Blogs

Blogs are a powerful tool today. If used in conjunction with wikis then the power between the two grows incredibly.

What are blogs? Think of them simply as an online journal or discussion place. They are very structured and the owner of the blog retains ultimate control of what can and cannot be posted.

Currently there are two sources where you can start a blog. The first is through your district-provided web page... yes, School Center does have a blog feature. The other method is to set up a class blog with another service - services like [|Blogger.com] or [|Wordpress.com] are two examples. One drawback to dealing with the School Center blog is that it takes quite a bit more time to get in and edit the blog. One benefit to School Center is that it cuts down on your setup time for the blog. When using another service -Blogger, Wordpress - before the blog is really effective you need to get the settings just the way that you want them.

When dealing with another blogging service like Blogger or Wordpress the blog is far more dynamic and functional than the one offered by School Center. For beginning bloggers who want to get their feet wet and just get a feel or understanding of how to blog, Blogger is a good choice. For those who either want a more robust and versatile blog Wordpress would be up your alley. Wordpress has a bit of a steeper learning curve than Blogger, but if you just explore your blog and check out the help features you'll find that it's very easy to use... And one last thing about blogs is that they can be addictive, so use the addiction in the most positive way that you can.

To link your School Center teacher web page to your blog is quite simple. 1. Open your web browser and go to your blog's main page. 2. Open another browser window / tab and log into School Center. 3. In School Center enter the Edit Mode on your site. 4. Click the **Edit^** button and selct "**Add A New Page**" 5. In the options for a page type on the left of the screen select "**Other Web Page**" 6. Copy the address from your blog and paste it into the web address box 7. Click **Done**
 * Linking your School Center web page to your external blog site...**

One interesting use for Blogs can be a collaborative story with the class. As the teachers you can provide a few paragraphs as a story primer. You can then have the students add to the story by using the comments on the primer post.
 * Collaborative Stories**

You can use blogs to post the current or upcoming assignments for your classes. Some blog services have features where you can "categorize" your posts. These categories can be your different classes. It is also possible, in some blog services, to include the post within multiple categories. For example, if you give the same assignment to multiple classes, all you need to do is make the assignment post and check the categories (classes) that the assignment is for.
 * Quick Posting of Assignments**

Online articles, news reports, stories can all be linked to from your blog post. The students can then read the post and critique the article. It is also possible to post pictures and use them to prompt discussion.
 * Reviews / Critiques**

Blogs are also an excellent way to get classroom information into the hands of the parents and to get their input on classroom topics / issues. For example the latest class projects, field trips, or - goodness forbid - classroom problems. If a serious problem arises in class or some event greatly impacts the class then the blog can provide an open, and safe, forum for discussion to deal with the problems.
 * Student / Parent Feedback**