See Kyle Blog: Using Your School's Mascot (Or Other Furry Friend) to Introduce Blogging

Kyle at the EU Parliament See Kyle Blog: Using Your School’s Mascot (Or Other Furry Friend) to Introduce Blogging Matthew Clobridge Sycamore Creek Elementary School Abby Clobridge Flurry Consulting

Kyle at the EU Parliament

Background, Goals

The Technical Stuff:

Kyle’s Blog v.1

Kyle’s Blog v.2

How we use the blog at school

Because of the blog…

Final thoughts

Questions?

Outline

Year-Round Elementary School Students: 675+ Teachers: 40+ Opened July 1, 2008 Technology Integration

web 2.0 Teachers Students Parents

web 2.0 Teachers Students Parents web2.0 in the classroom

Blog Demonstration Project Year-round schedule Upcoming travel… Creating a sense of school identity students parents teachers community teaching by example

The Students Vote Salamanders Crocodiles Cyclones Chameleons

And the Winner Is…

Google - Google Calendar - Google Sites - Docs & Spreadsheets - Web Forms - Videos - Notebook - Picasa Using Google applications when possible.

Version 1.0 Blogger

Blogger Admin Interface

Pros

Free

Easy

Fast

Cons -Cumbersome posting/editing -Limited flexibility with look and feel - Ugly URL http://kyles-travels.blogspot.com/

Not ideal for school environment Links to other blogs through Blogger… (no way to control *which* blogs). In profile, links to other profiles/blogs. Hyperlink Issues Note: you can edit CSS code to remove links back to Blogger at top of screen. This practice is not encouraged.

Minimal room for “extra” content

Challenges with moderating comments

Can’t edit comments Automatically linked info from profile

Wanted for v2: More flexibility (look and feel) More control (commenting) Better admin tools Add-ons (plug-ins) New URL Easy and cheap

Wanted for v2: More flexibility (look and feel) More control (commenting) Better admin tools Add-ons (plug-ins) New URL Easy and cheap Open Source?

www.movabletype.org

www.wordpress.org

Options:

Create free blog on WordPress.com site.

Host it yourself – and use a hosting provider’s WP install.

Host it yourself – with full control.

www.1and1.com

Total Cost for This Year: $44.94 Hosting: $2.50/month for first six months, $4.99/month after. Includes 120 GB space, FTP access, MySQL databases, email mailboxes and forwarding. Software: Free to install. Requires MySQL database (or alternatives). Domain: Free for first year, $6.99 after. Cost

Embedded Slideshows, Video

Static Pages, Highlight Recent Comments

Comments: Easier to Manage

New Comments – Email Forwarding to Multiple Addresses View from within email message

www.statcounter.com Include Statistics, Log Analysis Tools

Future Plans for WordPress Blog

Upgrade to Wordpress 2.7

Tiered commenting

Better admin tools, interface

Plugins – Install cForms

Add Feedburner subscription – subscribe to get email whenever updates

Using the Blog for Instruction

Writing in an Online Environment

Geography and Culture

First Grade

Upper Elementary

Students have a sense of ownership of the blog

Writing (blogging, commenting) for fun

Students learn PowerPoint

Because of the Blog…

Teachers have asked to create their own class blogs Because of the Blog…

Positive Exposure for the School

Issues and Considerations

Writing the posts… Approving comments… Responding to comments… Maintaining the site… Answering emails from parents… Scheduling logistics – who goes where when? With whom? Coordinating with guest handlers…

kylecrocodile.com