Blogs

A blog is the cornerstone of Web 2.0 tools. Essentially, blogs started out as online journals, but have evolved into places where people, companies or classrooms can share information. Blogs can be written by one person or many. You “post” entries to a blog and they are shown in chronological order. People can subscribe to your blog by using an RSS feed (# 3). Watch this video to learn a little more about blogs:
 * Blogs **

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Now that you have an idea of what a blog is you will create your own blog. There are many blog hosting services, for this course we will be using Blogger. You will need to make sure that you have created your Google account in order to create your Blogger blog. Watch the video below on how to create your Blogger blog.

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** __Assignment #2__

2A ** : Create your Blog. Go to [|www.Blogger.com] and follow the directions that you just watched to create your blog. Choose a name for your blog that reflects this course or your classroom.
 * Tips: **

Choose a url that is easy to type and easy for you to remember. Since Blogger is very popular, you may have to try a few before you find one that is not in use.

When posting for this course, do not think about how long your posts must be, think more about the content of your posts. They should be thoughtful and reflective and honest. While it is not a requirement, go beyond what is asked, post a picture, add a link to a website, play around with the features of the blog – this is the best way to learn Web 2.0 tools – PLAY – remember, this is how your students learn all these things!

** 2B: ** After you have created your Blog, go to the google docs spreadsheet and add the URL of your blog to the spreadsheet. Take a look at the other participants blogs and feel free to leave an encouraging comment on their blogs! 2C ** : Your first post should be a reflection of week #1 – reflect on why you think Web 2.0 is/will be important to education and teaching. Also reflect on why you are taking this course and what you hope to learn. 2D ** : Explore how educators are using blogs: There are many educators using blogs, both in the classroom and outside of the classroom to network with other educators. Take a look at some of the blogs below. Check out not only their current posts but also older posts as well.

[] - Monica Edinger ‘s 4th grade classroom blog NYC [] Monica Edingers teacher/book blog [] - teacher blog [] Mr. Salsich 3rd grade classroom blog CT [] Mrs. Patterson 1st grade classroom VA [] Mrs. Harju 2nd grade classroom MI [] Blog & podcast (and overall AWESOME site) of a 5th grade class in CA [] Blog by a superintendent of schools in rural Western NY [] Blog by a teacher and technology specialist in Camilla, GA

** 2E ** : Write a blog post reflecting on one (or more) of the educator blogs you read and some thoughts on how you could use blogs in your classroom.