Working with ICT

UniversidadNacional

de La Pampa

Facultad deCiencias Humanas

Prof. Liliana Monserrat,Práctica Educativa II, 2013.

What’s a blog?

“A weblog (usually shortened to blog, but occasionally spelled web log or weblog) is essentially a web page with regular diary or journal entries”. (Dudeney & Hockly, 2007)

“A regularly updated journal or newsletter in the form of a web page, usually kept by one individual, and intended for

a public consumption”. (Dudeney & Hockly, 2007)

What’s a blog?

“A weblog is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles, most often in reverse chronological order”.

(from Wikipedia)

Journal vs. Blog: visitors can leave comments

What’s a blog? - Video

What are EDUblogs?

Benefits of “edublogging”

• Highly motivating to students, especially for shy or

introverted students.

• Excellent opportunities for students to read and write

for authentic purposes.

• Effective forums for collaboration and discussion.

Students can be engaged in ongoing

conversations about their ideas and thoughts.

• Powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or

mentoring to occur.

Teacher Blogs

• Classroom Management benefits:

Easy to create and update efficiently. Can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board.

• Institutional websites:

Easy website to set up and maintain for a language academy.

• Can serve as a source of extra activities and supplement the activities done in the classroom (blended learning).

Student Blogs• Student Blogs:

– An opportunity to discover the work and joy of communicating ideas in written form to an authentic audience, and then getting feedback from others.

– Public student blogs: they are generally done under a nickname and without any personal details. Student blogging has to be overseen with coaching and training to make sure that both that personal data is not communicated and that blog posts are appropriate.

– 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.

Class BlogsCollaborationBlogs 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.

DiscussionsA 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 be reactive to one another and reflective. 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.

Blog hosting services

Blogger.com

Edublogs.org

Wordpress.com

Time to give it a try!

You’ll love blogging!