Blogs

"The Internet is this genereation's defining technology for literacy (Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004; Leu et al., 2007).  It is home to a continuously emerging set of new technologies for literacy such as search engines, emails, blogs, wikis, instant messenger, social networking tools, and many others yet to emerge.  Each requires new skills and strategies.  Schools need to prepare students for these new literacies by integrating them into the curriculum, and blogs are an easy way to begin." 

Excerpt from "HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking" by Lisa Zawilinski in The Reading Teacher, 62(8), pp. 650-661

Blogs are online journals that can be shared with others or kept private. The video below, "Blogs in Plain English" by Common Craft, explains what a blogs are and how they work.



There are several blog tools online such as Blogger, WordPress, Edublogs, and ClassBlogmeister. There is also a blog tool on Blackboard. Blogs created on Blackboard can only be accessed by students, parents, and instructors enrolled in the class. On Blackboard you can create individual private journal blogs for each student or a group blog. Private journals can only be seen and commented on by students and instructors that are given access. A class blog can be accessed by everyone. Here is an example of how blogs can be used on a class Blackboard site.

Individual student blogs could be used for indpendent reading journals, writing journals, or to reflect on class activities and lessons. A class blog can be a place to discuss what is being taught in class and showcase student work, pictures, videos, and other media. Blogs could also be created for novel groups and the teacher can post discussion questions on the blogs for students to respond to. Students and teachers can comment on the posts to provide feedback and reflect on their work.

New York Times article - "In the Classroom Web Logs are the New Bulletin Boards"

Teacher blogs are also great places to find new ideas for lessons and talk to other educators around the world.

There are also several organizations, agencies, and companies that use blogs. A few examples are listed below.

- White House
- Library of Congress
- Discovery Educator Network
- Google