Category: Blogging

The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit

BloggingPublished on6 Comments on The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit

2517652 156aaa68b4 mEver since I decided to run some workshops in school about some new web 2.0 tools, I have been thinking about what set of resources (physical and digital) would best make up a sort of blogging toolkit. A starter pack for teachers to make the most of the technology.

So what would you need in an ideal situation in your classroom to get the most from a blog. I would be really interested in creating an ideal situation, something that perhaps teachers new to the technology can look at in a practical sense.

So lets make a start on the digital or online resources:

> A blogging account – we have been using a free Learnerblog

> Bookmarking storage – a place to store and share your Favourites, del.icio.us is popular

> Image storage – we use a free class Flickr account so we can link to photos we use – these pop up nicely in Learnerblogs as a Flickr bar underneath where you type your post.

> We also use a wikispace for ongoing work that is less appropriate for blogging. We have been using some for poetry and other stuff. They are also very good at embedding all sorts of media, scroll to the bottom of the literacy page for some work on Bubblr and look at our history page for work in Quikmaps

What about the physical resources:

> A digital camera in the class is really useful – currently we have a Sony Mavica

> Laptops with a strong wireless connection available in the classroom full time would also be ideal. This would help facilitate and make regular the process of writing. Hopefully we are to have some soon, so I will see how they go.

> An mp3 recorder would also be great for working with and creating podcasts etc.

I would really like to hear what views you have about what you would include in this “starter toolkit”.

Image Citations:
Neil T, “Toolkit” Neil T’s Photostream. December 25th 2004 <http://farm1.static.flickr.com/2/2517652_156aaa68b4.jpg>

 

 

 

Our Class Blog: Help or Hindrance

Blogging, My classPublished on4 Comments on Our Class Blog: Help or Hindrance

So many people are in a reflective mood – lots of “reviews of the year” and “best bits” going on. I don’t understand where everyone gets the time! I still have 12 draft posts that I started thinking about since September I have not written!

I suppose the title of this post suggests a mini review and one thing I will get back to later is the targets I set a while back for our progress.

275391899 50e20a57b6

But this is about real change. Real difference. John and Will have been thinking about whether or not blogging is making a real difference. I think there is a long way to go. As I commented on John’s post:

I would have to say that if we are just talking about writing, given that there are many more other aspects involved with blogging, it relies upon “audience” and “purpose”. My Google Reader is full of people who are dedicated to this great world of web 2.0, the read/write web – but it is much harder to actually attribute specific educational achievements and progress to blogging. This is generally because some time in May my class and thousands of other children will sit in a hall with a booklet and a pencil and will be tested.

This year I would like to make the most of the blogging global community to give the children more PURPOSE to their writing, to take advantage of the huge AUDIENCE they have when they blog. How/Will/If this actually happens, well I am unsure…

I am positive about having a class blog, let me explain some of the great things that have happened since having a blog in September.

  • Children realise much more readily that when they blog their work may be scrutinised. They are very, very keen to get the spelling and punctuation spot on – that can only be a good thing. More please.
  • Through the simple use of GeoVisitors the children know that they not only have commentators but readers from across the globe.
  • One of my children said that they really enjoy blogging and told me it gives her a voice. Enough said.
  • We have been able to link up with schools and children from around the world really easily.
  • Reluctant readers and writers enjoy exploring other schools blogs and commenting; writing posts on our own space.

But what more is there…John says he is starting his 4th year of blogging and still only scratching the surface, not sure then where we are after only 4 months. But I am determined to exploit the power of this and other tools more readily in our work, we need more communications between schools asking for (again focusing on the writing) specific tasks to be done by others – giving us a REAL LIFE PURPOSE to the words we write. And we need the REAL AUDIENCE to be part of the writing process.

DSC00418One of these great moments happened this year when we saw a post about Flic-Flacs by the 5/6P Allstars in Sydney. We read it with great interest as a class but struggled with the instructions – so we commented and that’s what we asked for, better, clearer instructions. Well they really set to it and the resulting piece of writing was just great and proves my point about REAL PURPOSE and a REAL AUDIENCE. Take a look. We then made our own and closed the loop by commenting further on these improved instructions. Take a look at some of the comments we wrote back to them.

I think this is precisely what we should be using our classroom blogs for, making it real.

Image Citations:
Zesmerelda, “Massive Change” Zesmerelda’s Photostream. October 21 2006 <http://farm1.static.flickr.com/80/275391899_50e20a57b6.jpg>

Flic Flac image from the 5/6P Allstars Blog

My Blog; the choir; the flock

BloggingPublished on3 Comments on My Blog; the choir; the flock

I just want to address a few thoughts that are flying around at the moment that we are “preaching to the choir” a bit when we blog. In that the people who read the posts we write are those who are already convinced and understand the potential of the technology. Are the people who do not understand the potential actively reading this information?

I don’t know the answer to that question, I just want to make what I write less about the theory and more about the real impact in the classroom. Ewan calls for more blogging about what is happening in the classrooms, (well I am trying Ewan ol’ chap!) and I have to agree that this alone will encourage other teachers to blog. When they see real examples of classrooms integrating the technology and real successes, that is when they become convinced.

Collaboration

Blogging, My classPublished on1 Comment on Collaboration

I was interested to read Chris Lehmann’s Practical Theory blog this morning about what School 2.0 is being defined as.

It’s about collaboration — it’s about understanding that we are more than the sum of our parts. It’s about understanding that my ideas will be made better if I listen to your ideas. And it recognizes that your ideas could influence me no matter where you live, as long as we both have access to a blog or a wiki.

This very much supports my thoughts and post on how blogging can influence our children’s ability to write.