2008 A Younger Blogging 101 Amy Younger Skype: acyounger2 New Hope High School Lowndes County

Pg. 2 August 2008 A. Younger Goals For Today: Why Blog in the classroom? Learn what blogs are & how they work Discover some ways to integrate blogging activities into our curriculum. Show you how easy it is to create your own blog using edublogs.org DO ALL OF THIS IN ENGLISH!

Pg. 3 August 2008 A. Younger Is School Changing? Should it be?

Pg. 4 August 2008 A. Younger Current Reality 28% of year olds have a blog 50% of online teens read blogs 59% of online teens have created content for the Internet 60% of all new jobs in the 21st century wiSholl require skills that are possessed by only 20% of the current workforce. Every 29 seconds a high school student gives up on school. = 1 million/ year WHY? Effects of dropping out?

2008 A Younger “Meet these kids where they are!” “To help them be successful!”

W eb-log: web application which contains periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts on a common webpage. What is a Blog? Allow For Personal Reflection For Students! For Teachers!

What makes blogs so cool? Web-based! FREE! Very Easy to Use! Any level of education! Update from any Computer! You are in control! You are not alone!

Pg. 8 August 2008 A. Younger Before You Start Blogging Curriculum should drive the use of technology Have you got the computer and internet access you need? Do you feel confident in your own ability to use this technology? Are there people you can ask for assistance?

Pg. 9 August 2008 A. Younger Rank Yourself 1 – can turn it on 2 – use and installed computer software like word, excel 3 – searched and found some stuff to use in my classroom 4 – used web 2.0 tools in the classroom

Pg. 10 August 2008 A. Younger First thoughts of using blogging in the classroom? The dog can’t eat their homework anymore. Less Paperwork. Obviously involves the use of computers.

Pg. 11 August 2008 A. Younger Digital Natives-vs-Digital Immigrants

2008 A Younger Part Two: Setting Up Your Blog Why edublogs?

August 2008 A Younger C o m m o n T e r m s BLOG BLOGGING BLOGGER BLOGOSPERE BLOGROLL

Pg. 15 August 2008 A. Younger Setting Up Your First Blog

Pg. 16 August 2008 A. Younger Name Your Blog

Pg. 17 August 2008 A. Younger Choose a Template

Pg. 18 August 2008 A. Younger

Pg. 19 August 2008 A. Younger Ready to Blog!

Pg. 20 August 2008 A. Younger Create a Post for Your Blog

Pg. 21 August 2008 A. Younger Add Media 1 st 2 nd 3 rd

Pg. 22 August 2008 A. Younger Formatting Your Post’s Text

Pg. 23 August 2008 A. Younger Our “Finished” Blog

Pg. 24 August 2008 A. Younger Coming Back for More

2008 A Younger Part Three: Blogging in the Classroom Ways to integrate blogging activities into your curriculum

Pg. 26 August 2008 A. Younger BLOGGING DO'S The risks of blogging are real! Get parental permission. Know your school and district acceptable use policies. Avoid blogging sites that require students to publish their complete names and/or accounts ask students for any personal information. Remember that with risk comes growth and learning

Pg. 27 August 2008 A. Younger Best Bets for Classroom Blogging At First: Gradually introduce blogging to students. Teach etiquette of online posting. Use blogs just for fun a few days -- until they get used to how the system works. Require 1 entry/week Keep required lengths short & emphasize reflection. Over time: Encourage students to provide feedback on one another's blogs; to evaluate blogs outside of class. Evaluate their blog entries on factors such as time management, content, and grammar and spelling.

Pg. 28 August 2008 A. Younger With students… Reflect on their reading or classroom discussions. Investigate topics online and report on their research. Record group progress on a project. Talk about shared classroom experiences. Copy and paste thought-provoking quotes from other blogs, and have them offer their own thoughts on the topic. Source: Best Bets for Classroom Blogging

Pg. 29 August 2008 A. Younger Invite professional writers to edit their blogs, or provide feedback. Showcase examples of student work Post discussion questions Post writing prompts Post online readings Discover & share resources Source:

Pg. 30 August 2008 A. Younger With colleagues… Professional development Committee notes Lesson ideas and resources With Parents… Classroom events Newsletter Homework help Extra resources Source:

Pg. 31 August 2008 A. Younger With administrators… Professional Upcoming events Announcements Forms / Documents development Faculty meetings School Blog – Replace school newspaper Source:

Pg. 32 August 2008 A. Younger Blog = Journal? Blogs are just online versions of paper-based journals, right? Benefits of effective classroom blogging? audience WRONG! A Purpose Making Connections Journal On CRACK!

Pg. 33 August 2008 A. Younger Kindergarten Blog 3 rd grade – Mrs. Smith 3 rd grade – Mrs. Smith American Literature World Civilization

Pg. 34 August 2008 A. Younger Blog Groups Divide your students into “blog groups" according to their interests (national politics, entertainment, sports, hobbies, technology, etc.) Assignment: Write a weekly journal that relates to the blog group’s topic. Have each blog group create a blog roll. Let your students create their own rubrics. Decide guidelines for each post's content, style, and length. Promotes student ownership and stronger engagement.

August 2008 A Younger Actually Doing It Once you are ready to start blogging, do it as a whole class if possible until students are familiar with the process & the technology. – Blogging Guidelines – Clear Instructions (Safety Issues) – Provide structured tasks & focus questions – Provide clear guidelines for com menting on other people’s blogs

August 2008 A Younger J M A C

August 2008 A Younger RESOURCES Patrick Crispen Technology Specialist - netsquirrel.com Shawn Brandt - Technology Integration Specialist New Prague Area Schools NEA – blogging NOTES Youngermath.wikispaces.com > Teachers > presentations