Teach Teach

According to the experts, a blog is:

• “a website that is up-dated frequently, with new material posted at the top of the page” (Blood).
• “basically an easy way to publish content on the Internet [because] it allows you to put that content online without needing to know things like Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or coding languages” (Richardson).
• “a term used to describe a web site that publishes content on a regular and ongoing basis. It can be a personal diary, a chronicle of commentaries on various issues and topics, or a creative journal, to name just a few” (Boan).
• “A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world” (Blogger).

and the most creative description goes to Mortensen:

• “A true-born child of the computer medium, the weblog may have its roots in the research journal, the ship’s log, the private diary and the newspapers, all at the same time. But like a mongrel hunting the dark alleys of the digital city, the weblog is nothing if not adaptive and unique at the same time. No fancy thoroughbred this … but a bastard child of all personal writing, breeding wildly as it meets others of its ilk online.”

But what does all that mumbo-jumbo really mean? And what’s the difference between blog the noun and to blog the verb? And perhaps most importantly, what possible relevance does any of this have to teaching to the standards and raising student achievement (read, improving test scores)?

Patience, Grasshopper. These answers will reveal themselves to you in time (which may or may not be by the end of this workshop).

First, let’s look at a few blogs to get a feel for this genre of online writing. I’ve separated the links below into four groups. In your assigned teams, review all of the links assigned to your group. Then determine as a team the common characteristics of the blogs you’ve reviewed. Be as specific as possible as you identify common elements in the blogs (and don’t be afraid to be goofy, too.)

After your group has reviewed all its blogs, one team member should click on the Comments link to post your group’s list of characteristics. Be sure you identify which group of blogs you are referencing in your comment.

Group 1

• CultureSpace
• Teach42
• Glory Be
• The Domestic Goddess

Group 2

• Room 303 Blog
  
• Tippens’ Class Website
• Mrs. Lippincott’s Blog
• Gasaway’s 91 Lit Honors

Group 3

• Bud the Teacher
• Huff English
• Edublog Insights
• Are we doing anything today?
  

Group 4

• EinBlog
• Said the Gramophone
• Slashdot
• Digg
• The Education Wonks

Can blogging help you be a better teacher? Maybe. Spend some time reading the posts below (and feel free to explore other posts on these blogs). Note at least one idea that resonates with you or makes you go hmmm…

• Weblogg-ed » Serendipitous Reading
• bgblogging: The Question of Teacher Roles in Blogging-yet-Traditional Classrooms
• Grade Inflation: A Student and Teacher Dialogue
• Multiliteracies: Why Blog?
• EduBlog Insights: Another Best Practice

I’ve begun to think about the modes of writing and how they intersect with the writing that appears on blogs of all types. After only a month of actively reading others’ and contributing to my own blogs, I found that I had internalized a certain style and structure for my blog writing, one that helped me to determine what to blog about, and which made the posts I generated better.

So how does that relate to student writing? There are a plethora of blogs out there, and definitely more than one type of blog writing. However, there are some common elements to successful blogs and effective blog posts. Let’s look at the posts below and discuss which elements make each an example of effective writing.

For Hard Times

Twenty Year Payback

Rhett Bomar

Conflict

Now that you have a better idea of what a blog is, how might you use it in your classroom? Post a comment listing at least 3 ideas for integrating blogging into the classroom.

New bloggers often feel isolated. You write and you write–yet no one seems to be reading any of it. So how do you increase traffic to your blog?

True blogging actually involves three distinct activities. If you participate regularly in all three, your blog will get noticed (and read).

• Write well and often. You need to update your blog on a regular basis, at least once a week, but once a day (or more) is even better. However, make sure that each post is well written and has content—frequent posts with nothing to say won’t really pull in readers.
• Read other blogs, especially those that share your interests or topics. Some of the material for your own posts will be sparked by what you read on others’ blogs. And of course, the Golden Rule applies here: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Bottom line, good bloggers read a lot of blogs.
• Comment on others’ blogs. Again, the Golden Rule applies. It’s not enough to just read what others have to say. You need to join in the conversation. Commenting helps you in a number of ways:

1. Commenting can be a form of reflection, causing you to process the post you just read.
2. Commenting adds to the content on that blog and contributes to the discussion.
3. Well written, thoughtful comments can drive traffic to your own blog, especially if you comment on already popular blogs. For me, commenting has been the BEST way to promote my own blogs.

Other useful strategies for driving traffic to your blog:

• Include relevant links to other blogs in your posts. If someone else’s post inspired you to write yours, be sure to mention it AND include a link back to it. Sometimes, this courtesy can get you added to the other blogger’s blogroll, which is also a sure way to increase traffic.
• Specialize. Focus your blog on a particular topic or interest. Specialized blogs draw those who share your passion, vocation, hobby, etc. Specializing doesn’t mean your blog cannot contain the occasional off topic post–some of the best blogs mix the professional and personal. However, your blog should be MOSTLY focused on a particular topic, industry, hobby, etc.

As you continue to nurture your blog, you may find these Resources helpful.

• Blogging in WordPress by K. Boan
  is a very helpful, detailed how-to guide that will show you how to get
  the most out of your Edublogs blog. Boan also has some great online
  tutorials for Edublogs that you may find useful:

• Edublogs Tutorial 1
• Edublogs Tutorial 2
• Edublogs Tutorial 3
• Edublogs Tutorial 4
• Edublogs Tutorial 5

• The Teach Teach Blog is my own blog in support of my technology workshops for teachers. You may find additional useful activities there.
• The TechTeach Resources Wiki is my own regularly updated wiki listing a variety of free or almost free online resources for teachers.
• 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs provides additional ideas for using blogs in the classroom, as well as good advice on how to be safe and practical.
• Classroom Blogging Protocol: This is the blogging policy I used with my own students.
• Another useful site is MHetherington’s blog. You may want to check out his posts on Benefits of Student Blogging and How to Set Up Student Blogs in particular (note the last post details how to set up individual blogs for each student, not just a classroom blog.)

You may also want to check out other classroom blogs to see the many
ways that teachers are using this technology to extend their classroom
instruction. Here are just a few to get you started:

• Blanchard’s 91 Lit Honors
• Mrs. Ackerson’s Class Blog
• Tippens’ Classroom Website
• Mrs. Huff’s English Classes
• Georgia Studies
• Smith’s Ninth Grade Blog

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