Blogger in the Classroom

Blogger is a fantastic blogging platform (I’m a bit biased). Not only is it great for personal blogging but It can be used in many different ways in the classroom by teachers and students.

Teachers

1. Share what’s going on in your class. Write about the daily goings on, from what students learning to projects they’re working on.
2. Self reflection. Keeping a journal can help a teacher reflect on their day.
3. A staff blog. I’ve written about this before. Create one blog for the school site and ask the staff to contribute.
4. Share notes and assignment directions with your students.
5. Weekly updates. For the administration, use Blogger to share a weekly update about what’s going on around the campus as well as upcoming events.

Students

1. Student journaling. Students can use Blogger to keep a daily journal, sharing it with their teacher.
2. Assume an identity. Students can assume the identity of a historical or literary figure and blog as if they were that figure. What kinds of things would they say?
3. Exit ticket. Student can use Blogger as a daily exit ticket, reflecting on what they’ve learned that day. A great way to keep a journal of their learning.

Create Staff Community & Collaboration With One Blog, Many Teachers

Student blogging in the classroom is great for many reasons. But, the blog can be great for teachers as well. I'm not talking about a single teacher and a single blog. What I'm talking about is one blog for many teachers! One teacher sets up the blog, then invites the staff to be contributors. And there you have it, a staff blog!

There are two ways to put together a staff blog. One is to have teachers post whenever the mood suits them. You could have a few blog posts a day or if no one wants to get the ball rolling, no blog posts for a week or even longer. It's because of this I prefer the second way, to create a schedule where each teacher posts during a given week. That way, you're guaranteed a post a week.  So, for example, Teacher A posts something in week one, Teacher B posts in week 2 and so on.

The first question you may get when asking teachers to blog is "what should I write about?" The post should be about education, not what their weekend plans are. They can write a post about what they're doing in class and share exemplary student work. Teachers can blog about current events in Edtech or education in general. They can share lesson ideas and best practices.

There are a couple of reasons why blogging in school can be an effective tool. First, it can build a sense of community. Teachers can feel like they're in this together as a staff. They are all part of a blog that represents the staff. Commenting and responding to comments can also build community.

Second, a staff blog can serve as a collaborative professional development activity. Teachers can get lesson ideas and best practice ideas from each other's posts.

So, as you can see, there are many benefits to staff blogging.  So why wait? Get blogging!

5 Reasons Why A School Staff Should Blog

Blogging can be a fantastic tool for school staff!  As an administrator, it's a great way to keep the staff informed and for school transparency.  As a classroom teacher, a blog can keep parents and the rest of the staff informed about what's going on in their classroom.

1. Keep the staff updated.  Instead of a weekly newsletter, use a blog.  This is a great way for the administration to keep the staff updated on school events and upcoming important dates.  Talk about upcoming school events: plays, fundraisers, school sports, meetings, etc.

2. Discuss your goals and values.  A great way to onboard new staff.  Share posts about school values and school goals.  Keep the staff in the know about what the school is doing to achieve those goals and how the staff exemplifies those values.

3. If you're the principal, let your staff contribute. Let the staff comment, give suggestions, or voice concerns.

4. Put interesting forms on your blog.  Provide links to Google Forms or other survey apps.  Keep the staff feeling the ownership of the school by asking their opinions on certain aspects of the school.  Then share the results on the blog.

5.  Use a blog for transparency. Talk about what's going on in at your school and in your classroom.  Share what's going on in your classroom with the staff and student families.