Blogging

Definition:

"A blog, therefore, is and has always been more than the online equivalent of a personal journal. Though consisting of regular (and often dated) updates, the blog adds to the form of the diary by incorporating the best features of hypertext: the capacity to link to new and useful resources. But a blog is also characterized by its reflection of a personal style, and this style may be reflected in either the writing or the selection of links passed along to readers. Blogs are, in their purest form, the core of what has come to be called personal publishing. In the hands of teachers and students, blogs become something more again."

By Stephen Downs

Rationale:

Why use Blogs?

"The weblogs represent a body of work that has both academic and literary substance. In their weblogs, students exercise critical thinking, take creative risks, and make sophisticated use of language and design elements. In doing so, the students acquire skills that may be useful to them in both scholarly and professional contexts." "Through successful practice rather than through theory, this project suggests the possibility that some of the work that students need to do in order to read well, respond critically, and write vigorously, might be accomplished under circumstances dramatically different from those found in schools."

Laura Shefler as quoted on Will Richardson's Blog, Weblogg-ed

Instructional / Tutorial and Hosting Sites:

• Edublog a free blog tool created especially for teachers, researchers, librarians and other education professionals. Has a unique assessment tool. Tutorials included.
• Blogger is a free tool to create an individual blog. You can post your blog to its free posting site Blogspot, or link to your own server. Complete step-by-step directions are available to help you set up a blog.
• Additional information and hints for setting up a blog at Blogger.com
• Another Blogger tutorial site.
• Blogmeister allows teachers to set up and control a blog account for a class of students. Complete step-by step directions are available at Blogmeister.
• WordPress is an easy and powerful way to start blogging. It's another free site.
• ePals School Blog - Robust and safe commercial solution free of advertising, designed for literacy development

Uses of Blogs:

• Award-winning Educational Blogs:

      Edublog Award Winners

• As Informational Resources:
  • Weblogg-ed
  • Teacher Leaders Network
• As Course, Classroom, or School Management Systems:
  • American Studies -- Course example
  • Mr. C's Home Page -- Class example
  • Delano High School -- School example
  • Meriwether Lewis Elementary School - Blog as the school
    website
• As Student, Class Teacher, or Art Portfolios:
  • Mustang Art
• To Enhance Reading and Literacy:
  • Postcards from Buster -- Reading
  • The Secret Life of Bees -- Literacy and discussion
• Professional Learning Community:
  • Building a Community of Practice
• Collaborations and Collections:
  • The Georgia-NJ Connection -- Collaboration
  • Brandon's Online Magazine -- Collection

More Examples:

• Romantic Circles is a referred scholarly Website devoted to the study of the Romantic-period literature and culture
• The Simple Machine Blog - A collaborative project between 4th grade and high school students
• BlogMeister can be used for searching teacher and other blogs.
• A School of Voices - A weblog created to hear the voices of students and educators from K-12 and above
• Free Science and Video Lectures Online - A blog is utilized to describe and deliver science video lectures.

Educational Examples:

• 2Cents Worth -- David Warlick
  "This blog explores the changing nature of information and ways that it changes our notions of what it means to be literate in the 21st century."
• Blog Talk
  A multi-author blog that discusses the uses of blogs in education.
• Edublog Insights
  "This EduBlog is a place to reflect, discuss, and explore possibilities for the use of weblogs in education."
• Rhetorica
  A list of professors who blog
• Blogging Across the Curriculum
  Used by a professor to replace traditional paper design journals

Medical Education Examples:

• Family Medicine Notes: Jacob Reider, M.D.
  One of Forbes Magazine's Best of the Web Medical Blogs: "Docnotes - Occasional Notes from a family physician - since 1999".
• Medpundit
  Commentary on medical news by a practicing physician.
• Tech 'n' health - Sally Lake, e-health coordinator
  "A blog about e-health, technology, telemedicine and everything in between."
• Medicine and Man - Sudeep Bansal, M.D.
  Another one of Forbes Magazine's Best Medical blogs, Dr Bansal blogs about a wide-range of medical topics.
• Forbes Magazine Best of the Web - Health
  A list of blogs with Health topics, from Alternative Medicine, Mental Health, to Phsyical Fitness.

Additional Resources:

• On Technorati, you can search for a blog by keyword or URL. More importantly, Technorati keeps track of when blogs are updated and the number of links to each blog.
• Weblogs Compendium - A resource with everything you need to know about blogs: hosting services, tools, directories, definitions, RSS readers and additional resources.
• A Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site: Geared for the serious blogger, this guide can answer all your questions.
• Legal Guide for Bloggers.
• An example rubric which might be used to evaluate blog participation.
• The RSS Resources page is a collection of tutorials and useful tools related to one of the key technologies behind blogging.
• A Wiki of Blogging Resources

Text Resources:

• Blood, Rebecca (2002). We've Got Blog, Perseus Publishing.
• Stone, Biz (2003). Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content, New Riders Publishing.
• Warlick, David F. (2005). Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogoshpere, The Landmark Project.
• Matthew, Arnold (2006). Blogging as a marketing tool in Pharmaceuticals, Medical Marketing & Media.