Resources+&+Next+Steps

Where will you go from here? Take it one step at a time!
= Photo by [|.mw at FlickrCC] =

Increasing Student Responsibility
Teach students to use Creative Commons images. (Many details can be found on this wiki page by Jaclyn Calder.) Tools such as this site are available online to assist.

Increasing Readership
-visit other class blogs, leave comments with your blog url -invite parents to visit, give them a hard copy page of instructions to navigate your blog -create a screencast tour of your blog to help hesitant parents -invite your principal, school volunteers, special guests to write comments (kids will gain interest if they know someone is reading their work) -have a contest (name the virtual pet, whose relative left a comment from the furthest distance) -promote your blog in the school newsletter

Increasing Appeal for Students
-join other classes - pair up with someone here at this session, create a global collaboration by finding someone on Twitter, ePals site -consider letting students "earn" the right to get their own blog

=Practical Suggestions for Managing Classroom Routines= -allowing students to work in pairs for comments and posts motivates them -make it a habit (each time you go to computer lab, write a comment first then do another job) -circulate a handheld device with a class list, everyone takes a turn to comment on a post -sign up sheet for blog post ideas (make it visible, always on their minds) -assign a blog manager as part of weekly helper jobs (he/she can reply to comments or delegate that job) -develop a list of "Tech-sperts" (Mali Bickley's term) who are in charge of various apps, online tools or aspects of the blog

=Resources= Many educators write about their use of blogs with students. Some names to look for and sites to explore are:

Kathleen Morris - Read her Top 10 Tips for Introducing Blogging Into Your Classroom [|here]. Linda Yollis - Check out her wiki about Educational Blogging. Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano - Read her guideline for teachers new to blogging "to maximize learning benefits to their students" [|here]. Pernille Ripp - Read her 14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging here. Sue Waters - Read this awesome overview of progressing down the "road" of blogging called : Getting More Out Of Student Blogging