thingsarchive


 * Task 1 **
 * Explore at least one of the blogs from each of the categories below. **

The links below give a **tiny sampling** of a **few voices** and **blogging styles** of **teachers and students** in the "**edublogosphere**," which is the category encompassing education-related bloggers and blogs. Take some time to read the comments as well: commenting is one of the most significant aspects of blogging.

As you read, consider the following questions:
 * What do you notice about the genre of blog writing in general?
 * How is blog **reading** different from other types of reading? How is it similar?
 * How is blog **writing** different from other types of writing? How is it similar?
 * How does **commenting** contribute to the writing and meaning-making?
 * Is there a "blogging literacy"? How does blogging affect the way we read and write?
 * How can blogging facilitate **learning**?
 * How can educational leaders use blogs **to lead**?

==== **Sample Classroom/Student Blogs** GTA3 - An interactive learning ecology for students and parents in Jojo's Geometry/Trigonometry/Algebra 3 class. [|AP Physics B] - Each week half of Martin's class reads through articles on on the Scientific American RSS widget, and post summaries of the articles. Those students that aren't writing are responsible for reading the last week's articles and writing comments on 3 of them. [|A Duck with a Blog] - a blog about a duck who decided to build her nest on the playground of a K-8 school. [|Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close] - a class at Woodward Academy studies Foer's novel. [|Math 816] - This is an example of a "[|Scribe Post]," as "invented" by calculus teacher Darren Kuropatwa, in which a student (8th grader in this case) reviews the classroom learning for the day or week. The teacher sets guidelines for the quality of work and students who exceed the requirements have an opportunity to be nominated into the "[|Scribe Hall of Fame]." [|Extreme Biology] - Classroom blog of a high school biology teacher in an Atlanta-area private school. Students post about different topics related to the study of biology. Check out the comments in response to each post. [|Patrick's Post-] These posts were written by an at-risk fifth grader who struggled with writing and school success in general. Anne Davis shares it as an example of the importance of comments in blogging. [|Mrs. Hill's 3rd Grade Class Blog] - This teacher invites students, parents, and community to blog with her. ==== ====  **Sample Professional Blogs** [|Why I Don’t Assign Homework]- There are 240 comments on this post as of 2009. You don't have to read them all - says something about the provocativeness of the post, though! [|Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklascth] - Kathy Shrock posts thoughts, discoveries, and ideas as she discovers them, mainly on the topic of educational technology. [|Mark's EdTechblog] - a 3rd grade teacher's thoughts on technology. [|EduBlog Insights] - Anne Davis, an edublogging pioneer from Georgia State University, has been blogging with elementary school students since 2002. In this post, she enumerates her reasons for blogging with students. [|My Technology Education Blog] - Sandy Holloman Dennis, an educator in Rockdale County, shares interesting technology tips for the classroom. [|The Pithy Python] - Natalie's blog about children's books, reading and research ==== **Sample "Just for Fun" Blogs** ==== [|The Environmental Blog] - A blog about all things green. [|Dinner Tonight] - A blog filled with delicious 30 minute meals. [|Atlanta On The Cheap] - a resource for freebies, discounts, and deals in Atlanta. [|Said The Gramaphone] - a daily sampler of "really good songs" as judged by three Canadian music fans. [|Seth's Blog] -Seth Godin's blog is full of insights about the social changes wrought by technology and the nature of creativity. [|Zen Habits] - includes tips for leading a simpler, more peaceful life. [|Hyperbole and a Half] - a young woman recounts her life's experiences with humor and primitive drawings.       ====


 * Task** 2**
 * Publish a blog post in response to the exploratory reading and questions listed above. **
 * Feel free to reflect on anything that struck you about the posts themselves or the genre of blogging in general.
 * What ideas do you have for using blogging in the classroom or in your educational leadership position?
 * Be sure to include a link to any post(s) you refer to and include "Thing 2" in your post title.

Need help? See tutorials and detailed explanations for linking to blog posts.

 **Visit the blogs of one or more or your** **21clc team members** **and comment on one of their posts.**  Try to include specifics in your comment: relate to your own experiences and even ask questions. Type or paste the URL of your own blog in the "website" field so that they know where to find you. Feel free to use the resources below to help you or your students get a better handle on diving into conversations online.
 * Stretch Task**

**HELP TUTORIALS and TIP SHEETS:** Source Credit: This page modified from K12 Learning 2.0 Thing 4 and pi20.
 * How to leave a comment on someone's blog (the technical how-to)
 * "[|Online Discussions: Tips for Students]" (one page hand-out)
 * [|"How to Comment to Build Conversations Around Ideas"] (one page PDF)