blogs

BLOGS[[image:http://www.ibritt.com/resources/images/hearnoseenospeakno_blogOK.jpg width="300" height="318" align="right" caption="Blogging is OK"]]
A **blog**, or **web log,** is a website serving as an online journal. Entries are typically personal and can act as a diary or provide commentary etc. on topics of interest the the person maintaining the blog. Blogs are not just for personal use to update the online viewers on personal interetsed, they can also have educational uses.

Teachers can use a blog to share information such as assignments, resources, newsletters, etc. A blog can also provide a way for students to share their thoughts- answering questions posed by teachers or simply creating journal entries online to share. Teachers have control over who can use or even view the blog, helping ease concerns of privacy.

Some blog sites:
21 Classes: http://www.21classes.com/ - a good focus for multi-user classroom applications

EduBlogs: http://edublogs.org/ - created for educators

Pownce: http://pownce.com/ - currently shutting down- arranging for users to transfer their files to other blogs

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ - - for microblogging- sharing very brief messages and updates. You can "follow" someone in twitter to see "what they're up to"

WordPress [|http://wordpress.org] - must be installed

Reading about blogs:
Downes, Stephen. (2004). Educational Blogging. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/EducationalBlogging/40493

Grover, Shuchi. (2007) Fostering COmmunities of Reflective Practitioners: BLogs for Teachers. http://www.digitallearning.in/articles/article-details.asp?articleid=1410&typ=Columns

Pierce, Dennis. (2006). Blogs are Changing Education. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?print&i=36898&CFID=4691546&CFTOKEN=70687299

Qian, Hua. (2007). Anonymity and Self-Disclosure on Weblogs. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/qian.html

San Diego Unified School District. (2007) Bloggin in Education. http://www.edtech.sandi.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=354