12.13.2010

Welcome.

i've created this site to help teachers develop their own classroom blogs... we'll walk through all the steps together, you'll be floored by the ease and simplicity... and we'll leave today feeling very accomplished... tossing a new blog on the cloud.


prepare to impress yourself.prepare to blog.














Blogging Now

WE're going to take the plunge.

12.12.2010

a prezi


12.11.2010

Workshop Notes

the world lives in links.

Collaboration is one of the most important parts of learning. It's learning together. We have conversations. We put our heads together and discuss what we are learning. We bounce ideas off of each other. Blogs let many others enter the collaboration with us. We can learn from those in our classrooms and beyond.

GROUP-FORMING
two reasons kids use groups:
1. Friendship-based -- to maintain relationships with people they already know
2. Interest-based -- to form groups around shared passions, and meet people they don't know
There has been a landslide shift in leisure time. Kids don't meet to play stickball in the street, they meet on the web. Internet = Socialize.


.... What's the difference?
Blogs are conversations.
Wikis are collections.
RSS is a signal vs. noise

Why Blog?


Class blogs can serve as a portal to foster a community of learners. As they are easy to create and update efficiently, they can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board.

Collaboration
Blogs provide a space where teachers and students can work to further develop writing or other skills with the advantage of an instant audience. Teachers can offer instructional tips, and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make online mentoring possible. For example, a class of older students can help a class of younger students develop more confidence in their writing skills. Students can also participate in cooperative learning activities that require them to relay research findings, ideas, or suggestions.

Discussions
A class blog opens the opportunity for students to discuss topics outside of the classroom. With a blog, every person has an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Students have time to react to ideas and reflect on learning. Teachers can also bring together a group of knowledgeable individuals for a given unit of study for students to network and conference with on a blog.

Student Portfolios

Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older entries are archived, developing skills and progress may be analyzed more conveniently. Additionally, as students realize their efforts will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce better writing. Teachers and peers may conference with a student individually on a developing work, and expert or peer mentoring advice can be easily kept for future reference.

Ref.

(at least) 4 good functions:

Classroom Managemen