Colleen Cameron at Getting Better All the Time is the inspiration behind this post…thanks!
She, too, blogs with her students. Interestingly, she chose to set up one blog for all her classes, whereas, I chose to create a seperate blog for each class. Which would actually work better for me?
I also noticed some items there that would greatly enhance my student blog sites. In her blog roll, she has listed several helpful sites for her students, including ACT Online Prep and Grammar 101. Also in her widget list is Dictionary Word of the Day and a calendar. I really like that!
Now I am curious if I can add all those links and widgets, too. Her blog is an edublog; mine are set up in Blogger.
Why did I choose Blogger and individual blogs per class? T
he answer: Blogger. This site allows one to create multiple blogs in one dashboard. Edublog probably allows that also…I just found this attribute quicker in Blogger.
So easy access was a definite plus. I also teach yearbook, newspaper, and an eighth grade literacy lab class; thus, it just seemed easier for my students to access a particular class blog than for me to create tags/categories. But maybe I made it harder on myself and denied my students the important lesson in categories?
For the first two weeks of school, I posted and shared the entries with my students in class. Now, though, that they are creating their students blogs, I will hold them more accountable for reading the posts in their Reader…and for also learning to comment, for that is the next step. Then writing posts of their own…and then…yes, always another “and then”!
Please visit our class blogs:
- English 11: Pioneers Write
- Pre-AP English 10: Writing Right
- Yearbook: A New Creation
- Newspaper: That Pioneer Spirit
- 8th Grade Lit Lab: Journeys
Thanks, Ms. Cameron (who’s starting her second year of teaching), for a glance at your blog and for inspiring more in me (now starting my eighteenth year)!
5 responses so far ↓
I’m flattered that you would include me in your post! Your post brought up a few questions in mind that I wanted to pose to you:
You mentioned talking to the students about Readers. Do you teach them about RSS feeds? How do you go about doing it? How do you hold them accountable?
Am I reading right that you made sure to share your blog entries with your students in class the first two weeks? Did you do that at the beginning of class? I’m just curious, because I want to make students more aware of my blog as well.
What has your experience been with setting up blogs with your students in the past? I know in your recent post you mentioned you were meeting some snags. I’m just wondering if I should attempt this undertaking with at least one of my classes this semester.
Thank you for reading my blog; I enjoy reading yours too. I also enjoy seeing your class blogs!
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We are setting up gmail accounts now and are subscribing to blogs using the Reader. So far, I have only had time to have them subscribe to our class blog. For a while, they will mainly be subscribing to other students’ and teachers’ blogs. For most of them, this will be as far as they go without my prompting.
Yes, I would read my blog entry right at the beginning of class; then they would comment in their Writer’s Notebook, or I would read it when we got to that particular topic as a discussion starter.
With last year’s students, we didn’t set up their blogs until the last few weeks in preparation for their AP summer assignment. My requirement of them then was to post an excerpt from their research paper and to comment on four classmates’ blogs…that was as far as we got, but they seemed to enjoy it.
They will be required to post a link to their blog on our class wiki. Links to their blogs will also be placed on the class blog in Blog Roll.
As an assignment they will have to post certain entries. For example, during our first thematic unit “A Pioneer Never Quits,” each will post an entry about a “pioneer” they admire, with hyperlinks to any research used. I keep reminding them that this is a class blog, and their posts should reflect that.
I’m extremely fortunate to have Lisa Huff (please check out her blog at justread.wordpress.com) as a peer…she is a God-send and a wonderful mentor, for she is always about ten steps…or 50!…ahead of me! She blogged with her AP class last year.
I hope you do try it with one of your classes…then we can share the good…and work through the kinks together!
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Hey Tammy,
As per your widget dilemma, I have added my widgets to my iGoogle home page instead of my blog. I am going to start every class with a discussion from the home page. My iGoogle page has Word of the Day (the Merriam Webster one is more reputable than the other one that Google offers), Hangman, Yahoo sports, my local newspaper headlines, Dog of the Day and a whole bunch of other neat ditties that might inspire them to dig further during reading workshop time. There are a kazillion of widgets to choose from.When you sign up for your iGoogle page, all of the widgets are there for you, you just add what you want. Easy as pie! If you need more info, feel free to email me offline.
What an easy way to get kids talking about language and text without having to do anything except plug in a projector!
I look forward to reading your class blogs and I will forward you our class blogs when we get them going!
Cheers,
Head Monkey
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You’re right…forgot about that!
I noticed some of those widgets might not be appropriate for a school student iGoogle page…uh, oh! Part of teaching them to be digitally responsible. Right?
Thanks!
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“Slang o the Day” and “Paparazzi Punchout” might not be the best choices for my 6th graders during school time. However, in the comfort of my own home…
It’s been fun exploring all of these widgets!
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