About+Blogs

toc

What are blogs?
Blogs are websites where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. There are a few great blogging sites for teachers that allow for moderation of comments: [|http://www.edublogs.org], http://www.21classes.com/, and [|http://classblogmeister.com/.]


 * Provides free blogging service for educators
 * Allows for moderated comments
 * Choose from themes for the look and feel of the site
 * Edublogs.org is great for a teacher or class blog (similar to a class webpage)
 * Classblogmeister.com and 21classes.com is good for student blogs (that you can monitor)

It is important to turn on the monitoring features of these blogs. With edublogs, that feature is located under Options>Discussions. Make sure under "Before a Comment Appears," you select "An administrator must approve the comment (regardless of any matches below)."

Blog Examples
View Blog Examples

How can I use this with my class?

 * Reflections on classroom reading
 * Foster discussions
 * Encourage research
 * Reporting on class events
 * Student portfolio creation (this will be a great idea with moodle)
 * Sharing resources
 * Class Webpage
 * Pen Pals (be careful that you do not discuss personal information)

Practice posting a comment on this blog:
[|http://tcoffey.edublogs.org]

Create your own class blog:
[|http://www.edublogs.org]

Create blogs for student use:
http://www.21classes.com/ http://classblogmeister.com/