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Wow -- Mark's Really hit on Something           05/11
Mark got the idea from Clarence Fisher, but he has taking Suprglu to new levels. You can read his post (Amazing Suprglu - May 10, 2006), but essentially, he's used Suprglu as a class portal for his students' blogs.

http://mahlness.suprglu.com/


Outstanding! Article posted # May 11, 2006 at 05:57 AM: edit • comment • Reads 142


Why Kids Blog           05/6
Yesterday, the local MEGA group held a showcase event where they invited a fairly large group of people to come and showcase some of their projects. The were a number of vendors there, but it was mostly schools, who brought posters and computer samples of their local projects.

I demonstrated Class Blogmeister, though I actually promoted ePals' and Gaggle's blogging tools. A couple of hours before the event, I sent a request out through the Class Blogmeister mailing list asking for any blurbs that Blogmeister teachers might share as to their students' use of blogging. So here are the ones that came back almost immediately, with very very minor edits.


Even when they're out sick, students work on their blogs.
Carol Barsotti



I've got 6th graders coming in during their lunch and after school to add articles to their blog and to respond to their classmates' articles
Al Gonzalez



My students are floored when, as they say, "some random person from Texas commented on my blog!!" The students are getting real world experience with writing.
Brian McLaughlin



Why would my students want to write on paper for their teacher to see, when they could write on their blog for the whole world to see.
Kathy Cassidy



In fifteen years of teaching, I have never seen anything come along even CLOSE to motivating students to write - like blogging does.
Mark Ahlness


For your edification! Article posted # May 6, 2006 at 04:22 AM: edit • comment • Reads 230


Another Classroom Blogging Tool Emerges           03/8
Gaggle, the home of student e-mail and other classroom communication tools, has just announced a classroom blogging tool.

Here's the URL:

    http://gaggle.net/gen?_template=/templates/gaggle/html/blog/index.jsp

I took a quick peek. It looks like it makes some use of Java in it's page layout, which can be problematic, but otherwise it looks interesting, and reports to provide the same sorts of protections that Class Blogmeister does.

What do you think?
Article posted # March 8, 2006 at 05:58 AM: edit • comment • Reads 2146


Top 10 Names of Blogmeister Users           02/8
It's not like I don't have better things to be doing. I guess I'm just procrastinating. But sometimes I look at information and I think, "I could do that with this information." So I was looking at the names of Class Blogmeister users and got to wondering what names are most common.

Here they are, the top 20.

1. Alex (by a huge margin)
2. Michael
3. Jessica
4. Ryan
5. Megan
6. Katie
7. Taylor
8. Chris
9. Robert
10. Daniel
11. Ashley & Mary
12. Matthew
13. Jonathan
14. Nick & Patrick
15. Amy & Hannah
16. David & Nathan
17. Jeff, Jennifer, & Sean
18. Jordan, Kathy, & Susan
19. Adam, James, & Juan
20. Ben, Christopher, Dylan, Jacob, Julie, Kelsey, Maria, Mat, & Tyler

Now you can go back to sleep.

Article posted # February 8, 2006 at 09:32 AM: edit • comment • Reads 1150


Cross-Grade Blogging           01/27
Someone posted a request on the Class Blogmeister list yesterday, asking for readers to come and comment on her students' bloggings. It's a common request. It's one of the reasons that you blog, to engage in conversation.

I frequently go in, read, and comment, but not nearly as much as I should, considering that one reason for building Class Blogmeister was that I could learn from teachers and students, some interesting ways that this conversation might be used to learn. Alas, there's only 24 hours....

It occurred to me, this morning, while I should have been sleeping, that a logical audience for students blog writings might be last year's 4th graders. If a 4th grade class blogging teacher could arrange for a 5th grade class to periodically read and comment on her students' writings, it could be a unique learning experience for both classes.

  1. Students' blogs are being read regularly (or at least predictably) and responded to.

  2. The blogs are being read by students who, if they hadn't written on the subject the previous year, at least they have considered it before.

  3. Students are reading the reactions of readers who have the benefit of one (or two or three) year's maturity.

  4. Students are reading the reactions of readers who are considering the same topic with slightly more depth and sophistication. Slightly is good!

  5. The upperclassmen are revisiting topics that were covered the previous year(s) from slightly more maturity and sophistication.


Just an idea, from the change in my pocket! Article posted # January 27, 2006 at 04:22 AM: edit • comment • Reads 854



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About BlogMeister
12-11-04

Perhaps one of the most fascinating tools that has emerged from the Internet cloud in recent years is the Blog. A shortening of the term Web log, the Blog is an online publishing tool that enables people to easily publish their loves, passions, dislikes, peeves, discoveries, and insights.

Blogging came into its own during the 2004 presidential campaign where all of the major candidates sported their own blogs, and every political pundit daily trashed their opponent candidate with blog articles.

But blogging is also showing up in schools, where teachers have known for a long time that students develop better communication skills when they are authentically communicating. A number of educators are helping their students developing their writing skills by having them publish their work as blogs, and then invite comments from people in the outside.

There are many freely available tools that facilitate blogging, but none seem especially suited for the classroom. That is the reason for BlogMeister. This online blogging tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
A service of David Warlick & The Landmark Project