Best Practices in Educational Blogging

So you are ready to take your students to the next level and  have them blog in the classroom?!

 Before you begin, on your exciting adventure of collaboration, discovery and synthesis, there are some best practices to consider:

Norms and Guidelines for Blogging: Begin by clearly explaining proper online forms of communication. Introduce students to blogging by having them read other blogs and evaluating exemplary blogs. What do they notice about the blogs? What is included and what is not included? At this point it is important to have a discussion about appropriate blog topics, language used and your district's AUP, or Acceptable Use Policy. In addition, if you have students that are 13 years or younger, you must also address COPPA, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule.

Safety Issues: As an educator you must decide whether your student blogs will be private or available for all to see online. ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education has established standards for 21st Century teachers. One of these standards includes creating collaboration and communication in the classroom via virtual means. Blogging is an excellent tool with which to achieve this standard, but must be done with caution. It is imperative that when a student creates a blog that contains personal information, privacy protections are placed on the blog. Blogs can be set up to be viewed by invite only. If the blog does not contain personal information, it can then be made public, to be viewed by individuals around the world, encouraging relevancy and collaboration.

Bullying: To ensure safety and to prevent possible bullying, it is crucial that educators read student blogs on a regular basis and address any misuse issues immediately. Ideally, bullying and safety topics are addressed as a preventive measure when introducing the concept of blogging, and the school's AUP. 

Student blogs are a great way to encourage discovery, analysis, collaboration and communication with others around the world! What tips do you have for developing successful blogging in your classroom? I would love to hear your ideas!

21st Century Classrooms

Can You Hear Me Now?

Just like the guy on the Verizon commercial, students desire to be heard. They wish for their voice to be relevant and important, which is why social media is so prevalent among this generation. Students want their images to be liked on Instagram, their posts liked on Facebook and for their tweets to be favorited on Twitter. In order for education to be relevant, 21^st century education must take this new trend into consideration; these technology tools must be integrated into the classroom. 

Marc Prensky says “engage me, not enrage me.” Long gone is the teacher as the sage on the stage. Today a 21^st century teacher is a guide, and the student is an active participator, and that active participation changes daily with our developing technology. Our 21^st century world invites and encourages collaboration. Using tools like Twitter, blogs and social media, students are required to move along Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy from simply Understanding, to Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating.

Resistance exists regarding the use of cell phones, blogs, and Twitter in the classroom. Technology’s pervasiveness within the future classroom is unavoidable, and this truth should not be feared. As with each new teaching methodology there are early adopters or trailblazers that face resistance. These teachers combat the criticism and naysayers while clearing a path for the teachers that follow. Thank you to the teachers that experiment, who engage, not enrage their students, and listen to their students!

I can hear you now!

 

Blogging in the Classroom

10 More Ways to Use Blogs in the Classroom

1. Introductions and Internet Safety!: Invite parents and students to your blog in the beginning of the year to better know who you are. Then, assign each student the task of creating a blog and posting about themselves. Require students to comment on their peers' blogs. This leads to an excellent lesson about privacy online and appropriate online communication.
2. Role Playing: Have students take on the historical role of a person or a group of persons currently being studied in class. Provide prompts to be used for weekly blog posts. Require peers to comment on posts. Students will not only develop analysis and evaluative skills, but also discover that their voice is relevant, as they begin to see views of their blog from around the world.    
3. Extension to Twitter: After students have tweeted about an article or event, have students evaluate and create their own response and better develop critical thinking skills.
4. Classroom Rules: Teacher creates a blog post regarding classroom rules and expectations. Link a survey relating to desirable rules and expectations.  Invite students to post responses and participate in survey. Post survey results on blog.
5. For the Joy of Writing!: Students are rarely given the opportunity to simply write! To encourage the delight of free writing, have students blog once a week on any subject that interests them.
6. Tips for New Students: A great way to encourage student reflection and for the teacher to assess her year, is to have her students create a blog for next year’s incoming students. This blog could include tips for how to be successful and how to enjoy the new academic year.
7. Flipped Classroom: After reviewing required content, students can show comprehension by applying and analyzing their newly received information by responding to a teacher provided prompt. 
8. Encourage Greater Community Involvement: Have students blog about highlights of their school: achievements, awards, contests, and have them invite school board members, administrators or school district members to read their blog.
9. End of the Year Assessment: Have students create a blog that showcases their best work throughout the year. Encourage students to reflect upon their work and explain their choice, and perhaps changes that they would  like to make in retrospect. Have their peers comment on each other’s blogs.
10. Cross-Curricular Alignment: Create a grade level blog that is used for a variety of content areas. Have one teacher from each content area post their weekly happenings. Encourage students to see connections between different content areas.