BP7_2009102_Web 2.0 Edublogs

Edublogs (edublogs.org) is a blogging site designed specifically for students and teachers to use in educational settings. Having never blogged before starting this program at Full Sail, I don’t really know a lot about writing blogs or using blogging sites or software. Edublogs is now the third blog I’ve set up (the first two being my action research blog using iWeb and my ETC blog using Blogger) and it is definitely the easiest of the three blogging methods I’ve used. (Or perhaps I’m just getting more comfortable with this concept of setting up a blog.)

So, with all the different blogging sites available, why would Edublogs be any different or better than any others? From my experience with the site, there are three distinct advantages that I was able to see after spending only a short amount of time on the site. First, the signup process was very simple. I didn’t have to have a Google account or a Yahoo account, and the first username I tried was available! Second, the information on the site is clearly directed at teachers or other educational users. There are a number of very helpful video tutorials on the site, and the examples contained in the videos and other documentation describe how teachers and students can use the site. Finally, once I had actually created my blog account, it was extremely easy to customize and edit. The site layout is very customizable and easy to read for both the author and readers. On the administrative side, it’s possible to automatically create accounts for students and add them as subscribers to your blog! This is a huge benefit for a school blog.

Unfortunately, the free accounts on Edublogs do have some advertising. There are two levels of paid accounts that one can sign up for that eliminate the ads and make it easier to create and manage student accounts.

I hope to be able to incorporate student blogs into my teaching in some way. I can envision my band students being able to comment on rehearsals or recordings and having insightful class discussions take place online. My Studio Tech students could get feedback from each other on projects or help their classmates with specific technical skills in Logic. I don’t know if Edublogs will be the blog solution I end up using, but it definitely seems promising so far!

References:

Edublogs - teacher and student blogs. (2009). Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://edublogs.org/

VAHS Band. (2009). Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://andersoe.edublogs.org/