Category: 01b. Ideas n Examples

James Farmer‘s recent post is on this topic. Take a look at the comments that follow the short post, rich comments for some of us who are tempted to use group blogs too 🙂

The result‘s out. Visit the blogs for some good inspirations for upcoming the new year 🙂
Most innovative edublogging project, service or programme 2005
James Farmer: Edublogs
Best newcomer 2005
Konrad Glogowski: Blog of proximinal development (follow up)
Most influential post, resource or presentation 2005
George Siemens: Connectivism: Learning as Network-Creation
Best designed/most beautiful edublog 2005
D�Arcy Norman: D�Arcy Norman Dot Net
Best library/librarian blog 2005
Joyce Valenza: Joyce Valenza�s NeverEnding Search
Best teacher blog, joint winners 2005
Konrad Glogowski: Blog of proximinal development
Anne Davis: Edublog Insights
Best audio and/or visual blog 2005
Dave Cormier and Jeff Lebow: Ed Tech Talk
Best example/case study of use of weblogs within teaching and learning 2005
Thomas Hawke, Thomas Stiff, Susan Stiff, Diane Hammond (YES I Can! Science team): Polar Science
Best group blog 2005
Rudolf Amman, Aaron Campbell, Barbara Dieu: Dekita.org
Best individual blog 2005
Stephen Downes: OLDaily
The full list of nominees can be found here. Do visit the other quality edublogs too!

Darren @Problogger.net summarised 20 types of blog posts he has observed. Having the awareness of the types may allow you to blog in more ways? 🙂

20 types of Blog Posts
� Instructional
� Informational
� Reviews
� Lists
� Interviews
� Case Studies
� Profiles
� Link Posts
� �Problem� Posts
� Contrasting two options
� Rant
� Inspirational
� Research
� Collation Posts
� Prediction and Review Posts
� Critique Posts
� Debate
� Hypothetical Posts
� Satirical
� Memes and Projects

For full description, read this post.

Anne Davis’s 5th grade students from J. H. House Elementary school in Conyers, Georgia, had created this b[l]ook. Browse through the pages, look at the illustrations as well as the words and get a feel of how these primary school pupils are feeling about blogging.
Especially like the ‘V’ entry:

V
video blogs, voice, viva, venture
nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Hopefully, in the future, our school will have video blogs. Video blogs allow you to show yourself telling the news stories, instead of you just typing them. Until then, we�ll have to voice our opinions as loudly and as clearly as we can while typing. There are also photo blogs and audio blogs. There�s a saying nothing ventured, nothing gained and we believe that. We always try our best. Our group has had a good venture with weblogs and hope we will continue in the future. Until then we say Viva weblogs!

Anne Davis shared on one of the blog projects she had carried out with her 4th and 5th grade (Pri 4 & 5) students using current events “as a springboard to teach critical thinking skills and media awareness, and to make connections with the school’s curriculum objectives.”
You can read more about Project NewsQuest, but here’s some of the things you may find exciting too:
– “… we progressed to peers checking their work to times when there was no checking, except for their own proofreading.”
– “They discussed the news, wrote about their heroes, wrote poetry, expressed their opinions, … They had choices within these perimeters.”
– “Then one day I received an email from Will Richardson, … (and) that led to an exciting collaboration between his class in New Jersey and mine in Georgia. … The high school students mentored the elementary students.”
Some learning points from the posting:
– The atmosphere of give-and-take which the teacher creates in the class
– Students are encourated to write what they’re really thinking.
– Comments for postings gave students great motivation and encouragement.
– Scaffolding is required to put students on-task, especially at the beginning. And it’s evident in all other postings throughout the blog which provided constant guidance and encouragement as the project progressed.
Check out students’ (4th grader, 5th grader) own reflection on the blogging experience too. I especially like Question 13: “Looking back, what would you do differently if you could go back.” and you can truly see how the students reflected on their own learning experience.
This example should set many of our minds thinking how we can explore similar possibilities (and the possiblities after it’s started) with our students. Thanks Anne for the great sharing 🙂