Starting a Classroom Blog

Blogging has made it big in the world of education- and this article is designed for newbies who need some tips on how to start up their own classroom blog. 

Choosing a Platform

There are a multitude of free blog hosts out there on the web- and based on my experience, anyone is as good as the other.  Wordpress and Blogger are amongst the biggest names.  Both offer free blogging and a variety of templates and widgets to dress up your blog.  If you already have a Google account then getting started is a piece of cake (it is a Google application).  I prefer both of these for personal/professional blogging- but use a different platform for my classroom blog.

Edublogs hosts my classroom blog.  Like Wordpress and Blogger, it offers free blogging, but also has optional upgrades for special features that may benefit your classroom.  One thing that I like about Edublogs is the fact that you can keep it secure from the public:should you want your classroom blog and the postings made by your student to remain private, you have that option and it is easy to initiate.  The simple interface makes it really easy for students to comment and post- and I like that as a whole the plat form has an educational theme- it helps set the tone for your classroom blog.  Also with an educational theme is Edmodo, which students enjoy for it's clear resemblance to Facebook.  If your future blog is going to serve as more of a classroom website- this might be a good option for you. 

Setting Expectations

Like any new technology you introduce to your classroom, students need to be taught how to properly use it.  Blogging is easy for students- and it doesn't take long before their are proficient commenters and posters.  Clear classroom expectations need to be set in advance- and I like to have students become part of the process.  As a class we create a list of blogging expections, and I help my students come up with some "big hitters" I know we can miss.  Create a poster of these expectations and don't forget to review them with your students the first few times you blog in class. 

Teach your students how to demonstrate "digital citizenship" and make sure to review your students postings and check for any bullying or inappropriate commentary.  Tell students that they are responsible for anything they post- and remind them that their postings can be seen by all because a blog is traditionally a public forum (unless you've opted for private settings).

Uses

The best part about starting a classroom blog is the number of purposes it can serve in your classroom.  Many teachers use blogs as an extension of learning.  Linking photos, video, articles, and other online sources connected to your classroom content can help students make connections and establish relevance to their everyday lives.  This is how I started blogging in my own classroom.  The blog provided an extension to our daily curriculum, and my students were practicing higher-level thinking skills, like questioning.  My students have enjoyed using a classrom blog- it is a forum for them to communicate with one another and form an opinion.  In one activity around the blog and some commenting or posting they are writing, questioning, and developing key 21st century skills all while being highly engaged. 

If students are new to blogs they will likely need you to model high quality blog commenting.  I like to share other high-quality educational blogs with my students and go through examples of good commenting.  I also provide my middle school students with blogging sentence starters.  This provides scaffolding by starting out their first sentence and opening up the door for a higher-quality, detailed response. 

Blogs can also serve as an assessment tool.  If all of your students in your classroom have access to a device (laptop, netbook, iPad, or even and iPod touch) your blog can immediately turn into an individual response system.  At the end of class give students an "exit ticket" and ask them to answer the day's essential question.  When all students have responded, project the thread on the board and reflect on high quality responses with your class.   

Because blogs are easy to construct and modify, they also make for excellent classroom "websites" with links to important documents, homework calendars, and a forum for parent communication.   

Starting a classroom blog can be quick and easy- let your students do the work!  To see what other tech-savvy educators are doing out there, visit Scholastic's list of the Top 20 Teacher Blogs.  Check out the other resources listed below and stay tuned for more ideas from 21st Century Classroom.

Resources

• Visit my wiki at http://libbygraybrien.wikispaces.com/Instructional+Supplements for my instructional supplements on blogging in the classroom including a handout for blogging sentence starters and examples of expectations I set with my students.  Your classroom expectations may change depending on the learning objectives associated with your class' blog. 
• Blogger in the Classroom information manual.
• Bloom's and Blogs
• 33 Ways to Use Blogging in the Classroom