about basic design and layout. Surf through the multitude of templates provided. Decide on how many columns you would like. Think about the background and your colour choices.
Now that your blog is set up you are ready to add content. When you are ready to post new content you will work through your dashboard. You will have the opportunity to edit, revise and even delete your post if you are not happy with it. Blogs present content in reverse chronological order. Each entry is called a post. Each post is dated, has a title, body and a place for comments. Blog posts and comments create a thread of information about a topic. de Ramirez (2010) explains "a list of comments can continue the thread of the virtual conversation for as long as there is interest" (p.16). If you do not want your blog to be completely public you can choose to moderate your comments. This means that comments are sent to your e-mail for approval. This may be another option for schools who are constrained by board policies restricting on-line communities.
Blogs also have pages. Posts provide new content and are time-sensitive. Pages stand on their own. They are separate, e.g. your profile page. Within your post you can add links, photos and embed audio and video. You can add tags to your post. For this post I can add the tags: education, library, literacy, blogs schools.
Most blogs provide the opportunity to add links and widgets (called gadgets in blogger). Richardson (2010) points out that "being able to connect ideas and resources via linking is one of bloggings most important strengths" (p. 19"). Widgets are embeddable elements that can be added to your blog to create interest. Widgets should support the content of your blog, e.g. twitter feed, flickr photostream, calendar of events.
While most blogs are informal and personal some are academic and some are written for professional reasons or to promote a business. Blog posts may be short, long or even written as a serial. Blogs can be about anything: work, life, politics, sports, etc. Unlike other writing that is shared with the world, there is no professional editor mulling over the content before it is posted and as a result the quality of the writing varies greatly.
What is a blogger?
Most of us will never have the opportunity to be published authors, flogging our books at Chapters. But we can be published authors simply by creating and maintaining a blog. Crane (2009) points out that "if you have a Weblog or contribute to one you are a blogger," (p. 17).
Types of Blogs
Personal
The blogopsphere truly provides a virtual buffet - there really is something for everyone! Whether its sports blogs for my dad, gaming blogs for my son or craft blogs for my mom, there are literally thousands available on every topic you can think of. For entertainment purposes and to support my hobbies I follow garden wise, a local quilter and if I just want to escape to Hollywood for awhile deadline.com. Like other web 2.0 tools, there are also directories, e.g.quiltinggallery provides links to over 4500 quilting blogs worldwide. It doesn't take long to discover that there are blogs written to inform, blogs written to sell you something and blogs written simply for the joy of writing and the chance to connect with others. While I've used informative blogs for this course, I find I'm drawn to the personal exchange of information and author's voice found in a good personal blog. If you're having difficulty finding the right blogs to follow consider technorati. "Technorati is a search engine for blog content" (Kist, 2010, p. 72).
As a student, there are several blogs that have been invaluable sources of information and inspiration.
- I can't imagine many teacher-librarians who aren't groupies of Joyce Valenza's Neverending search blog. I find that she pushes my thinking. She obviously is a wonderful role-model and although her slant is from a high-school perspective I can still take away usable information from her posts. Her Nov. 13th post on using kindles to study reading motivation (and the links to Buffy Hamilton's e-reader info.) have given me leverage in my quest to acquire some e-readers for the library.
- Silvia Tolisano's langwitches blog fascinates me. First, she is incredibly straight-forward in her writing. Second, she provides specific instructions with amazing visuals. Third, her writing is current and real. She always refers to the curriculum and the students. Her Nov. 20th post on 'Assessment of Learning via Skype' is absolutely brilliant as a result of it's detail, mindmaps and rubrics.
- While there are other great TL and education blogs, e.g. Buffy Hamilton, Vicki Davis, my third choice to highlight is Janice Robertson's Passionate Pages. Although she doesn't focus on professional development for teachers, she is one of the first in our board to embrace technology (even though it often means finding go-arounds). Her blog is for her staff and students. Her issues are usually local ones and her book reviews often feature Canadian authors.
Professional
If you consider the curriculum, I cannot think of a single area that either doesn't have a blog already available or one that we couldn't blog about. If we want to provide students with opportunities to develop new literacy skills through the Internet, blogs are the perfect vehicle. By creating a blogroll around a certain topic, e.g. healthy eating, students can research curriculum topics. Students can be assigned the task of finding material on a topic that is worth reading. We can promote non-fiction reading by following science blogs. Through blogs students are given countless opportunities to interact with others, think critically, consider other points of view and evaluate what they have read. Blogs can be used for keeping journals or diaries, having group discussions, sharing class poetry, collaborative writing, novel studies, book reviews, literature circles, commenting on essential questions or for responding to key issues, images or audio files. de Ramirez (2010) suggests that blogs are motivating for ELL students. She advises that we begin by having ELL students read many blogs before they attempt to create their own. "The blogs then become virtual portfolios of their writing and speaking skills," (p.18).
How then, do we encourage teachers to use blogs in their teaching? Ramaswami states, "it is imperative for teachers to develop their own tech skills so they can bring technology's academic benefits into the classroom" (p. 23). Modeling or team-blogging may also be something to consider.
Recommending blogs to teachers:
Part of my job as teacher-librarian is to point people in the right direction. While only two teachers out of 64 have asked about blogging I have to consider that many don’t know what they could do with a classroom blog. Crane(2009) explains that "blogs are so simple to create and edit that they are ideal for the classroom teacher or school librarian" (p.20). Whether they're ready to create their own classroom blog or they're hoping to expand their professional learning community, I've tried to find exemplary classroom blogs to share at each grade level or division. Boling et al (2008) highlight some excellent examples. Others are winners of edublog awards and still others were found while exploring the blog buffet. Here’s that blogroll:
Kindergarten: I'm still searching for a great Kindergarten example. One that doesn't include a focus on phonics, singing the alphabet song or leveled books. I also haven't found one that has student created content, e.g. podcasts, photos...
Kindergarten: I'm still searching for a great Kindergarten example. One that doesn't include a focus on phonics, singing the alphabet song or leveled books. I also haven't found one that has student created content, e.g. podcasts, photos...
This blog is quite simply done and feature samples of students writing, artwork, and embedding photos. They provide a blogroll and links to favorite sites. This would be a great example to begin with..
More sophisticated, this blog includes similar items to the first example but also includes a virtual field trip, video and digital storytelling. It would be the example to strive for once you've mastered the basics.
Gr. 1 Mrs. Hossack's first graders
For those who would like to link with someone teaching in another country, this teacher is a Canadian with vast experience teaching overseas (this blog is from China). She includes some great teaching examples (both text and visuals) and developmentally appropriate teaching on her site.
Gr. 1 Mrs. Hossack's first graders
For those who would like to link with someone teaching in another country, this teacher is a Canadian with vast experience teaching overseas (this blog is from China). She includes some great teaching examples (both text and visuals) and developmentally appropriate teaching on her site.
This blog is one of my absolute favorites. It is visually very attractive, age-appropriate, and provides great inspiration for teaching and blogging, e.g. persuasive writing on “Should we be sun smart?’, examples of student writing, videos and photos of artwork and the class in action. The site also provides links to their wikis as well as links to blogs they follow. This is a much more sophisticated site then the gr. 1 example and is a great example of what we could achieve.
Gr. 3 Jefferson Bear is a wonderful example for any grade of using a character (or in this case a teddy bear) for students to follow in his travels and write to.
Gr. 3 Ms. Rogoski's grade three class blog has an environmental focus and relies heavily on images. This blog is almost a digital scrapbook of their learning.
Gr. 4 Ms. Kreul's class blog focuses on sharing student written book reviews. They also provide a blogroll, links and a podcast of the class singing the school song.
Gr. 4 Mrs. Grist's gr. 4/5 blog provides some ideas for setting up your blog including an about, blogging guidelines and why use this blog page. She includes a variety of student work from book reports to Gauss math activities to artwork. Comments are highlighted in the left column while a blogroll and educational links are on the right. The phases of the moon widget is definitely one I would use with this age group.
Gr. 5 Mr. Brune's 5th grade class is a great example of the next step for many of our teachers. Many of our grade 5 teachers maintain 'class sites' through our boards intranet, but they are quite limiting. Although it is closed now (eliminating the chance for comments and connections) this site shows some simple uses of a class blog, including homework assignments, student work, surveys and photos.
Gr. 5 Make it interesting is a grade eight blog but the focus on mathematics and social justice issues will appeal to my grade five colleagues. This blog also shows the connectivity of classmates as well as comments from beyond the school walls.
The list could go on and on. While I have a fondness for blogs by teacher-librarians I still follow some sites that are way beyond my technical skill level like David Jake's the strength of weak ties,
I have many examples of classroom blogs, I can see make all kinds of curricular connections but why would we use blogs? Aside from finding them motivating Ramaswami (2008) summarizes Bachenheimers' research,
Time: I have often considered creating a library blog or even some sort of communal book review blog. Aside from little support from our school board Foote, 2010 reminds us that there's "the issue of time. Maintaining a current library Web page with frequently updated posts requires a lot of attention" (p.42). I know that I'm disappointed when a blogger either closes their site or simply stops posting frequently. I have some serious decision-making to do around whether I have the time to maintain a site on my own.I have many examples of classroom blogs, I can see make all kinds of curricular connections but why would we use blogs? Aside from finding them motivating Ramaswami (2008) summarizes Bachenheimers' research,
It showed that students who blogged felt better about writing overall, and about writing research papers in particular. Of the 25 students in the English class, 74 percent believed that blog posts helped them articulate their ideas better, and 68 percent said blogs helped them determine what to say. Another 60 percent felt blogging helped them begin writing their papers, which is compelling because 84 percent of the students said that the hardest part of writing a research paper is starting it. The students commented that blogs helped them organize their thoughts, develop their ideas, synthesize their research, and benefit from their classmates' constructive comments.Concerns
Safety Kist (2010) provides examples of 'acceptable use' letters, guidelines and hints about ways to stay safe when using blogs. Obviously, it's wise to take into account your board's policies. "In our classroom discussion on safe and responsible blogging, we advised students not to reveal personal identifying information. If they received anything online that made them feel uncomfortable, they were to minimize their screens and immediately report concerns to the teacher" (Davis & McGrail, 2009, p. 76).
Keeping it all together - RSS feeds and aggregators
"Imagine a world where relevant information comes to you instead of you having to search for it," (Richardson, 2006). Welcome to the world of feeds and aggregators. Once you find a variety of interesting and informative blogs or sites to follow both personally and professionally, information overload will take over. There are few people who have the time to go to 30+ blogs a day and then skim through recent posts. Instead, in order to stay current and save time, subscribe to the web feed for each site or blog. As Richardson (2006) points out "with RSS, you can connect to more information in less time, thus keeping track of news, ideas, and conversations almost as they happen. Instead of pointing and clicking through dozens of sites to learn what's new, RSS brings it all together in one place." When you find a web site that is updated regularly, look for the web feed logo. The icon is generally an orange square containing a dot and 2 curved lines.
Wikipedia explains "RSS (most commonly expanded as Really Simple Syndication) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format....They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desk-top-based, or mobile-device-based." If you plan to follow more than a couple of blogs you will need an aggregator to download, organize, and read your web feeds. I chose to use google reader as I'm often on different computers so I wanted a web-based reader and I use google for a variety of other tasks.
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| Screen shot of my google reader |
Using RSS feeds at school
As we continue to shift our thinking about what literacy is and how the readwriteweb is impacting our teaching I think that we need to model the use of an aggregator from a very early age, even if we're only following other classroom blogs within our building. "RSS feeds facilitate receiving chunks of information that are easy to scan" (Lamb & Johnson 2009, p. 67) allowing you to quickly select what you want to read. Think of the skills that can be demonstrated by using a tool like google reader, e.g. skimming/scanning material, searching for key words, evaluating the importance or significance of information, starring favourite posts, organizing folders, and deleting feeds that have proven uninteresting. Of course if you have a class blog you will want to provide an RSS feed to your readers, e.g. in blogger it is nearly automatic and your connection to the blogosphere is complete.
Conclusions
Conclusions
At work recently we've been discussing blogs: why write them, why follow them...and a small group were really negative. They felt that not everyone should be writers and basically stated that there were so many blogs that were mundane drivel. My response was "so what?" If something doesn't interest you then don't read it. The very fact that millions of people are writing should be something we celebrate. I feel that these teachers need to shift their views of literacy and see that everyone can be producers of on-line content not just consumers. If people are writing personal diary style blogs, good for them. Even if no one follows their blog the act of writing is in itself often therapeutic. We need to remember that blogs are "dynamic, flexible tools" (Crane, 2009, p. 17). Think about how you could use a blog to share information and build community. Foote (2010) advises "using a blog as your library site can inform students--and administrators--about the many activities going on in your library and the varied curriculum and interests you support, all while functioning as a practical tool for student research. Perhaps best of all, a blog conveys to your students and staff your own passion for learning" (p. 42). So go ahead. Demonstrate your passion for learning by creating a blog. "It is a fairly forgiving medium, so jump in - and welcome to the blogosphere" (de Ramirez, 2010, p.27).
References:
Boling, E., Castek, J., Zawilinski, L., Barton, K., & Nierlich, T. (2008). Collaborative Literacy: Blogs and Internet Projects. Reading Teacher, 61(6), 504-506.
Crane, B. (2009). Using web 2.0 tools in the K-12 classroom. New York, NY: Neal Schumann Publishers.
Davis, A., & McGrail, E. (2009). The Joy of Blogging. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 74-77.
de Ramirez, L. (2010). Empowering English language learners with tools from the web. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin.
Foote, C. (2010). Putting Your Best Foot Forward. School Library Journal, 56(1), 40-42.
Kist, W. (2010). The socially networked classroom: Teaching in the new media age. Thousand Oakes: CA, Corwin.
Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2009). web feeds delivered to your digital doorstep. Teacher Librarian, 36(3), 66-70.
Ramaswami, R. (2008). The Prose of Blogging (and a Few Cons, Too). T.H.E. Journal, 35(11), 21-25.
Richardson, W. (2006). Merrily down the Stream: RSS Makes It Easy to Gather Information. School Library Journal, 52(7), 40.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin.
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