Blogs & Glogs: Revitalizing Class Projects Krista Bittenbender Royal 2010 SETESOL Conference, Miami, FL

Background University of South Florida’s Intensive English Program Academic Focus Beginner – Advanced Levels 14 wk semester 20 hrs/wk 5 classes tech available

What are blogs and glogs? blog = web log = an online journal often hosted online; can enter content directly offers public space for writing & interaction primarily text-based; can add images glog = graphical blog uses multi-media like an interactive poster

Why blog or glog? student engagement interesting & dynamic tech share writing and projects comment on each others work reach multiple learning styles save paper & ink projects are easy to keep develop technology skills

Blogger.com

Why blogger? Free, reliable, long-standing site Easy to use for a range of users Nice ready made design templates Advanced users can customize Supports text and images Ability to set blogs as private, shared, or public Access control for comments

BloggerBlogger: 3 steps to start Quick & easy to set up a blog create an account (only basics required) name your blog / url adress choose a template

BloggerBlogger Dashboard Contains list of blogs owned by you Links for posting, editing, & managing blogs

BloggerBlogger Access Controls Limit who can read & who can comment Create group blogs with multiple authors Create single author blogs – a private online space that can be shared How to: Settings > Permissions

Blog Assignments Use for regular writing assignments and journal entries – best for serial or periodic entries Use as a class site and discussion board to share information with students Use for writing stories, current events, reviews, target grammar/vocabulary production

Suggestions Students lose stuff – create standards for passwords and log-ins; keep records Create a central site for the class that links to student blogs for easy access Always hit PUBLISH to publish Confirm students have shared with you Copying text from Word? Paste first into notepad to clear formatting Format within the textbox

glogster.com

Glogs Digital, multimedia, interactive ‘posters’ Can add text, graphics, pictures, audio & video clips, links Use for presentations as alternative to slide show - shorter, less language Great for student projects

Making a glog

MoreMore about glogs Can be linked together Comments can be posted Glogs can be rated Can ‘grab’ images, audio, and video Save as unpublished, published, public, private

Glogster & Edu: fun learning experience & new way to express creativity new interest levels around subjects that may have been seen as “boring” before Adds audiovisual aspects to traditionally text- oriented subjects Fosters teamwork and collaboration with classmates Increases drive to be independently creative Unlimited shelf life Keeps teachers and students up to date with modern technology

Glogster Projects Collages - “me” collage, character study, biography, family All About ‘x’ Projects – country, ecosystem, animal, city, a jobs, majors, food Book reports & story summaries Analysis projects – art, literature Scrapbook projects– “trip” reports, semester summary Advertisement & brochure projects Mini-research projects Persuasive essay/speech projects

Glogster EDU

Resource Library

Creating an EDU blog

Glogster EDU - controls private & safe platform Teachers add student accounts Teachers monitor the content Creates virtual classroom Students only see glogs created within ‘classroom’ Students only communicate with the others within ‘classroom’

Teacher Dashboard

Adding Students How to Add Students: Teacher’s Dashboard >“Add New Students” button 2 choices: randomly generated or uploaded Up to 100 student accounts – free (200 - $) Can delete and recover unused student accounts No need for student addresses – teacher generates all account information New account sign-in and password info provided (can change and recover)

Adding Students - Upload

Student Dashboard

Additional Resources presentation presentation

Thank you! Questions? Ideas? Contact me: