Blogging in the Classroom Amir M. Villas Lubang Vocational High School Lubang, Occidental Mindoro

Objectives: At the end of the training session the trainees should be able to: Acquire basic knowledge and skills in blogging Recognize the importance and advantages and disadvantages of blogging Create, customize, post and share their own blogs

Terminology Blog (noun) - a journal or diary that is on the Internet Andrew Sullivan has the most popular blog on the Internet. Blogger (noun) - a person who keeps a blog Bloggers are revolutionizing the way news is shared.

Terminology Blog (verb) - to write a blog I am going to blog before breakfast this morning. Blogging (verb) - the action of writing a blog Blogging is my way of sharing my passions with the world.

Components Advertisement Title Date Text Post Title Posting Information Previous Posts Archives Comments

Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs For Students relate to the lesson. develop and hone their writing skills. serve as online student journals for a variety of classroom modules. increase the sense of community and camaraderie among classmates. help students understand appropriate online sources

Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs For Students foster collaboration and team-building skills. help promote and develop reading and writing skills. provide another outlet for different styles of learning. encourage discussion anytime engage students by presenting material in a way that is familiar and comfortable.

Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs For Students provide a virtual announcement board Serve as a communication device Serve as an outlet for students who are shy.

Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs For Educators build professional learning network Serve as a forum to vet classroom ideas highlight valuable resources that educators can use both in and out of the classroom. make teachers aware of current events and trends that are important to students initiate discussions that are meaningful and relevant to them.

Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs For Educators Just like students, educators can use blogs to improve their writing skills. Blogs can be used to facilitate classroom discussion. Blogs give teachers more time. Sometimes, not everything can be fit into the lesson plan, and homework can’t stand in for instruction. Teachers can use blogs to post further instruction, additional supporting materials, and more.

Blogs in Education Options for instructors using blogs include: Content-related blogs as a professional practice Networking and personal knowledge sharing Instructional tips for students Course announcements and readings Annotated links Knowledge management

Blogs in Education Options for students using blogs in courses include: Reflective or writing journals Knowledge management Assignment submission and review Dialogue for group work E-portfolios Share course-related resources

Features of a Blog-Based Class Before choosing a blogging service, one must know their requirements. Following is a list of features which could make a successful blog-based class:

Features of a Blog-Based Class It must be possible for a teacher to create as many “class blogs” as deemed necessary to organize class materials. For example, it must be possible for a teacher to create a blog for class notes and another for posting group feedback.

Features of a Blog-Based Class The class blogs must be viewable by all students. Furthermore, only the teacher should have administrative privileges to modify these blogs.

Features of a Blog-Based Class All students must have their own individual blog for posting assignments. Only two people, the teacher and the student, can view the student’s individual blog. Students can edit their own writing and the teacher can add comments to the student’s submissions. However, students cannot edit the teacher’s comments.

Features of a Blog-Based Class For the sake of organization, it must be simple for the teacher to change between students’ blogs. The blogging service must provide server space on the Internet to store class and student blogs. The blogging service must be free.

Advantages of Blogs to Teachers Web based authoring – like Blackboard Design is totally separate from content Search, comment system and rich archiving tools are built in Content is stored in a database allowing for robust data-driven operations

Advantages of Blogs to Students: Students have access to instructor’s notes on the Internet. Students also have the option of previewing the class material before class and reviewing the material after class. Because students are connected to the Internet, they have access to different dictionaries and bibliographies.

Advantages of Blogs to Students: Because the class material is organized into sections, students can easily find information. Students can read comments for the class as a whole and comments directed at them individually. This maximizes feedback and contact with the teacher. Students can observe their progress over time.

Disadvantages of Blogs: Blogs generally have no assessment or polling features. Although they often have a comment feature, blogs are not message or discussion boards. In general, blogs have limited community features such as those found in Blackboard.

Disadvantages of Blogs: Most people don’t have very much to say that’s interesting, and/or are unable to write down their ideas in a compelling and clear manner. Blogs are easy to start but hard to maintain. Writing coherently is one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks. As a result, many blogs are not updated, thus damaging rather than enhancing the reputation of the organization.

Blog Platforms

How to Start a Blog on Wordpress.com

Before you start… Why WordPress.com? WordPress.com is a free blogging platform where you can submit your articles and posts for public. However porn, gambling and pharmacy related topics are not allowed.

Before you start… Email address Username Password Blog Address Ex. amvilteachers.wordpress.com lubangvhs.wordpress.com

What do I have to do to get started? The great thing is that it’s not a rocket science at all. All you need to do is sign up (like you do on any other website)

What do I have to do to get started? Once you have completed the basics steps above (including your blog name), you need to click on the “Create Blog” button. There is no need to use the paid version since it’s quite expensive and does not give you much advantages.

What do I have to do to get started? Verify your email address. Simply head over to your mail and hit the “verify” link (it should appear in few seconds).

What do I have to do to get started? Once you have done that, feel free to log in from http://wordpress.com/wp-admin (This is the log-in screen you should see)

Customizing your blog and creating your first post Before you start blogging, you might want to change the theme – the outlook of your blog. You can do it by clicking on “Appearance” -> “Themes” (at the left sidebar).

Creating new posts and pages To create new posts and pages you have to use the dashboard options. For posting use “Post” -> “New” and for pages use “Page” -> “Add new”. In short, “pages” are usually your Contact or About me location while posts are your blogging posts.

Creating new blogposts Click the dashboard Click on Post Select Add New Write your first blog Click Publish

Configure Basic Site Settings Click the dashboard Go to Settings Select General Enter your site’s title and new tagline

Here’s how the site title and tagline look on the site

Thoughts to bring home

According to one of the Regional Directors, there are 3Ds to success:

1st Dare to Dream (big dreams for you and your people, but NOT daydreaming)

2nd Dare to Do the Best (do your work well and with passion)

3rd Dare to make a difference (in the life of our colleagues/teachers/students and the community/people)