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Week 5: Feb.11 - 18 Involving Students in Blogging

 

Week 5: Involving Students in Blogging

 

During this week, participants will:

 

• identify the steps involved in getting students to blog
• study several cases of class blogging and reflect upon what determines the success of such experiences
• debate whether teachers should correct students' postings
• compare alternative ways to respond to students' postings
• consider ways in which blogs can be used to facilitate communication outside the classroom
• identify ways to find collaborative partners and audiences for their blogging classes

 

Extension: Successful Class Blogging - Blog pedagogy

 

 

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Week 5: Involving Students in Blogging Task 1. Read the following blog posts Task 2 - Analyze blogs and blog entries. Task 3 - Help the group improve our list of Blogging Principles and Practices. Task 4 - Write a blog post with an idea for a blogging activity for your students. Task 5 - Access other participants' blogs. Optional Task (Yahoogroups Discussion) Guest Speaker of the Week Remember to Sign up for an account at WiziQ prior to the presentation. Use headsets or earphones during the session.

 

 

Task 1. Read the following blog posts

 

Rationale for Educational Blogging

 

Why Comments Count

 

Creating Passionate Users: Crash course in learning theory

 

 

 

Task 2 - Analyze blogs and blog entries.

 

a. Check some of the entries below:

International Exchange

• A Very Special Clown
• What comes to your mind when you hear the word Brazil? How about Arizona?
• Brasilia and Phoenix Connected

 

Brazil and Argentina - Scrapbooking Project

• Hello Brazil!
• Claudia answers

 

EFAcademic

• A Challenge
• The Tipping Point

 

CTJOnline

• Mystery Guest (activity learned from Bee Dieu and Graham Stanley)
• Students' Video to Mystery Guest
• Mystery Guest's Video
• Isabel Allende's Listening Discussion
• The City of God

 

The Power of Mind

 

• Darren's Post (a 5th Grader) on Blogging

• Eddie's Reply on Darren's Post
• Canadian mom's reply on Darren's post

 

Contemporary Non-Fiction Writing

 

• The 100-word blogging project

 

b. The Edublogs Awards is an annual event in which people in the blogosphere vote for the best blogs of the Year in different categories. Check the categories and access some of the winners' blogs.

 

• Edublogs Awards 2007

 

 

c. Post your reflections to the group blog.

 

 

 

Task 3 - Help the group improve our list of Blogging Principles and Practices.

 

•  After analyzing some blog posts and blogs, access last year's compilation of Blogging Principles and Practices  to add your valuable contribution to our always-evolving list.

 

Task 4 - Write a blog post with an idea for a blogging activity for your students.

 

• Brainstorm some potential blogging activities which you think might be beneficial to your students' learning experience.
• Remember that you want to engage them in conversations, encourage them to express themselves, motivate them to write.
• Check some examples of blogging activities here
• Tag your post: edublogpractice

 

Task 5 - Access other participants' blogs.

 

• Search for participants who have posted ideas for blogging activities http://technorati.com/tag/edublogpractice?authority=n&language=en

 

• Check  their blogging ideas and leave them a comment stating what you thought of the activity, how you could apply to your own educational setting and giving them any constructive feedback to improve their blogging experience.

 

 

Optional Task (Yahoogroups Discussion)

 

• We invite you to join us in our Yahoogroups Discussion  To correct or not to correct
• Send an e-mail to the group  with your views on the topic.
• Write in the subject area of your message: "To Correct or not to Correct".

   

 

Guest Speaker of the Week

 

James Farmer's presentation:

'What's the blogging point? Why you, your students and  your boss could all do with an edublog.'  

"James Farmer has been a teacher at La Trobe and RMIT Universities, a lecturer in education design at Deakin and the online community editor at The Age. He is currently CEO of the largest education blogging network on the web, Edublogs (http://edublogs.org), and consults for education, media and community organisations While not in a symbiotic relationship with his laptop he enjoys a spot of red, interesting opinions and playing classical guitar (poorly)."

Tuesday Feb.12 22 GMT

You can access the session here:  WiZiQ    Podcast also available here.   Remember to Sign up for an account at WiziQ prior to the presentation. Use headsets or earphones during the session.   WiziQ tutorial

 

 

Help us get organised for this session by adding your name to our group database if you're planning to join us!

 

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