What is a Blog?

A weblog, which is usually shortened to blog, is a type of website where entries re made (such as in a journal or diary), displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. Read more...

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world....A blog gives you your own voice on the web. Read more...

"Typically, a weblog is a small web site, usually maintained by one person that is updated on a regular basis and has a high concentration of repeat visitors. Weblogs often are highly focused around a singular subject, an underlying theme or unifying concept." Read more...  

How different is a blog from a website? The main difference between the two is that blogs tend to be a lot more dynamic than websites. Blogs are updated on a regular basis with posts or entries that usually contain date/time stamps. Websites, on the other hand, are designed to be static. Read more...

How did blogging gain influence and popularity? Recently, researchers have analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i.e. blogroll). Read more...

Basic Blog Content

* What is the purpose of your blog?

Is it to provide information , to teach a new lesson, to provide a venue for learning a different language , to reinforce a lesson already taught, to gather responses for a book read, to feature photography as literary springboards or discussion points , or to share ideas among peers or colleagues? The list goes on.

* Who is the target audience?

Will your blog be read by colleagues, students, peers, or education professionals? Be aware of your audience interests, age group, skills, and abilities in order to achieve the goal or objectives you have set for your blog.

* What title will be best?

Your blog's title can provide added impact to your blog content. The title should be related to the content of your blog. You may want a catchy, creative or unique title that readers will easily remember.

* What should I write in my blog?

The content of your blog depends on your blog's purpose. If you are to share information, you may want to avoid bias opinions unless your intention is also to create reviews. On the other hand, if you are going to use your blog to reinforce a lesson already taught, you may want to provide a spot for a quick review of the lesson and emphasize to your students that the blog is to enhance the lesson they have already taken in class.

* Why blog?

Herman Melville put it best when he said, "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results." Don't you agree? Blogging is not only a past time but it is a way for today's generation to rant, rave, or communicate. Aside from the technological skill involved, students are able to use their creativity, personalize their blogs base on their interests, and have something that they can claim as their own.

* How can I create a blog?

There are different software that you can use to create your weblogs. The most common is the free online blog sites such as Edublog , Wordpress , Blogger , to name a few. More features are availabe with blogs that require paid subscription such as Typepad . If you are familiar with the programming world, you can create your own blog layouts using CSS stylesheets, HTML, and the like which you upload to a web hosting site (i.e. Yahoo , Go Daddy , etc.). 

Educational Blogging
Below are examples of blogs and videos demonstrating varied uses of weblogs.

Rosario Dickerson's Science 10 1 . This weblog was created with YISD's SchoolCenter Webpage and Science 101 shows the use of a weblog containing a Science activity on Animal Adaptations. The blog features instructions of a Science activity with links to websites. It is a great way for students to participate and reply by posting their findings in the Comments link.

Educational Blogging Episode 1 . A video discussion and demonstration on what blogs are and how blogs are created using free online software.

Educational Blogging Episode 2 . A video discussion and demonstration on what blogs are and how blogs are created using free online software.

Blogging Across the Curriculum . Pattie Belle Hastings who is an assistant professor in the Computer Science and Interactive Digital Design Department of Quinnipiac University used individual student weblogs as a substitute for the traditional paper design journal. The weblog became a successful venue for her and her students to create constructive feedback and share updates.

Donald E. Suburu School A blog used as the campus website where parents, students, and teachers can login and get periodic email bulletins about events and other important information.

Happy Headlines: Welcome to Miss Higginbothan's Weblog! An elementary blog that is mainly used by the teacher to post homework or assignments in different subjects and announcements.

Mr. Wright's Third Grade Clas s is a class weblog that a teacher uses to post upcoming events, upload newsletters saved as pdf, online quizzes, event videos, assignments, new lessons, photos, and the like.

Teaching High Schoo l . A secondary teacher's weblog which contains links to other educators' blogs, tips and tricks in classroom management, and personal views regarding the classroom scenario

BizDeansTalk An adminstrator's weblog that contains articles about leadership for better campus management.

Pamela Coates A principal's weblog that features updated information for parents, staff, faculty, and peers. Likewise, her weblog highlights significant teacher and student learning happening in her campus.

Mr Mayo Weblog Demonstration A teacher's blog that shares information about recent updates on his campus' online magazine by students at Silver Spring International Middle School.

The Blogging Center serves as a portal of all my blogs that caters to technology gadgets and software, education issues and strategies, links to administratorative journals, photography, technology integration and innovation, and other interesting ideas. To access every site, click on the image.