How to Use Blogs in the Classroom

Here are two sites that give good advice on how to use (and not use) blogs in the classroom. These suggestions come from blogger James Farmer. Mr. Farmer has two posts, one on how to use blogs and another on how not to use them. Below are comments by a gentleman named Doug who has posted comments on Farmer's posts. This information can be found in entirety at http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4866208963679920235.

The blogger site shown above outlines these three points as Farmer's main points on how not to use blogs in education.

Don't use blogs as...

• "discussion boards, listservs or learning management systems"
  
• group blogs
  
• blogs for something they're not made for

Use blogs in education as...

• blogs "as key, task driven, elements of your course" (that is, provide structure & purpose to why you are using a blog)
• assessment that promotes, or at least allows, personal pursuits and expression

Using Blogs In Your Classroom Instructional Plan

Why use blogs in your instruction plan and in the assignments given to students?

Evaluating This Year's Integrating Technology Into The Social Studies Classroom Mini Camps

This blog is dedicated to receiving feedback from the participants in Cohort II of the Integrating Technology Into The Social Studies Classroom Mini Camp initiative provided by the K-12 Social Studies section of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Please address the following 8 questions.

Professional Growth

1.Describe the experience that you have had as a participant in the Integrating Technology into the Social Studies classroom mini camp workshops.

2.How has learning the many technologies and Web 2.0 tools helped you to grow professionally?

Academic Growth

3. Which technologies have you incorporated into your instructional program or professional growth plan?

4. How have the students (teachers) that you come in contact with responded to your use of the technology you have learned to use as a result of our mini camp workshops?

5. Do you see a value in continuing to train classroom content teachers and those who support them to use these types of technology tools in the classroom or professional programs?

Continuous Quality Improvement

6. Has the quality of your teaching improved as a result of our training?

7. Has the quality of executing your job responsibilities improved as a result of our training?

8. Can you share any experiences with us that you have had with your job or students as a result of this training? If so, pleased share.