From Paper Blogs to the World
Paula L. NaugleErica ShepherdLaCUE PresentationNovember 2011
To Blog or Not to Blog?
Why Blog?
●21st century skill●Write for an authentic audience●Global connections● Improve writing skills●Cover the 4C’s – creativity, critical thinking,
collaboration, and communication
Type of Blog
●Classroom blog●Group blog● Individual blog
Classroom Blog
●Teacher can write posts●Students can add comments●Students can be guest bloggers●Keep others informed of classroom news●Try for a weekly post
Group Blog
●Set up a blog based on literature circles●Set up a blog based on a research project●Set up a blog based on a common theme●Set up a blog based on common interest●Set up a blog based on a common passion
Individual Blog
●Ownership of all content●Online eportfolio of work●Evidence of growth●Show in-depth knowledge of a topic●Celebrate individual milestones●Pride
Blogging Platforms
● Class Blogmeister – few bells and whistles, teacher control of posts and comments
● 21Classes - limited to ten 1Mb student accounts for free; one central teacher blog that the student blogs are connected to
● Weebly – create 40 student accounts for free with no student emails required
● Edublogs – Wordpress; lots of features; not all features are free
● Kidblog.org – Free; no email required; full teacher control; blogs are private by default; simplified Wordpress interface
Getting Started
●Inform parents of your intention●Have signed AUP from all students●Choose your platform and create accounts●Set up blogging guidelines and expectations●Design a blogging rubric, if you will grade
Paper Blogging
●Gather some great writing paper●Visit some other blogs for inspiration●Begin with a paper blog
Learn How to Comment
●Watch a video on quality commenting●Remember to compliment the writer, add
more information, connect with the writer, ask questions to extend the conversation, and make sure you proofread your comments.
●More words less exclamation marks
Comment on Paper Blogs
Use Post-it notes to add quality comments to the paper blogs
Blog Commenting Party
●To get more parent involvement●Host a party●Have your students teach their parents how
to comment on their blogs●Example flyer
Going Global
●Need a really good reason to be on Twitter – well here it is – tweet about your students’ blogs using the hashtag #comments4kids
●Read about my first experience with this●Last year we received over 1,900 comments
from around the world
#comments4kids
Additional Resources
Visit our Google site
Blogging with Elementary Students
http://bit.ly/tyUO4D
Contact Information
Paula NaugleEmail: [email protected]: @plnaugle
Erica ShepherdEmail: [email protected]: @eshepherd
Credits
●To Blog or Not to Blog? http://bit.ly/rS8YNp●Paper Blogging http://bit.ly/aKWNBW●Post-it Comments http://bit.ly/aKWNBW
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