T3: Creating a Blog Using Edublogs
Creating a Blog in Edublogs
Blogs have become a great way for teachers to share information about their classes to students, parents, and other educators. They are also a great way of having students produce work to be seen by a wider audience. Students can post their writings and get feedback from other students, experts, even from the authors of the works they are studying.
This new way of sharing information doesn’t come without some issues that need to be addressed. Protecting students and their privacy is required by every school as part of the Children’s Internet Protection Act. It is important for educators to learn not only about how to create and use new Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs in their classroom, but how to use them safely in order to protect their students.
In our Educational Technology Certificate Program we show educators how to create a blog using Edublogs. Edublogs uses the free open source software called Wordpress and allows teachers to create a blog for their classroom for free. Our tutorials not only cover how to create a blog but also how to moderate it in order to better protect the students that will be using the blogs.
You can check out Edublogs: Part 1 to learn more about creating your own blog in Edublogs. You also get a free Wiki at Wikispaces.com by signing up with Edublogs.
Some other resources that may be helpful are:
How To’s
http://edublogs.org/videos/ (Great video tutorials)
http://maetshowcase.educ.msu.edu/year2/EdublogTraining/bridge.htm
http://freidhof.fts.educ.msu.edu/Tech_Handouts/tech_handouts.htm
Article on Blogging Guidelines
http://www.edtechmag.com/k12/issues/november-december-2006/blog-rules.html
–Carrie Albin, Outreach Coordinator and Co-Editor