Two & Three

Two: Blogs!

Blogger has a great ease of use, and the video was a perfect introduction the the basics. So once I set up the basic format in Blogger, I immediately wanted to find ways to customize everything! I get many RSS feeds of art, design, cooking, education and other blogs on my iGoogle page, so I've seen many beautiful blogs out there and know that a summer project will be to learn new ways to customize and design blogs. However, there are so many straight-forward options for blog hosting and design that it truly is a way for all voices to be heard. I tried Wordpress, too, and set up a different blog there to be able to compare the set-up process with that of Blogger. Wordpress was easier initially, and offered more customizable templates, but I've found that its Dashboard is not as simple to navigate when editing appearance.

As for the activity itself, it makes one very mindful of the audience, large or small, that lurks just outside the screen! I'm interested in what will happen as this process goes forward; do bloggers eventually become less self-conscious about every little word? Will I find a new risk-taking freedom in putting my thoughts and ideas out there?!

Three: Classroom blogs

The value of a classroom blog is that it creates exactly what most blogs do in the wider world; the sense of community it gives to a group of people who are connected by a common pursuit. I've used Moodle and our school's website class homepage for class conversations and will definitely set up a blog for the same purpose. I'm concerned, however, with privacy issues for younger children. I know I can keep a blog out of search engines. I was happy to see that I can designate readers in the settings of the blog, so the children would just have to log in before reading and commenting. Still, as teachers we don't want this quickly deteriorating into a large-group IM tool! Clarity of thought and of purpose is important for all participants. Perhaps a blog, in addition to offering communication and community, is a good venue for teaching children how to use the internet without giving away too much of their personal information?