Blogs Blogs Blogs

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Blogs! Blogs! Blogs!

• Using Technology to Increase Social Studies
  Writing Skills

Glenn Wiebe ESSDACK glennw_at_essdack.org
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• 60 minutes!? Are you kidding me?
• So . . . this is just a brain ignitor!

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Start here

• Social Studies Central
• Scroll down click on Workshop Links
• Download presentation PowerPoint
• Lots of other Blog stuff at Links then Blogs

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Big ideas for the day

• Kids are different now than they were 10 years
  ago
  
• Teachers must be the ones to change, not the kids
  
  
• Blogs can help us teach differently than we did
  10 years ago
  
• Its a hammer / not a silver bullet

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30 years does make a difference!

• Long hair

• Longing for hair

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30 years does make a difference!

• Long hair
• Rolling Stones

• Longing for hair

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones

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30 years does make a difference!

• Long hair
• Rolling Stones
• Pay phone

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones
• Cell phone

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30 years does make a difference!

• Long hair
• Rolling Stones
• Pay phone
• Pop tops

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones
• Cell phone

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones
• Cell phone
• Laptops

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30 years does make a difference!

• Long hair
• Rolling Stones
• Pay phone
• Pop tops
• Baby boomers

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones
• Cell phone
• Laptops

• Longing for hair
• Kidney stones
• Cell phone
• Laptops
• Millennials

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Millennials

• Center of their world is the Internet
• Dont know a world without cell phones, CDs,
  computers, or on-demand music
  
• Second generation technology users
• Hunter / gatherers
• 90 of teenagers access the Web
• Almost 60 of online teens are content creators

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Millennials

• Wired differently
• They count with their thumbs
• More abstract / emotional / right brained
• Most have inadequate media literacy skills
• Use Web differently than adults
• Dont know netiquette
• Not concerned with privacy
• See web primarily as a communication tool
• Multi-taskers

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(No Transcript)
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So . . . whats a blog?

• A frequent, chronological publication of
  personal thoughts and Web links
  
• A mixture of whats happening offline and online
• A combination of the wordsweb log
• An evolving medium
• Samples?
• Hidden Histories The Chinese American
  Experience
  
• The National Writing Project

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Blog features
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Blog features
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Wait! Theres more!
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Why blogs are cool

• Theyre supported by research
• Social interaction cooperative learning build
  high levels of language development and use
  (Marazano 2000)
  
• Encourages a complete learning cycle - data /
  information / knowledge (Gavelek and Raphael
  1996).
  
• Supports constructivist learning and authentic
  learning experiences (Ferdig and Trimmell, 2004)
  
• Self reflection and peer review (Krajcik et al.
  1994 Olson 1994)

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Why blogs are cool

• Blogs are democratic
• All kids have chance to participate
• Supports multiple learning styles
• Theyre easy to use
• Dont need to know HTML, FTP, web creation
  software, or the secret tech guy handshake
  
• Theyre web-based so no need to host software on
  local server

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Why blogs are cool

• They encourage community / collaboration
• Students gather outside perspective (from others
  in class or around world)
  
• Classroom walls are limitless
• Increase student interest
• Technology is motivating by itself
• Can direct own learning

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Action research

• Review at least one of these articles
• Partner with someone close
• Discuss at least one possible Social Studies use
  for a blog in your classroom

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But . . . what can I do with it?

• Your ideas?

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But . . . what can I do with it?

• Other ideas
• Self reflection / small group reflections
• What would you do differently next time?
• Current events discussion
• Whats the matter with Kansas?
• Letters (before / after / during an event)
• Abraham Lincoln - 1858 / 1862 / 1865
• Online debates
• Whats the best form of government?
• Problem / solution exercises
• Fight terrorism / protect civil rights

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But . . . what can I do with it?

• Other ideas
• RAFT
• Role / Audience / Format / Topic
• Collaboration with other schools
• DBQs
• Document Based Question
• Writing prompts
• What would the US look like if the South had
  won?
  
• Visual DEI
• Where / when / what / how do you know?

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What do I use?

• Blogger
• Blogmeister
• EduBlogs

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What do I use?

• Kidzlog
• Schoolblogs
• Blosxom

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What do I use?

• MoveableType
• WordPress
• Manila

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Things to think about

• Not all software is alike
• Free v. not free
• Ease of use
• Web based v. server based
• Access
• Not all kids have internet / computers
• Student privacy
• CIPA / IUP
• Filters / passwords

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Things to think about

• Assessment
• What and how
• Time / support
• Not easier, just different
• Techies around?
• Attitude adjustment
• Adults giving up control / students gaining it
• New methods

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Things to think about

• Moderation
• Posts and messages should go through instructor
• Online netiquette training
• Blogs can get you fired
• USA Today June 15, 2005
• Are there others?

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What else is out there?

• Podcasts
• Audio blogs
• Moblogs
• Blogs created with cell phones
• Vlogs / Pblogs
• Video or photo blogs
• RSS / News aggregators
• Blog content comes to you
• Blog search tools

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Whats with RSS?

• Rich Site Summary
• or is it Real Simple Syndication?
• Best aggregator?
• My Yahoo!
• Bloglines.com
• NetNewsWire
• Allrss.com

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Blog search tools

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Paper pencil vs. blog?

• Speed of creating / updating
• Larger, selected audience
• RSS
• Access
• 24 - 7
• Content
• photos, video, audio
• Flexibility
• Templates, options,

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Reflection

• Would this practice benefit your students?
• What might be some of those practices?
• What would it take to remove the hurdles that
  might stand in the way of using blogging in your
  instruction?
  
• Is it worth the fight?

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Resources / References

• Weblogs The Possibilities are Limitlessu.edu/NECC2004/stories
  
• Journalism and Weblogsism_and_weblogs
  
• Ways to use Weblogs in EducationuBlogInsights/2004/10/05

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Resources / References

• Ferdig, R. and K. Trammell. February 2004.
  Content delivery in the blogosphere.
  
  
• Gavelek, J. and T. Raphael. 1996. Changing talk
  about text New roles for teachers and students.
  Language Arts, 73 (3) 182-192.

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Resources / References

• The effect of computers on student writing A
  Meta-analysis of Studies from 1992 to 2002.
  JTLA The Journey of Technology, Learning, and
  Assessment. al/v2n1.shtml