Blogging+I

=Blogging I=

//The objectives of the Blogging session are://

To develop a more critical awareness and understanding of


 * what 'blogs' are and how ‘blogging’ can be used with secondary students for a variety of reasons
 * the potential advantages of using blogs as journals over paper-based versions
 * the ways in which blogging projects can be used to give learners real reason for expressing themselves in English
 * how to keep the momentum of a blogging project going
 * the pros and cons of running a public vs a private blogging project
 * how to create ideal learning conditions for secondary students using blogs
 * how best to involve parents and other classes in a blogging project

Discussion / Reflection:

 * If you have used paper-based student journals with your classes, are they public or private? What type of feedback do you provide your students with?
 * What might be some advantages of an online journal as opposed to a paper version?
 * Do you read any blogs? What makes a blog different from other online sources of information?
 * Do you have your own blog? How often do you write in it?
 * Have you ever used blogs with students? How popular were they?

Some Uses:

 * Blogs are great tools for communicating with learners (and parents, and colleagues) online and can be used to connect learners to other communities of learners (in another country, for example).
 * They can be great for encouraging students to write, especially about their own life and interests, and can be a useful tool for getting to know learners better

Getting started:
The best way to understand how a blog works and what it can be used for is by keeping one yourself, so we are going to do this. You can then also use the blog to record your reflections and to communicate with other course participants this week.

We are going to set up a blog using http://www.wordpress.com

Let's start by looking at an example: @http://secondaryelt.wordpress.com/

Another one: http://grahambluecoat.wordpress.com

Setting up your blog
Once you have set up your blog, try it out:

For your first post, I would like you to write the following:
 * a short introduction (tell everybody who you are)
 * a little about your educational context (the centre where you work, the level and ages of your students, etc)
 * your experience of using ICT in the classroom
 * your personal objectives for this course

and (if you have time)...visit the blogs of some of the other participants and leave a comment or two.

Our blogs
BLOGGING II