Blogging

Blogging The best way to be ‘ you ’ and share it with others Evelyn Izquierdo ICT in ELT course facilitator [email_address] UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACIÓN MAESTRÍA EN INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA October 13, 2009

Blogs

Agenda:

Define what a blog is

Know its different educational uses

Discuss about the potential of blogging in the ELT field and as a tool for professional development

Know different blog hosts

See some blog samples

Create your own blog in Blogger

Set up an ESL/EFL/ESP blog:

Select templates, post messages and edit entries

Comment on other blogs

Explore options for author’s management

Discuss concepts of tagging and syndication (RSS)

Invite colleagues and students to visit your blog.

Homework: Blog design, entries, widgets, posts, comments, etc

What is a blog?

Before defining what a blog is, please, watch the following video:

A blog is…

“… a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual or company. Blogs are typically written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order to the reader… The word blog itself is a play on the words Weblog (Web + log) , as most blogs will be displayed in a journal or log entry format, where most are updated daily or more frequently than most Web sites would be….” (Webopedia, 2009)

To what extend can we use blogs?

Types of blogs in language teaching

Aaron Campbell (2003) has outlined three types of blogs for use with language classes:

The Tutor Blog is run by the teacher of a class. The content of this type of blog can be limited to syllabus, course information, homework, assignments, etc. Or the teacher may choose to write about his or her life, sharing reflections about the local culture, target culture and language to stimulate online and in-class discussion. In this type of blog, students are normally restricted to being able to write comments to the teacher's posts.

… Types of blogs in language teaching

The Class Blog is a shared space, with teacher and students being able to write to the main area. It is best used as a collaborative discussion space, an extra-curricular extension of the classroom. Students can be encouraged to reflect in more depth, in writing, on themes touched upon in class. Students are given a greater sense of freedom and involvement than with the tutor blog.

… Types of blogs in language teaching

The Learner Blog is the third type of blog and it requires more time and effort from the teacher to both set up and moderate, but is probably the most rewarding. It is the student's own personal online space. Students can be encouraged to write frequently about what interests them, and can post comments on other students' blogs.

Other educational uses in ELT

Course syllabus

School project

Professional Web site

ICT trainings

Free publishing

Why blogging?

Graham Stanley (2005) stands several reasons for using blogs. Here I cite textually:

To provide extra reading practice for students. This reading can be produced by the teacher, other students in the same class, or, in the case of comments posted to a blog, by people from all over the world.

As online student learner journals that can be read by their peers. The value of using learner journals has been well documented. Usually they are private channels between teacher and student. Using a blog as a learner journal can increase the audience.

To guide students to online resources appropriate for their level. The Internet has a bewildering array of resources that are potentially useful for your students. The problem is finding and directing your learners to them. For this reason, you can use your tutor blog as a portal for your learners.

Why blogging?

To increase the sense of community in a class. A class blog can help foster a feeling of community between the members of a class, especially if learners are sharing information about themselves and their interests, and are responding to what other students are writing.

To encourage shy students to participate. There is evidence to suggest that students who are quiet in class can find their voice when given the opportunity to express themselves in a blog.

To stimulate out-of-class discussion. A blog can be an ideal space for pre-class or post-class discussion. And what students write about in the blog can also be used to promote discussion in class.

Why blogging?

To encourage a process-writing approach. Because students are writing for publication, they are usually more concerned about getting things right, and usually understand the value of rewriting more than if the only audience for their written work is the teacher.

As an online portfolio of student written work. There is much to be gained from students keeping a portfolio of their work. One example is the ease at which learners can return to previous written work and evaluate the progress they have made during a course.

To help build a closer relationship between students in large classes. Sometimes students in large classes can spend all year studying with the same people without getting to know them well. A blog is another tool that can help bring students together.

Some blog samples

Tutor blog:

Beyond the English Classroom Walls http://beyondtheenglishclassroomwalls.blogspot.com

Nahir’s ICT training blog http://ourthoughts-ipc.blogspot.com /

Class blogs:

Bee Online http://beeonline.blogspot.com

Bee Online 2 http://beeonline2.blogspot.com/

Leonela’s blog http://ictleonela.blogspot.com/

Free publishing:

http:// interculturalvoices.wordpress.com /

Some popular blog hosts

Edublogs

Blogger

Wordpress

Motime (Splinder, new name )

Livejournal

Pageflakes

Yahoo 360° blog (will be closed soon)

Windows Live blog (MySpace)

Typepad

Blogger

Sample of a Blog (Blogger)

Gadgets /Widgets

Pageflakes

Tagging

Tags are keywords used to describe a piece of information or data (web page, a digital photo, or digital document). They are categories that ease the search work and connect knowledge.

Syndication

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is the way to facilitate the exchange of information on the web back and forth.

To start crossing the information, we need a feed aggregator: Atom, for instance.

Now, let’s blog, but…

What to blog about? Think!

Before creating a blog consider…

The setting

The school/institution policies

Parents

Students’ expectations

Tech support

Training

Netiquettes

The audience

The teacher, the students, the community

Personal or a group Blog/Wiki

Private, public, customize posts

Who moderates: writer, contributors

Before creating a blog consider…

The objectives

Class

Course

School

The content

Class

Extra-class activities

Free

Enjoy blogging! Be creative!

Create your profile.

Upload your photo.

Name your blog.

Establish your blog settings.

Choose templates.

Change colors and fonts.

Add widgets/gadgets.

Post your first message.

Edit entries.

Create a blog roll.

Leave comments on your peers’ blogs.

References

Campbell, AP (2003). 'Weblogs for use with ESL classes' [Online] Available at http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html

Stanley, G. (2005). Blogging for ELT. Teaching English -British Council article. [Online] http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elt

Webopedia. The History og Blogging. http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/history_of_blogging.asp

Further reading:

Izquierdo, E. (2008). Blogs and Wikis: Tools for Collaborative Work. VenTesol Region 1.

Stanley, G. (2005). Blog-efl. Graham Stanley’s blog with information and comments for teachers of EFL/ESL interested in using blogs. [Online] Available at http://blog- efl.blogspot.com