Blog2Learn » Blogging 101 WebQuest

Process: Task 4

lisahuff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:06:37 +0000

Now that you’ve created your own blog and learned the basics, it’s time to think about how you might involve your students in blogging.

In this final task, you will work on your own to create and post to your blog a lesson integrating blogging.

Step by Step Directions For Classroom Teachers

Sample Blogging Lessons

1. Think about a lesson, unit, or activity you currently teach with your students.

What are the goals of the lesson?
What, specifically, should students know and be able to do at the completion of the lesson?
How might you teach the lesson in a different way-using blogging?
How could students use blogging to master the same content and skills?

Teacher Blogs:

Critical Issues in Literature
Teacher Lingo (a huge list of teacher blogs)

Class Blogs:

Love2Learn Blog
Room 9
Liz Keinfeld’s Class Blog
ArguendoClass: For the Sake of Debate
The Fischbowl (Check out the teacher and class blogs in right sidebar.)

Individual Student Blogs:

iThink
Peeling the Layers
Shorewood High School (Check out links on right sidebar.)

Helpful Resources

4Teachers.org (This site has a ton of resources and tools-even a rubric maker.)
Lesson Plan Template

Standards

3. What type of blog would work best for the lesson?

A teacher blog to which students contribute?
A class blog with multiple authors?
Individual student blogs?

4. What resources do you need to provide to scaffold students?

Would a project checklist be helpful?
Would a list of links to sources be helpful?
Are graphic organizers needed?

5. How will you assess students’ learning?

Do you need to provide a rubric?
How will you assess students work throughout the lesson as well as the end product?

6. Now, create a lesson, project, or unit that integrates blogging. Create (or locate and link to) accompanying resources. Post the lessons and resources on your blog.

Before beginning, you might want to explore some of the lessons in the links to the left.

For Other Educators (Administrators, Curriculum Coordinators, Literacy or Math Specialist, Educational Technologists…)

Support Blogging (See the sidebar at right where blogs are categorized by type.)

Teacher Lingo

(Another huge list of categorized educator blogs)

Use a blog search to search for blogs in your specific speciality area:

Think about the way you communicate and collaborate with colleagues, parents, other educators.

How might you use a blog to improve communication?
How might you use a blog to inspire and model best practices?
How might you use a blog to collaborate with other educators?

2. Explore at least three of the blogs from the list of blogs at Support Blogging or Teacher Lingo. As you explore, think about how you might learn from them or modify their methods to suit your purposes.

3. Now, plan one project or activity that allows you to use your blog to help you reach out to others more effectively.

4. Write a post on your blog either explaining your project plan or (if possible within the time limits of this course) create the actual project.

Process: Task 3

lisahuff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:06:05 +0000

Edublogs Support Sites
(Will open in a new window)

Edublogs Support

Edublogs Videos (Get step-by-step directions)

The Edublogger (Official Edublogs How-To Blog)

Getting More Out of Blogging and Edublogs

The Mother Site!

Getting Started with Edublogs (Everything you need to get started-all in one location)

Edublogs Manual

Blogging with Edublogs (by Janetta Garton PDF)

In this part of the process, you will work on your own to create a blog using the free edublogs site.The focus of this activity is on the process (and relative ease) of setting up your blog, rather than the content of your blog. However, you may first want to take a moment to consider the items on the following note sheet (which may help as you create your blog).

Edublogs Planning Sheet Task 3

Creating your first blog will be very easy.

Step By Step

You at least looked at the planning sheet above, right?
Remember that links from this page open in new windows (this window is just behind the windows that open).
In a moment, you will start a step by step process for creating a blog. It is so easy you will laugh. If you get stuck, ask your neighbor, or come back to this page and refer to the links on the left.
If you need instructions in how to create the blog, check out the videos or manual in the links at left.
Go to edublogs.org and create your blog by enter your info. in the boxes (Don’t forget your planning sheet).
After you create an account, you must validate it with a link Edublogs will send you in an e-mail. Open your e-mail and click on the link to get started.
Now for the fun part! Using the resources in the links at the left, personalize your blog:

Choose a template.
Update your profile.
Write a post.
Create an “About Me” page.
Upload a blog avatar.
Choose widgets for your sidebar.
Add some links to your blogroll (maybe some favorite blogs you found earlier).

Remember, this page is right behind the new window if you get stuck, but you won’t get stuck because this is so easy!

Now that you’re familiar with the dashboard, let’s move on to creating a blogging lesson for your students.

Process: Task 2

lisahuff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:23:36 +0000

<Task 1 On to Task 3>

Visit more sites and sample blogs to define blogs and formulate ideas for using blogs–for yourself and with your students.

Blogs Defined:

Cool Tools: Blogging

Judy’s Web 2.0 Notes

What Blogging Is Not

(by Will Richardson)

What’s a Blog? (by Karl Fisch)

Read.Think.Write.Repeat.

(by Karl Fisch)

How to Start Blogging in 5.401 Words

Blog Vocabulary

Blog Rules

21st Century Learning

You have just examined some general features of blogs and explored many different types of blogs. But what, exactly, is a blog, and how can you use blogs in education? These are the key questions for this portion of the process.You will continue to work within your group to explore more blogs.

What, exactly is a blog?

On the left are several links to sites that attempt to explain blogs, blogging, and the blogging phenomena.

With your group, examine at least three of the Blogs Defined sites and create your own definition of a blog. As you create your definition, consider:

What are the key characteristics of a blog?
What makes a blog a blog?
Are there “essential elements” of a blog?

Educational Blog Lists:

Support Blogging

Blog2Learn

SocialNetworking4Teachers

Classroom 2.0

(find lists by subject and/or grade level)

Technology Specialists

Technology Training & Integration

TIP

Summer Workshops

Change Agency

Dangerously Irrelevant

Other Cool Resources:

10 Ways to Use Your Edublog to Teach

How can we use
blogs in education?

How are other educators using blogs?
How are administrators and specialists using blogs?
How are other teachers using blogs with their students?
Could you modify any the ideas to meet your own needs or students’ needs?
What is a task you currently undertake that you could tackle through a blogging?
What is one unit or lesson you currently teach that you might teach using blogs?

On the left are several links to sites that provide lists of educational blogs (sometimes called edublogs).

Locate and examine at least three blogs that relate to your current position. As you examine the blogs, discuss them with your group, and compile a list of ways blogs may be used in education.

** Now, to present your group’s findings in the first two steps, use the links below to post a response to these three questions:

On to Task 3 →

Blogging 101 WebQuest: Sources

lisahuff — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:16:11 +0000

<Conclusion back to Introduction>

WebQuest Inspiration:

This WebQuest is an updated revision of A WebQuest–Blogs and RSS, a WebQuest created in 2004. I have used the basic structure, revising it to fit the goals of this WebQuest. I’ve changed many of the links since link rot has crept throughout many of the included resources and recommended sites.

Images:

All images are free downloads from Microsoft.com. Some images have been mashed with text using PowerPoint 2007. I also used PowerPoint 2007 to create the nameplate on the front page. To learn how to use PowerPoint to create awesome yet easy-to-make graphics for your blog or site, check out this post.

Go to Introduction →

Evaluation & Reflection

lisahuff — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:15:37 +0000

With your group, view and complete the Process Rubric.

Process Evaluation

Use these questions and rubric to evaluate your learning during the WebQuest.

What are the key characteristics of a blog?
How might blogs be used by educators, or in the classroom?

Lesson Plan Rubric

Product Evaluation

The purpose of this activity has been to acquaint you with the concepts of blogs and blogging, have you create a blog and design a lesson that integrates blogging.

What further work do you need to do to improve your blog?
Does your lesson effectively engage students in meaningful blogging?
Is there any changes or improvements you need to make?

Reflection

Consider the following questions as your reflect upon your learning.

How could you use blogging in your instruction?
Would this practice benefit your students?
What hurdles might stand in the way (of using blogging in your instruction)?
What would it take to remove the hurdles?
What resources can you use to keep learning independently?

Process: Task 1

lisahuff — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:13:36 +0000

Task On to Task 2>

Blogs
(Will open in a new window)

1976 Design

JustRead!

Brian’s Education Blog

The 21^st Century Schoolhouse

The Shifted Librarian

Teachers Teaching Teachers

2M Gems

Mrs. G’s Treasure Chest of Thoughts

For this portion of the task, you will work within your group to analyze several blogs.Take a few minutes to look at the blogs to the left (To open links in a new window, right- click the link and select open in new tab or open in new window.). As you look at some of the blogs, discuss the following with your group:

What common features do you notice among the blogs?
How are the blogs organized? What information is in the sidebar(s)? Atop the home page? At the bottom of the home page?
How do the blogs make use of multimedia elements: images, video, audio…?
What primary differences do you notice among the blogs?
Are there differences in the number and types of authors for the blogs?
Are there differences in the purposes of the blogs? How are the blogs being used?
How might you categorize the different types of blogs?

On to Task 2 →

Blogging 101 WebQuest: Task

lisahuff — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:13:07 +0000

One Web 2.0 tool that allows you and your students to become 21^st Century consumers, collaborators, and creators is the blog.

Your task in this WebQuest includes three steps:

With a small group you will analyze several different blogs to complete the following tasks:

describe the key features of a blog
explain ideas for how blogs might be used in education
brainstorm ways you could use a blog in your current position

2. Work individually to create a blog of your own.

3. Create a lesson plan for using blogs with your students and post to your blog.

Go to Process →

Blogging 101 WebQuest: Introduction

lisahuff — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:12:15 +0000

Task>

In a 2000 study, 84 percent of young adults age 18-24 reported they were more likely to use the Internet to retrieve useful information than to go to a public library. Teenage Life Online; Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2000

A 2002 study revealed that students age 5-18 perceive the Internet as a “virtual locker, backpack, and notebook.” The Digital Disconnect; Pew Internet and America Life Project, 2002

A 2007 study revealed “93% of teens use the internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction – a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others.” Teens and Social Media: Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2007

As an educator, how do you use the Internet?

Are you consuming information, collaborating with educators around the globe, creating multimedia products?

How are your students–in your classroom–using the Internet?

Are they consuming information, collaborating with peers and experts around the globe, creating multimedia products?

Check out the video below to see what your students could be doing!

This text will be replaced

Go to Task →