Setting Up a Student-Centered

Classroom Blog

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Workshop Overview
o Blogging – in a nutshell
o Classroom Blogs – a rundown
oPlanning your classroom blog
oMaking a start with blogger.com

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Blogging in a nutshell
o Example of Web 2.0

o Definition from wikipedia :

A blog is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.
Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as
more
personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related
to
its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), or audio (
podcasting).

oUser-friendly
oShare a common format. Lots of free blog providers.
oControl of blog is with the person who has set it up

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Blogs tend to have a few things in common:

o A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest at

the top
o An archive of older articles
o A way for people to leave comments about the articles
o A list of links to other related sites, sometimes called a “blogroll”
o One or more “feeds” like RSS …

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Checking out blogs:

http://blogger.myfishingexpert.com/

http://www.observationdeck.org/weblogs/?p=1973

http://www.fashblog.com/

http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/

http://smithpartyof6.blogspot.com/

Digging Deeper:
o Searching for Blogs
o RSS Feeds
Rochelle Jensen, 2006
Classroom Blogs – A Rundown
oWhy have one?
oDangers
oExamples of blogs in education

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Possible reasons for having a classroom blog
o Creates a learning community feel in a place away from the traditional classroom.
This learning community is open 24/7
o Provides an authentic audience for student writing, an audience of peers, parents,
and a potential worldwide audience.
o Allows for multiple feedback loops among the networked students, teachers and
other interested parties. Learning in a class blog setting is now a social activity.
o Supports differentiation. The blog gives some of our more verbally reserved students
a forum for their thoughts.
o Encourages reading. To make a meaningful comment, or to choose their favorite
post, the students first need to read what’s out there.
o Encourages and teaches research skills. Encourages students to extend their
research beyond the assigned work.
o Builds technology skills
o Provides links to others sites and resources

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Student Safety and Privacy Concerns
The following guidelines are by no means exhaustive, but may be helpful to address
some real and legitimate concerns

o Depending on the age of students, consider posting their work using a

pseudonym instead of the students’ real names. In no cases use a student’s first
name and last name on a blog posting.
o Set up your blog so all comments must be moderated by you. Comments will be
emailed to you for the ‘ok’ before being directly posted to your blog.
o Set up your blog with a password to limit public access. The password can be
provided to class members, parents, and others with an interest in the work of
your class, but others in the public are prohibited from simply browsing the
contents of your classroom weblog.
o Keep the school community posted.
Inform all stakeholders about your planned or ongoing use of blogs for
instructional purposes. Solicit their support and feedback in advance, ideally
before concerns or problems develop relating to blog postings.
o Protect your blogid and password just like you would a credit card number.

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Ed Examples
o http://rocky11.blogspot.com/

o http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=2734

o http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

o http://tbcdrama.blogspot.com/

o http://hetherington0607.learnerblogs.org/

o http://mish.bloggers.co.nz/page/2/

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Planning your classroom blog
Food for Thought
oWhat would be the purpose of your blog?
oWhat are you going to write about?
oHow often?
oWho would read it ? Why would people read it?
oWho would comment on it? Who would post on it ? Why?

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Making a start with
http://www.blogger.com/start
THE FASTEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND BLOGGING IS TO TRY IT OUT. JUST TYPE IN THE LINK ABOVE, AND YOU CAN BE PART OF
THE PHENOMENON THAT'S TRANSFORMING WEB AND MEDIA TO A PARTICIPATORY ACTIVITY IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES.
SERIOUSLY.

BLOGGER IS TOTALLY FREE.

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

1. Create your blog 2. Create a 3. View Your Blog
post

4. Customise Your
Blog
-The Template
-The Settingsby thoughtfully
NB> Customise
answering the questions in each section.
These all relate to the look, feel and ability of
others to interact with your blog

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Tools to enhance your blog - for later
http://www.blogger.com/start
http://esnips.com/signin/index.jsp - file storage
http://www.flickr.com – photo storage
www.meez.com – your 3D ID
http://www.bravenet.com/ - hit counter

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Tips
o Stick to the purpose of your blog
o Interact with readers
o Make it worthwhile
o Build your blog bit by bit
o Seek expert blogs to assist with posting on your own
o Try and post at least once a week
o Make all posts relate to student learning

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Please post some feedback on my blog
o Was the course helpful in setting up a classroom blog?
o What further support/ info. could you have done with ?
o Best bits??

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Podcasts
What are they ?
Basically the ability to produce audio/video
mp3/mp4 files to then be downloaded from
the internet and played either directly to your
computer or to a portable player.
Examples
Possible Uses in our Schools :
*record lessons for students and parents to
access in their own time *create a class or
school radio station * find and use podcasts
as another source of research material *
create a blog about a school trip *ask
students to create a podcast to meet a real
need * another way of submitting work

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Blogs ( weblog)
What are they?
Fast and easy to create. A website that contains written material, links or photos
being posted all the time usually by an individual on a personal basis.
Examples:
http://waimawharf.blogspot.com/
http://rocky11.blogspot.com/
http://tbcdrama.blogspot.com/
http://tbcmediastudies.blogspot.com/

Possible Uses in our Schools :

“ Communication, posting info. such as readings on the blogs,
placed photos for viewing, provided Internet links
to subjects we are studying and used the blog as a message board
- asking students to comment on a topic or issue.
I also posted a web task on the blog, so the students could access it
at home
(providing they have computers) and work on it for homework”.
Clubs, classroom blogs..

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Wikis ( Hawaiian word ‘quick’)
What are they ?
A collaborative tool that allows individuals and groups to share their ideas in much the same way as
parts from a discussion might be recorded on an electronic whiteboard. Accessible anywhere in the
world. Can track changes and who made them. Limited no graphics.
Example : wikipedia – the biggest online encyclopedia in the world
Possible Uses in our Schools : to amend and contribute to, another source for research, to
participate in free speech, to participate in reflection and review

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 RSS Feeds
What are they ?
Rich Site Summary
The technology that makes it possible to subscribe to podcasts and blogs.
RSS is the technology that allows the user to control what information is
coming to them
Example : weblogs
Possible Uses in our Schools : professional development- new technology,
up-to-minute content specific feeds in your area of choice, time-saver …

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 So What? Now What?
How can we harness aspects of web 2.0 so it
has a positive impact on learning at our
school ???

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 www.fno.org

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

Choose one of the following :

**Blogs **Podcasts **Wikis

**RSS Feeds
**Your Choice ( see http://www.listible.com/list/complete-list-of-web-2-0-products-and-services)

Get together with 3-4 people who have made the same selection as you.
Make use of the resources from Rocky’s hard folder, her collection of relevant urls
posted on delicious and any other info. you have or can find.
Soft and sift through your info. in order to create a presentation that provides a guide
for teachers wanting to get started with ’podcasting’. Your guide should provide the
following info: ways you might use it yourself and in the classroom, how you would get
started, possible issues, someday to Monday .
Share this info. in your choice of ways: Rocky’s blog, webnote, slideshow, podcast….
You have : minutes to complete this task.
Good Luck !!!!
If doing podcasting you may like to create a podcast. If doing blogging you may like to
create a blog…

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

 Other …
Choose from : List of Web 2.0

Rochelle Jensen, 2006

“Teacher pedagogies will determine the extent to which the possibilities
offered by technology are realised in educational settings.”
(Pedagogy Strategy, Mceetya, 2005.)

 Collaborative
 Experimental, building on
prior learning – Just in Time
 Individualised Learning
 Self-managed +Cumulative
 Authentic
 Directed to Higher Order
Thinking
 Problem solving

Rochelle Jensen, 2006