Glow now has simple to set up and use weblogs.
What is a Weblog
From wikipedia –
‘’A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts.’‘
- A blog is an easily up-datable page or set of pages on the web.
- It can be updated without any knowledge of html through a web based interface.
- No software is needed other than a web browser.
- The pages consist in the main of a series of articles, the most recent at the top.
- Previous articles are archived and can be searched.
Why Use Blogs in Education?
- For many of the same reasons you would have a static website.
- A static website involves a fair bit of work and distances children from the publishing process. Weblogs allow children to become more directly involved in the publishing process without delving into time consuming html skills.
- Allow children to ‘write the web’ as opposed to reading it.
- It is another wall display
- To give the children a wider (one of the widest) audience for some of their work, increase their sense of ownership and responsibility of their work and gain feedback and co-operation from others. Working in small groups on a shared text encourages peer feedback and co-operation.
- Hopefully it should inform parents and even allow children to understand aspects of class life. Scanning down the blog show a surprisingly wide variety of activities recently covered.
Examples
Sandaig Otters June 07 A month of posts
Sandaig Otters » Twin Castles p4 post with interesting replies.
North Berwick Nursery School » Identifying the mouse
How to
- Official glow help
- Starting Blogging in the Classroom blog post of mine with some ideas.
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