Resources

Making Education Blogging Work for You
Richard Byrne
July 3rd, 2012

One of the initial resources consulted before starting this project was this blog post from Richard Byrne.  Byrne writes about making educational blogging work and some of the changes that he has made over the years to get the most out of blogging.  We were able to incorporate many of his suggestions, such as putting an emphasis on quality comments and getting parents and students participating on the blog on a regular basis.  His classroom blogs are fully functioning discussions between the students, parents, teachers and students from other classes or even other countries.  After looking over what he has been able to accomplish with his classes, it is easy to see how the life of a blog is in the rich discussions that can occur in the comment sections.  It is also very apparent that his blog is not merely an add-on to his teaching, but is fully integrated into his teaching routine and in his classroom atmosphere.



8 Tips for Blogging with Students
Lisi Gopin
February 22, 2012

After searching for the perfect 'how-to teach blogging' resource, we came to the decision that no one how-to would be adequate for all grades.  Our favorite how-to was written for Edudemic and contains 8 well thought out tips or ideas that should be covered when teaching blogging.  We decided to keep to this list as much as possible for continuity, but to change/add/remove certain tips depending on the level of the student.  For example, tips #1 is to choose a platform.  For the majority of our student blogs, we recommend choosing the platform for the student, due simply to their age.

1. Choose a platform – Decide how much, if any, of the blog should be private. 
2. Set guidelines for students - Topics used? Do they need approval to write/comment? Is grammar/spelling important?  
3. Teach your kids – Explain what blogging is and how it works, show them other student blogs, explicitly teach how to contribute quality comments to other blogs.
4. Define a purpose for each blog – Create a focus for the student
5. Emphasize content over form – Blog must be readable, but should be an informal writing process.
6. Don’t forget multimedia – Teach how to embed photos, videos, add links. 
7. Put safety first – Teach the difference between criticism and commentary. Students are responsible for everything that they write.  
8. Look for inspiration – Read other blogs for inspiration.