Integrating Technology & Genius Hour: My Journey as a Teacher & Learner
Find me on
  • My Blog
  • About Me
  • Genius Hour
  • My Other Websites

3 Things to Consider Before Blogging with your Class

5/23/2012

6 Comments

 
Picture
This year I decided to start blogging with my class.  I heard about some other classes doing it via twitter as well as my colleague Hugh McDonald, and I thought I would give it a try.  I have a few students in my class who groan every time I ask them to pull out their journals, so I thought perhaps this would be a better way.  I also thought it would be a perfect way for my students to share about the progress of their Genius Hour projects.  So I set up the account on Kidblog (very easy to do) and away we went!  The kids loved it!  Research shows that kids are drawn to blogging because it gives them an authentic audience and I completely agree.  My students love commenting on each other's posts and often spend quite a bit of their own time at home reading each classmate’s blog and offering a comment.  It has been wonderful watching my students read and write in a meaningful way and without hearing a single groan. 

With all new things, we did have a few blips though and I would like to share those with you today so that you can learn from our mistakes!  So here are 3 Things to Consider Before Blogging with your Class:

1.  Model how to write a good blog entry first!  I know that this sounds obvious...but in all my excitement starting this new 2.0 tool, I did not take the time to show my students how to write a thoughtful and meaningful post.  Next time, I would take the time to draft one with the whole class, using the projector. 

2.  Model how to write a thoughtful comment!  Sounds like number 1, but I am talking about the comments they make on the blog entries.  When we first started blogging, my students wrote things like, "that's nice" or "me too".  It drove me crazy...why weren't they writing thoughtful comments?  Well, once again, I had never modeled how to write a good comment.  My bad.  I would really recommend practising this with your students first.  In fact, I recently read an article in which the teachers gave the students thoughtful prompts before they started writing, such as: "I wonder..., Have you considered..."  (Davis, A. and E. McGrail, 2009). What a great idea!

3.  And finally, have every student change their passwords after you hand out their log-ins/passwords!  It will save you a lot of grief!

Any other advice you would give?
Happy Blogging :)


Picture
6 Comments
Meghan Jones
5/23/2012 01:17:58 pm

Hi Gallit.
Great advice, I would like to add more technology to my LA curriculum next year and this entry makes blogging very straightforward. When students are able to comment and add to their blog at home, it leaves you more classroom time for teaching other things.

What guidance do you give in the way of topics to write about?
About how much time do you allow for them to blog?

Reply
Gallit Zvi link
5/24/2012 04:16:57 am

Hi Meghan,

Thanks for your comment! You are going to love blogging with your class next year. So, I try to give them a different question each week (though we do miss some weeks, and then on other weeks we may blog more than once). I usually use our lab time to get started (so a 45 minute block) and then ask them to continue commenting on each others' blogs for homework. Kidblog makes it easy to track who is commenting and how often!

In terms of topics, we do it as a reflection on an activity (like Genius Hour, a field trip etc) or sometimes just about our weekend...anything you would journal about!
Check out my googledoc with more ideas
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vjeSC3bu4I_TsJGdmTQoQVx1yRTclWx6aRtpWj8qA2w/edit?pli=1

:) Gallit

Reply
Joy Kirr link
5/25/2012 02:01:31 am

I loved blogging about our genius hour this last half year, too. Question - did you require comments? Did you grade their blog posts? This is my hang-up going into next year... I don't know what to require, and what to grade! Ugh. Thanks for the post!

Reply
Kris McGuire link
7/29/2012 03:42:30 pm

This is a response to Joy's question about grading. The 8th grade students each had a blog last year. We required them to write a post once a week, had to be at least 75-100 words, correct spelling...every four of five weeks, the posts were assessed...by peers. We created a short form that asked if the blog had x number of posts, written well ( we spent time discussing this and showing what's a good post and what's not), etc. Then I would spot check and leave comments on students' blogs. After the peer who assessed another's blog gave me the completed form, I would give it to the blog's owner which gave him/her a chance to dispute any score he/she didn't feel was right.

I need to do more with comments on others' blogs...didn't really address that in an assessment way...do I have to?

Reply
Joseph Aidan link
7/29/2012 06:19:32 pm

Excellent! I admire all the helpful data you've shared in your articles. I'm looking forward for more helpful articles from you. :)

Joseph Aidan
www.arielmed.com

Reply
Marlene
1/29/2013 03:01:18 am

Hi,

I noticed you mentioned students blogging on kidsblog. Do you find it the same if we were to do create a page on weebly wth their eportfolios and blogg there so they are on the same website. Does weebly and kidsblog work the same? Or which is more effective in regards to blogging?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    My name is Gallit Zvi and I am an Elementary School Teacher and Vice Principal in Surrey, BC. I am also a blogger and co-author of The Genius Hour Guidebook.
    Click to continue...

    Picture
    Tweet
    what is genius hour?
    My Genius hour posts
    geniushourguide.org
    geniushour.ca
    Picture
    Tweets by @gallit_z
    Gallit on Pinterest

    Archives

    April 2020
    January 2019
    July 2018
    October 2017
    April 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Appsmashing
    Assessment
    Blogging
    Byod
    Capp
    Collaboration
    Community
    Cooperation
    Creativity
    Critical Friends
    Cross-curricular Connections
    Differentiation
    Digital Literacy
    Digital Storytelling
    Eportfolios
    #ETMOOC
    Field Study
    Genius Hour
    Hac
    Imovie
    Inquiry
    IPads
    Iste
    Media Literacy
    Mr. Rogers
    Museum Box
    Picture Books
    Place Based Learning
    Powerpoint
    Prezi
    Reflection
    Stations
    Teaching
    Technology
    The Genius Hour Guidebook
    Twitter
    Web 2.0
    Web 2.0
    Wifi
    Youtube

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.