002+Blogs



There are many definitions used to define Blog. A blog can be an online journal, commentary journal, articles, diary entries, ect. Blogs can be used for all different types of things (Downes, 2009). They are shared by all throughout the internet. A blog consist of an entry that is written by an author. There are blogs for every type of thing imaginable. There are celebrity blogs, gossip blogs, educational blogs and everyday life blogs. Blogs are a great way for people to communicate with friends, family, and other people. Blogs can be used in a great way in education. Teachers can post lesson plans, how the day and child is going, and information for the parents. This makes things a lot easier for parents in the classroom. They can check up on what their child is learning. But blogs can be dangerous for people as well. Teenagers create blogs to talk to friends and to tell how they feel and what they are doing. But, they do not know who is reading their blogs. It can be anyone from a parent to sex offender. Blogs can be used in helpful ways, but dangerous ways as well.

There are many people who use blogs through out the world for different reasons. Lately, the education field has become more in tune with what blogging is and how to use it in the classrooms (Carvin, 1995). Teachers can use blogs to talk to other teachers and get advice on what to do with certain lesson plans that fail in the classroom and talk to other teachers to see what they’re doing wrong and how they can fix it. Some teachers have discovered that blogs tend to lead to heated discussion on different topics, so they have their students sign up for blog websites and the students are able to pick a topic to discuss among their peers. This isn’t intended for an argument among the students but to let them know, that they all have something interesting to say about their interest! Teachers in all schools around the world are incorporating technology into the classrooms. By using blogs in education teachers are able to communicate with teachers and students. Teachers will also post assignments, class times, and suggested readings. Teachers may also link internet items that relate to the particular subject that they are studying at the time. Discussion boards are also set up on these blogs so the students as well as the teachers may talk about what they are learning or ask any questions that they might have; blackboard is a perfect example of this (Downes, 2004).

There are many pros to using blogs. Today, using blogs in the classroom has sky rocketed. Many teachers are using these blogs to write exactly what the children are learning for that day. This is really helpful to parents. Parents can read this blog and discuss with their children how their days went and what they learned. In some cases, blogs can be “check up” on their children. They can be involved with their school life while at home. Blogs can also be a new way to have pen pals. Instead of writing your pen pal a letter, you can communicate with them through blogging. That would be a great way to incorporate technology in the classroom. Teachers can use blogs for many things including, lesson plan sharing, teacher/parent communication, involving technology in the classroom, etc. People need to realize that we are turning into a tech based population, and pretty soon all schools will have blogs and technology in their classrooms. These blogs will not only be fun, but beneficial to the students as well.

There are many great things about blogs, but they are not always that helpful. Blogs are open to everyone; the writing level is "not a good model for language learners to read" (Downes, 2004). Many people use slang terms and abbreviations while writing on blogs. It is much easier when trying to get your point across when typing to write "w/" when you're trying to say "with" it is quicker and easier so many people intended to abbreviate. Just like Wikipedia, it is hard to filter out what information from blogs is actually correct because it is not graded and again, open to anyone. Because you are communicating online, you can never be sure if who is reading your personal blog information as well as who is communicating with you. There are many online predators, you must be cautious at all times when communicating over the internet; this applies especially to chat rooms and blogs.

References Carvin, A. (1995). Learning.Now. Public Broadcasting Services. Retrived from [].

Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. //Educause review//, //39//(5), Retrieved from [].

Downes, S. (2009). Half an Hour. Retrieved from [].







Photo taken and edited by myself- Melanie DeLozier



Article 1:  [] The Educational Blogging article talks about the many reasons why blogs in education are important for teachers and students. This article primarily informs other teachers how to get their own classroom into blogging. This article only focuses on the positive impacts that blogging with students has, it does not state any negative. This article believes that by children blogging they will start to enjoy not only writing more, but also reading because they are reading their peers work. This is also a way for students to get feed back on their topics and writing styles from someone other than their teacher.
 * Emily's Article Notes**

Article 2:  [] Blogs in Education, talks about teachers may use blogging in their classroom. This article goes a set further than the pervious article I mention, and it lets people (teachers) know in detail the steps they should take to have the blogging experience sucessful. The article also talks about what a blog is, and some of the many different types of blogging that people use. This article, like the previous mentioned does not mention any cons to blogging in the classroom. Instead, it strongly encourages teachers to blog with their students.

Article 3:  [] The parents of a Bully, talks about blogs from a different perspective. We are told that a 15-year-old girl committed sucide because she was getting harrassed at a school. She moved to this school from Ireland, and because she got asked out by some guys that the "mean girls" liked they mad her pay for it. They sent her mean text messages, wrote on her facebook, and they would even go as far as to shout at her while she was trying to walk home from school yelling "Irish slut." This article talks about how each person played their own part in her suicide. For example, the bullies, the bullies parents, the victims parents, and most importantly the teachers. None of which seemed to have done a thing about the bullying during school or online. 

=Melanie = 1. [|__http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/info/__] Learning.now is a weblog that explores how new technology and Internet culture affect how educators teach and children learn. It will offer a continuing look at how new technology such as wikis, blogs, vlogs, RSS, podcasts, social networking sites, and the always-on culture of the Internet are impacting teacher and students' lives both inside and out of the classroom.

2. [|__http://scienceblogs.com/__]

This website talks about hot topics in the science world and a few other topic. It covers blogs in life science, physical science, the environment, humanities, education, politics, medicine, brain and behavior, technology, and information science.

3. [|__http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/__]

Taking the initiative to teach your child is a challenging, yet rewarding experience. With the nationwide legalization and growing popularity of homeschooling, there are thousands of online resources dedicated to helping you teach from home. These Web sites, blogs and educational forums will give you the necessary tools to teach kindergarten through twelfth grade students and make school fun for all.