Tech+Tools+to+Support+Writing+301

Blogging with students is a powerful way to give students access to an audience beyond your classroom.

Benefits of Blogging with Students
Please skim through one or more of these links. Based on your needs in your current classroom, which of these benefits are most relevant for you? Be ready to share that with the group.
 * 

||  ||
 * //Benefits of Student Blogging// by grade 6 teachers M. Ethermington.:
 * //The Benefits of Blogging in e100// by a University of Wisconsin professor:
 * //Benefits of Blogging// from the Reading Workshop Blog written by Mr. McGuire:
 * Reasons to Blog list created by a teacher

Different Uses for Blogging
> Rindi's Class Blog
 * Use a class blog as a ** newsletter written by students **to keep families updated on what is happening in class, and to help students reflect on their learning:

> Grade 4 blog - scroll down to see teacher post and student replies in the comments://
 * Student **response log** : (e.g. teacher posts a discussion question related to class read aloud book and all students reply in the comments.) - //This would be better done in Blackboard where students can more easily reply to each other's comments.


 * Use student blogs as **assignment notebooks** where students complete assignments: //Teacher post gives assignment; students respond in their own blog. This also might be easier to manage in Blackboard unless you wanted families to see growth over time. Then a blog is best.// http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=88116


 * ** Showcase student work ** such a Jemma and Crystal have done.


 * ** Collaborate ** with other classes, such as Julie's learnerblogs. Each class had their own blog. Each student published their own posts on the blog. Each class visited the other class blogs and left comments on student posts.


 * Host student ** media projects ** such as podcasts: @http://portableradio.edublogs.org/


 * ** 21st Century writer's notebook ** to show student writing growth over time and facilitate conferencing.: Huzzah is the closest I could find to this. Read the disclaimer on the front page of her blog and you get a feel for how she uses the blogs. Her student blogs are linked in the right sidebar.



21st Century Writer's Notebook*

 * Can gather feedback on all stages of the writing process from teacher, classmates, and others.


 * Students can trace and build ideas over time. By tagging posts over time, writers create an easily searchable archive of their topics. This makes it like searchable seed journal.


 * Students can move from simply posting to their blogs to higher levels of thinking and writing by analyzing, synthesizing, and reflecting on information over time.


 * Students can share their writing with a wider audience. //Watch this video to hear how this seventh grade blogger was inspired by his audience and began to write more and write on different topics.//


 * Students become readers of other blogs, leave comments to help those writers, and become part of online discussions that help them reflect and grow.


 * As students publish drafts, revisions, and final projects, they leave an easily navigable trail of their growth as a writer, a blogfolio of sorts.


 * Allows teacher more easily reflect on students' writing and leave them specific feedback. Left in the comments of a draft post, these comments persist, can be revisited by the student and the teacher, unlike verbal, face-to-face writing conferences.


 * Giving everyone feedback in their comments frees you up to use class time to conference with individuals as needed, or with small groups for mini-lessons.


 * Blogs automatically archive older versions of posts, making it easy to see progress even if students continue to revise the original post.


 * The blog is available to both student and teacher 24/7 - it is never forgotten at home or at school.


 * Student blogs can follow students from year to year, allowing teachers to easily see student growth over longer periods of time.

Tools

 * [[image:4487360892_0a517b4d25_m.jpg link="@http://www.flickr.com/photos/edventures/4487360892/"]] || * **Blackboard:** good for discussions, occasional feedback on specific pieces, responses to a specific question
 * **ePals**: Student email accounts monitored by the teacher. Great for building classroom community, giving students a real reason to write, connecting them with pen pals.


 * **Edublogs:** Our school's blogging platform. Same interface as Wordpress.com which many of our teachers use for their own blogs/websites.

||
 * **Netbooks:** We will have two class sets next year. They should increase your students' computer access.

Challenges

 * [[image:2348425672_bcf4e7f018_m.jpg link="@http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/2348425672/"]] || 
 * Changing your classroom writing process - no longer always drafting on paper and typing up final copies


 * Student skills - may want to front end loading keyboarding. If you keyboard every day for 30 days, your students will have solid skills that make your blogging projects more efficient.


 * Parent education - need to bring parents along so they are comfortable with drafts being published, and so they know how to offer supportive comments

||
 * Tech comfort level - may require you to be online more, to read more online, to respond to students online

Getting Started
Talk with your technology teacher to discuss what you'd like to do. They will help you select the best tools and they will help you set this up.

Thank you for attending. Please help me improve this workshop by completing a brief survey: @http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AH6A6AA58

//*//Hicks, Troy, //The Digital Writing Workshop// (Heinemann: 2009) pp.31-42

//Photo Credits// >>
 * //60/365 - Finishing Homework// //by Jez Page//
 * //Mongolia Banner// //by One Laptop per Child//
 * //Visit to Vasant Valley School by **climbnh2003** //
 * ////JIS024IND World Ban// k by __**World Bank Photo Collection**__ //
 * 