What is a Blog?

A blog, short for web log, is an online space anyone can use as a forum. This means anyone can now publish and share ideas with anyone willing to listen. Some blogs may never see a visitor, while others have loyal subscribers in the millions.

How can I use it in my class?

Let me share some of the blogs I and others at SOH have used.

1. http://geographyclass.blogspot.com/
You can use a blog to remind students of homework assignments, post links to sites you want them to visit, summarize the days lesson so students can review them at home. This is one I created using Blogger.com, which is free but you need a gmail account (also free). Blogger will provide directions to set up your blog, and once you get the hang of it, you can write posts directly from your First Class email.

2. http://rodriguez207.edublogs.org
Another great blogging resource is Edublogs.org. This site lets you create static pages that never change, where you can display class information that remains the same. The main page is the blog that you can use to communicate with students and students can respond to prompts.

3. You could also search blogs with information to engage students, put students in contact with others with similar interests, or have students publish their work on blogs to share with others.  Students can write poetry, stories, journals and much more.  Because they are the topic of discussion, they are more likely to write using this forum. 

I have used a blog where my friend in Culiacan, Sinaloa creates a drum beat and posts it, my brother adds a lead guitar riff from San Jose and adds it to the blog, and I can either play along, or post my guitar rhythm and we have just created a song.

4. For award winning blogs, check out this site. 

Setting Up a Blog

To create a blog in Edublogs, which is the one used for the AP World History example, click on the link below for video tutorials on getting started and advanced features.  I like this site over blogger, but I can show you blogger on the Google link.

http://edublogs.org/videos/