Blogs

Hi, everyone.  This week's blog post is about blogs. Makes sense.  Most of you have probably used a blog if you have taken any college courses online.  So, I'm not going to get in to too many of the details in terms of how to create a blog.  Rather, I would like to delve into the different sites available and some ideas on how to use blogs in the classroom.

Blogs (a portmanteau of web and logs) are extremely simple to use.  And, there are so many to choose from which are typically totally free.  The blog website that I use for this blog and for all of my Wilkes University blogs is called Blogger.  I'm not too aware of the history, but, like most things online, it is owned by Google.  I really like it because it is simple, has an accompanying smartphone app for those who are on-the-go, and keeps really good track of statistics (this blog just hit 200 pageviews, thank you very much).  Its definitely a good choice for anyone who is not familiar with blogs or has only a novice understanding of the tool.  Other popular choices for blogs include WordPress, Weebly, and Discovery Education.

Before I get in to any ideas regarding how to use blogs in the classroom, I will demonstrate how I currently use them.  In 8th grade Media Literacy, for the 2nd Marking Period, I had all of the students create a free, non-email verifiable account with EduBlogs.   The reason I went with EduBlogs is because it is fairly private and, of course, dedicated to students and teachers.  Really, any blog hosting website will do because access and commenting can be moderated quite heavily.  Of course, like in using any online tool, tell the students not to put their first and last name on the site. When all students created their own blog, I took the URLs of each and created a Symbaloo (a topic for another post on another day) and embedded it in my website.  Everyday (at least, most days), students come into the classroom, get their laptop and sign in, then go to Edmodo to find a prompt or question that I have
posted (remember that you can schedule posts for the future).   They then have to create a new blog post within their blog answering the prompt or question.  Finally, at the end of the period, they have to find a classmate's blog and comment on their post. For example, a question might be "What is your favorite feature of Microsoft Power Point?"  A student might answer, "I really like the fact that you can add animations to a presentation."  The tricky part is to get the students to post substantial comments more than "I agree."  So, in order to get credit, they have to do a little bit more with their comments.  Of course, I model acceptable responses.

The reason I wanted to use blogs with this class is because, due to the project-based, independent nature of the content, I never really had much in terms of a bellringer or summative activity.  That is why I started doing this in the second marking period. Also, of course, to incorporate more web 2.0.   The students for the most part seem to like doing it and I've seen some good results.  It does take some time for them to get used to blogging, but once they understand the logistics of it, it becomes fairly automatic.

So, how could you use it in your class.  Obviously, the first hindrance is access to computers or a least the Internet.  The beauty of Web 2.0 is that it can be accessed anywhere with an Internet connection. And, blogs are accessible via computer, tablet, ipod touch, or even smartphones.  Not sure which ones, but I've also heard of some blog sites that allow you to SMS (text) a blog.  So, having students keep a blog as a homework assignment is definitely an option.  But, in class, there are still many options.
Some quick examples:
Science (Secondary)- Keep a blog everyday during a science project (dissection, comes to mind).  Add pictures, too!  Have students share their observations.
Science (Elementary) - Keep a blog once a week about the weather.  Add pictures!  Even have students blog on a Monday about the weather predictions for the week and have them blog on Friday about weather :) the predictions were correct.
Social Studies - Keep a fictitious blog from the viewpoint of a famous historical figure (a la Anne Frank).  Or keep a blog recording the events of the day or week during a war.
Language Arts - Teacher can post a question about a text the students are reading and the students can comment on the post with their own reflections and/or observations.

Really, the opportunities to use blogs are innumerable.  What do you think?  Any ideas on how you could use a blog in your classroom?  Let me know.  BTW, I will be taking a couple of weeks off for the holiday break.  I hope you enjoy yourselves.  If you want to check out any of my other blogs for some of my Wilkes classes, click the course: EDIM 514, EDIM 513, and EDIM 508.

@jahocking #haven2point0


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Edmodo

Hi Everyone.  I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving break!  I took off a week due to the holiday and finishing up a grad class.  But, I'm back!

This week's blog is on Edmodo.  It is a great tool for communication and collaboration.  Many of you probably use it already, so the purpose of this post is to provide a more exhaustive look at the application.  I also want to give a shout out to Carla Cappella for first introducing this to me.

Registration
Signing up as a teacher is very simple.  On the splash page of Edmodo, simply click "I'm a Teacher" under "Sign Up Now."  Fill out the information, accept the terms of use, and sign up.

For a student account, the user must fill in first and last name as well as a preferred username and password and a group code.  I'll explain the group code in a moment.  I would highly suggest that you create both a teacher account and a student account so that you can through the lens of your students.

Creating Classes

On the left hand side of your teacher page, find the heading "Groups" and click the plus sign to the right.  Click create and then enter in all of the information that is required.  You will then have to distribute the code to your students.  It is highly advised that you "close" your class once all other students have joined so that no one unwanted joins.  I've never had that problem, but I figured I would pass that along.  Anyhow, make sure each class has a different name.  For example: I have 12 different groups and just labeled them by class title, grade, and marking period.

Now, with a group code, students can sign up to join that group.

Basic Uses

The basic uses for Edmodo can be found on the top of your main page.  You can post a note (a la Facebook), issue an alert (basically a high priority note), create and issue an assignment, create and issue a quiz, and create and issue a poll.

I think the Note and Alert are fairly self explanatory, so I'll focus on the assignment, quiz, and poll aspects of Edmodo.  Another side note, you can attach files, links, and even schedule notes.

Assignments are a really cool feature with Edmodo because it establishes due dates, gives the students a place to turn in assignments, and allows you to give feedback and a grade on an assignment.  Very simply, choose the assignment tab and give your assignment a name and due date.  Once you receive assignments from students you can assign them a grade and give them feedback.  Students can also resubmit assignments if need be.

Quizzes, just like assignments, can be assigned a grade.  Edmodo's create a quiz function is very simple to use.  You can create multiple choice, true or false, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, or even matching questions.  You can even assign a time limit.  Polls are great diagnostic tools and are exactly what you would expect them to be.  Simply, create a poll, offer choices, and post it to your class and watch the responses.


Another great feature of Edmodo is the "backpack" (if you are a student) or "library" (if you are a teacher).  Basically, the backpack/library is a place to store files (a la cloud).  If a student uploads a file to his/her backpack, it is not visible by the teacher and vice-versa.  Honestly, my favorite thing is that you can (as a teacher or student) connect with your Google Drive.  This is awesome because it adds another dimension to Edmodo.  For a quick example, let's say that students are studying geometry in nature.  A student may be walking home from school and sees a honeycomb on the ground and recognizes its hexagonal attributes.  He could snap a picture and upload directly to his Google Drive and then post it to Edmodo.

There are many other features of Edmodo that I will not cover for the sake of time.  But, feel free to explore them and let me know if you find anything else that is useful.  The importance of social media in our students' lives should be exploited for our academic purposes.  Edmodo brings a sense of familiarity with it for our students' sake.

@jahocking #haven2point0


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.