Hi Paola, You covered the history of blogging extensively. A list of dates and who did what, however, doesn't really help the reader understand what a blog is. I know we were supposed to cover the history, but in the instructions we are also told to "[explain] what the technology is all about [and] also [define] the terminology that relates to the technology." You have some definition in there, but it is a bit technical - it might help to put it into your own words. A blog is a web-log...but what is that? You mention that it evolved from an online diary, but not to what, and that may be a bit misleading because a lot of people still use them as an online journal.

Rebecca, I believe I do mention that blogs have evolved from being just news sources, political and business tools into everything and anything that people wish to write about. If Aunt Betty from down the streets wants to blog about living with 20 cats, I'm sure there will be cat lovers out there that will be waiting to read her daily posts. As far as the the definition, I will work on it so as to make it less "technical." Thanks for the input!

Paola,
You did a good job explaining what a blog and also citing the source. A suggestion would be to include other sources describing the blog source. It seems as if you used the Wikipedia as the majority of your information. How about expanding the topic with other sources. Good job!
Veronica Baca

Paola,
This appears to be well-researched--good job. My only suggestion for improvement echoes Rebecca's. What *is* a blog? It's just a journal slapped up on a Web page, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong... I know some folks add video clips and pictures, but isn't that just a fancy journal?)

One thing I've always been curious about--and I was looking forward to reading your project hoping for the answer--is, why is everyone blog-crazy? Why, oh why are there a bazillion different free services (backed by serious money) and why do a bazillion people a day journal ad naseum about their private lives, hobbies, pets, etc.? And why do a bazillion *other* people spend so much time reading them? (So much so that businesses routinely assign employees to blog about company stuff as a marketing tool, believing that readers will respond more positively if they think something is "personal" rather than marketing shtick.) I think this is a fascinating phenomenon, but I've never understood the psychology behind it. Might be useful in determining if blogs are a passing fad or here to stay.

Also loved your mention of bloggers being taken seriously as journalists. This is a new phenomenon, too; media outlets that used to hire professionals now substitute amateur blogs because their readerships don't complain, and they don't have to pay for content (or bother with bothersome journalist ethics).

This is a cool topic...
-Emily

In order to answer some of Emily's question about why people read blogs, it might be helpful to focus on blogs used for educational purposes. I am not too keen on reading about folks personal lives (although reality TV and the fan mags suggest many people are), I do find out a great deal of information about technology and education through blogs. Also, they provide an authentic platform for students to write - an opportunity that is simply not possible without the WWW - at least not with the ease of using the web. While students could submit writing to a publisher, it is highly unlikely that they would get published and have an opportunity to see what the world has to say about their writing.

Thus, it would be good to focus on the ability to write for an authentic audience in the section on relevance to education.

--Janice

Paola,

In terms of educational use, is privacy an issue? For example, as an instructor, I'm probably not going to want parents and students to be able to access my communications with other instructors. And as a parent, I may not be excited about having some of the interaction between my kid and her teacher made public. Even tech-savvy students may have a concern with this, because they may know that stuff on a blog can be (usually is) archived in perpetuity and may surface years later, when the student is running for public office. (Extreme example, but you get the point!)

For whatever reasons, is there a way to password-protect (or otherwise protect) an educational blog?

-Emily

Yes - they can also be public or private. The interest in a blog, however, is not in its ability to store private and confidential material (there are pleny of ways to do that for little or no money) - but rather to share content with the world for authentic assessment and collaboration. There are substantially fewer ways to do that, particularly for educators and students. If we had to rely on a publisher to accept our work as worthy, publish our work so that a class in, say, China was able to access it and comment/share/collaborate, and then rely on them to publish their comments and return them to us, it would never happen. Not cost effective for them, for one thing. And, the year or task would end before the first step in publishing a work began. The blog, among other things, is a way for students to be accessible to other students, professionals, etc., etc. Blogs are not for everything - just as pens are not for everything (pencils really are a more effective techology for math and outer space). But, being less than efficient for one purpose should not negates its importance for other purposes. Since the whole purpose of a blog is to share, then it wouldn't make a lot of sense to use it for private transactions.

Paola,
I agree with the concern over privacy but that is easily addressed. I did like the comment addressed in the student:student section of your wiki that addressed the ability of students to diiscuss and expand the lessons they had in the classroom. I think with the current research pointing to the use of communication tools like blogs by the 12-28 age group, that this is a great opportunity for teachers to authentically engage their students. You may want to add some information on how pervasive these types of technology are and how much they are used by students in their everyday lives. There is a lot of reasearch out there. One site you may want to look at is: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Generations_Memo.pdf
-David

Our district blocks out all blogs via our content filter, and it's a shame. This is a great tool that would really help the students to take owership of their own learining and give them the flexibility that most other mediums to not allow...quick and easy sharing of ideas. Colleges and highschools would be the perfect audience for this. The students are more responible, and there is less chance of misuse of the tool.

I think a major advantage of blogs is how easy they are to use. It is hard to maintain a site, and websites take a bit of knowledge and time. Even when a template is used, or the user knows how to create them, there is still a need to upload to a server which usually has to go through whomever is maintaining the site. With blogs, usually you just write using a text box that is similar to email applications - something most people are familiar with and understand. And once you have written, publication is instant. I have not updated my website in such a long time - it takes time and design. But even when I am not really active on the computer, my blog usually gets updated a couple of times a month.

I used blogging with an Upward Bound summer class I taught. I used it more as a way to get the students to write - and they did. I had to really emphasize, and continue to emphasize, the need to not throw so much personal information out there. I had the students set up personal accounts, and as such I had no way to edit or monitor content. Especially for K-12, a wiki might be a safer option to perform many of the same functions that a blog provides.

Rebecca

Rebecca, I agree with you, having students create their personal blogs is a hit or miss as far as what is published online because you can't go back and edit. It is very important that, at least with the younger students, the teacher be monitoring them constantly and teach them to have a peer read it first and before posting it, have the teacher read it to make sure the language used is correct and they haven't written any personal information that may lead the readers to where the students are located.

-Paola

Paola,
Great job breaking down the needs to using the blog software. Question: Do you need to purchase a security (firewall) software to use with this software? Also, will this program be blocked if used at school? Other than that great work!
Veronica Baca

Veronica, eventhough my school district does have a web content filtering program, as far as I know, they do allow blogger.com. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are blocked by the filter. I have noticed that each school district uses their own criteria to block websites. I don't know why that is.

-Paola

Paola,
In several discussions about what is and is not blocked at different schools/districts I heard one common thread: most IT people (the ones deciding what to block) are not educators! I think it's important to make some noise or get to know your IT people or your direct supervisor - anyone with some decision-making power. So when you do come across something you like/want to use in your classroom, you can have someone to go to for help. Also, a lot of people are discussing the privacy issue. You might want to look at some of the blogging services that allow teachers more control; the students have individual accounts but still must go through the teacher before blogs/comments/ etc are published. (class blogmeister is one that comes to mind.)

Paola,
Good job on adding images to illustrate what blog source is being used. A question: Is it safe to use blog within a class setting or whether a school district is going to block material teachers upload or input onto a blog?
Veronica Baca

Courtney & Veronica: There are sites such as gaggle.com, blogmeister.com and edublogs.com that offer password protected blogs, teacher-managed postings and comments among other things, that could help with security and safeguarding the privacy of the students. The teacher must obtain a signed agreement from the parents and have strict rules that all students participating must abide. This is the only way that a blog can be a "safe" environment for education.

Courtney, I agree with you that one must build a relationship with your campus IT in order to get anything done. Luckily, at our campus, our IT works closely with all grade level teachers, including the librarian and music teachers and we are constantly involving her in lesson planning (technology integration) and "co-teaching" whenever she is on campus (at least once a week...she has other campuses she must attend to as well).

-Paola

Correction: blogmeister.com is actually classblogmeister.com, edublogs.com is edublogs.org and gaggle.com is gaggle.net...I have no idea where my head was yesterday.

-Paola

Paoloa,

I like that you've included so many examples of free (and fee) blogging services. Which one(s) would you recommended for higher-learning settings, where security/misuse isn't quite so much of an issue?

-Emily

Emily,

Each blogging service has its pros and cons but I believe that Gaggle.net would be the best choice because of its filtering by word, filtering of images, complete controls of who can create, post, comment, and view blogs. It is simply designed for schools.The only problem is that the free service has ads, pop-ups and banners and the teacher could possibly be overwhelmed when having to open and approve emails. I believe that it is how we educate our students in using these technologies that will make it possible to use as an educational tool. Rules have to be set and consequences have to be enforced.

Here's a great website where you can see the different blogging services and their features. http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/blog/tools.cfm

-Paola

I really like your section on start up costs. It's simple, laid out well very informative. It would be nice to see any information that Blogger might have for financial institutions, such as special rates or plans. And, if it's available, information on content filtering. Cost effectiveness can often win out over the quality of a product. In this case, you have an easy to use, versatile product, and it is present very well as such. One little thing about formatting, on the getting started, could you possible make the graphics a bit smaller, the may give that section better flow.

-Kerry

Kerry, thanks for your suggestions, I'll work on them! I'm also planning on adding information on one more blogging website that I feel is geared more towards education. Like I mentioned to Emily, gaggle.net was created and designed for schools.

-Paola

Good cite work.
~ dawn

blog, smog.

Frankly, I'm blogged and wikied out! The main problem is keeping up with them, and there are many, especially if you are in e-Learning courses and collaborating with team members, professors, and public.

I try to stay put on Blogger and feed into my sites.

~ dawn

Hi Paola,

Here's a link I found on using Blogger in the Classroom : http://www.infinitethinking.org/stuff/Blogger.pdf

Rebecca

Dawn, while you are blogged out, there are literally thousands of K-12 teachers who have never seen one much less kept one or asked their students to keep/use one. Because this site is for the K-16 educator who is interested in using some of this new technology for their students but uncertain how to get started, Paola has done a good job of providing foundational information. Until everyone - everyone is blogged and wikied out, we still need to provide information about the tools. It is nice to know someone out there is really using them. And I guess you could really say the same thing about research papers as a tool for learning. I don't know about you, but I sure was "research papered" out by the time I finished my masters and doctoral program - and yet we still need to teach about the correct way to write one for those who still do not know.

Paola,

I am glad you used Blogger as the example. I understand that since it is owned by Google, your blog is immediately accessible on their search engine. That is kind of nice for students to experience.

Rebecca - as you were working with students on not putting personal info on a blog, you were helping them learn to be Net safe. I like that.