Week 2 Blogging Lab

Basic:

- To create a blog

- To create a post that includes text, a picture, and a link to an outside resource

- To leave a comment

Advanced:

- To tag/label a post (Why do we need this?)

- To create “Important Links”

- To edit "About Me" page

- To add a picture

Bonus:

- To add writers/members

- To restrict the right of commenting only to the members of the blog

Sell your blog ideas!

Read the article The Educated Blogger by David Huffaker, and think about the educational implications of blogs through the following group work.

Sell Your Blog Ideas!

Seller: try your best to persuade others to use blogs in your classrooms

• Explain what teachers/students can do with the blogs…(find and explain in detail at least three specific ways of using blogs)
  
• Explain the advantages of using blogs…
• Find out one particular blog to support your arguments, and talk about how this blog can be further improved.
  
  • You can find some examples from http://del.icio.us/CEP416Resources/blog
    
  • You can also search for blogs at: www.technorati.com or http://blogsearch.google.com/)

Consumer: try hard to avoid using blogs in your classrooms

• Better or alternative approaches?
• The disadvantages of using blogs?

Group 1: Teacher's Online Journal – created and maintained by the teacher himself/herself
Group 2: Student Blog – created and maintained by individual student
Group 3: Classroom/Student Group Bog – created and maintained either by the teacher or by a group of students

Tips
How to Persuade

Comparing Blogs and Websites

Directions: Below are 8 links to sites found on the web. As you look at each site, classify each site as either a website or a blog. When you have finished classifying each site, go back and create two lists that outlines the key features of both websites and blogs. That is, what are the defining characteristics of each that allowed you to classify each of the 8 sites as either a website or a blog?

A. http://www.educ.msu.edu/

B. http://www.mackenty.org/index.php/site/index/

C. http://www.assortedstuff.com/

D. http://technosavvy.org/

E. http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

F. http://okemos.k12.mi.us/users/garcia/index.html

G. http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

H. http://elps.k12.mi.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=2

So to review:

1. Classify each site as either a) a website or b) a blog and

2. Make separate lists of the key characteristics of websites and blogs. You will report back to the class on your work, so be sure to take notes.