Tips Card Highlight: Educational Blogging
In the classroom set of Tips Cards, there are different levels of topics to learn about.
Some are simple helpful tips and others are more in depth topics. One of the Level 3 Topics is Global Communication. That card will lead you to this page about using Blogging in Education.
Tips Resource Page Author: Jenny Peirce, GSD Technology Specialist
What are blogs?
Blog is short for web log. It’s a bit like an online journal where you share your thoughts, ideas, and news. Not only can you share through written expression, but you can also share images, videos and other content through linking or embedding this content into your blog post. Unlike a journal, blogs are not necessarily private but are created for an audience. Blogs allow you to connect with other people and to communicate your ideas. Ideally, people who read your blog can add their own thoughts by commenting on your posts.
Watch this video to learn more about blogging.
There are three general types of educational blogs:
Class BlogsCommunicate with parents, students, and others. Classroom blogs are platform for sharing assignments, homework and announcements, school or class news, showcasing student work, or for collaboration and discussion.Edublogger keeps an update Class Blog List. Check it out to get ideas and inspiration for your own class blog and to connect with other classrooms.
Personal Educator BlogsTeachers can blog about the subject they teach or about an aspect of teaching they are passionate about. They can share information and resources with students or other educators.
Student Blogs & ePortfoliosStudents can use blogs to master content, share their own content, reflect on their learning, and improve their writing and communication skills. Please keep in mind that parent permission should be attained for students under 13 to have their own blogs on an educational blogging platform and that these blogs should be kept private.
Explore Some of the Educational Blogging Services
If you’d like to try creating a classroom blog, educator blog or student blogs, there are several blogging services available that cater to educational and classroom uses. These include:
Weebly works well for a class blog, student blog, or personal educator blog. If you’re already using Weebly, blogs are just another type of page. With a Weebly Education account, you can create accounts for your students to create their own Weebly webpages and blogs. A basic free Weebly Education account allows you to create up to 40 student accounts, though you can upgrade to a paid account for more students and features.
Tutorial to Start a Blog on Weebly
Edublogs is educational blogging tool that can be used to create a class blog, educator blog, or student blogs. You can create classes, student user accounts, and student blogs. Powered by WordPress, there are a lot of features. You can create your own blog and student blogs for free, but storage and features are limited. You can upgrade to more features and storage for a fee.
Getting Started with Your Blog
Kidblog is a simple-to-use student blogging platform. It works well for younger students and has some great features. It has a free one-month trial, but there is a subscription fee after the trial.