Extras

Q and A:
q: What are some ways people can use blogs for research?
a: There are so many blogs on the internet, it's impossible to summarize all of the possible uses in a classroom. One common use for blogs is by legitimate Newspapers, like this blog http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/ from the New York Times. Students can access blogs like this, do research, and then post findings on their own blogs. Teachers should be sure that students understand the difference between legitimate and illegitimate sources.

q: How should teachers assess the writing on students blogs?
a: This all depends on the curriculum and content standards, but teachers may use the same standards/grading rubric that they do in their classroom.

q: What are ineffective ways a teacher might use blogs? What mistakes might teachers make?
a: Teachers should be sure not to "dumb-down" content on blogs by making them all personal or unfocused entries for students. Also, teachers should be sure to encourage students to write at a high level and not expect less simply because the writing is online. Finally, blogs are meant to be interactive. Students should expect feedback from the teacher and their peers, as well as provide their own feedback on their peers' blogs.

q: What are some sites teachers could use to create their own class blog accounts?
a: blogger.com, blogosphere.com, weblogg-ed.com. If you don't like these options, simply google search "blog" or "create blog" and other options will be available.