Category: Benefits - Blogging CPD

School Blogs in County Durham - Updated

2/18/2014

I have just updated the list of schools who have active blogs courtesy of the hard work of their teachers.

Please check out Ropery Walk, Escomb and Shield Row in the left sidebar. If you are interested, please register for a course (next day to be announced in the next half term!) where your school could begin their blogging journey!

Added at 10.10am: Oops, I had the wrong link for Burnopfield Primary's two blogs: Year 1 and Year 2. Sorry about that; here they are!

Blogging in County Durham Schools Takes Off!

1/29/2014

Following last Friday's blogging training, the number of County Durham schools who have set up class blogs has expanded exponentially.

Besides Tanfield Lea and Brandon Primary, the following schools have begun their blogging journeys:

Year 5 at Escomb Primary

Year 5 at Shield Row Primary

Year 1 at East Stanley

Year 3 at Seaham Trinity

Year 6 at Ropery Walk Primary

Year 6 at Burnopfield Primary

Year 4 at Framwellgate Moor Primary

Year 1 at Blackhill St Marys

Cestria Primary

Year 6 at Westlea Primary, Seaham

Harelaw School

Please check out their sites (some used, some waiting to get going) and if you would like to join us in developing children's engagement, please drop us a line!

Developing an audience for your blog: Twitter, Oddizzi, 100WC and Quadblogging

1/14/2014

When I first started a blog (I think after an Inset by Russell Prue about technology in the class) I was amazed that I could even make a website!

After a few months of trial and error and some internet research, I discovered a whole world of class blogs that I had never envisaged.

I think one of the important benefits of a class blog is developing links with others so the children of County Durham get their collective heads up and see what other children around them world are doing. (Of course, they are doing this already via XBox Live etc.!) However, a class blog can also improve writing and boost self-esteem in a way XBox Live surely doesn't!

There are several ways our school has developed links with others around the world:

1.Twitter

I joined Twitter with a sense of trepidation, having never done Facebook, thinking it was for being nosey about celebrities. I then started following a few educators, although still felt uncomfortable about its role seemingly as a publicising tool.

I realised though that Twitter could automatically tweet (ie publicise) your blog posts and slowly but surely other classes / teachers would actually be interested. They follow you, you follow back (only if you're interested) and a potential partner class is found.

It's the law of the market I suppose (if you overly self-publicise, people will stop following) and if others have similar interests to you, you will gain useful contacts. After all, some people follow 1000s, so will only click your link if it's of interest to them....

You can also see what other bloggers are up to (@deputymitchell, @theheadsoffice and @quadblogging are great places to start- see 3 and 4 below).

Twitter also introduced me to Flag Counters and other visitor counting tools.

2. Oddizzi

I have written about using Oddizzi to develop class partners via their class pals system here and here. Apart from being an excellent Geography resource for primaries, initially, it is a quick and efficient easy to send emails from class to class, but some those relationships might develop into taking time to leave comments on each others blogs and even setting up email links, child to child, as it has with Wellford Academy in South Carolina.

Jenny and her incredibly helpful team have allowed our class to develop links with USA, Taiwan (we received a snail mail package at one point) and others.

I know for a fact our visitor from Nepal on the Flag Counters came via Oddizzi!

These 2 tools definitely added readers to our blog (and some comments), but the next 2 tools allow children to comment on each other's work.

3. 100 Word Challenge

I learnt of the 100 word challenge (run by Julia Skinner @theheadsoffice) via Twitter. Each week a challenge is posted on the website, such as a phrase to be included in the 100 words or a picture stimulus.

Initially nervous, my class began by doing the challenges without linking their posts to the website.

After a while, we joined the 'movement' meaning our posts received comments from the 100 WC team (a group of teachers and other adults) who leave supportive comments, but also from other children. This was a revelation and our children really responded to their comments (gallingly, more than to mine!)

In addition, children who find writing more difficult get to read quality examples produced by other children, comment positively on others and receive positive comments - a real spur to writing improvements.

And this leads us on to the ultimate way to develop a readership and close scrutiny of your blog.....

4. Quadblogging

The brainchild of David Mitchell (@deputymitchell), essentially this movement links 4 school blogs (a Quad). The four schools then take turns to visit each others' blogs and leave comments.

Yet another way to develop international links, encourage writing and boost self-esteem for our children!

Disclaimer:
I haven't yet been successful in joining this, but with another round of Quads due soon, I hope to have our class linked up. I'll let you know how we get on......

Boxing Day Anomaly?

1/5/2014

Happy New Year!

Having thought very little about teaching over the break, and not added any posts to the class blog, imagine how surprised I was to look at the statistics over Christmas week and see that Boxing Day was the day with the most hits!

Does this mean lots of my pupils (and other teachers) got new devices from Santa? I would guess so, but it is interesting (and to be honest, very pleasing) that they chose to look at the blog.

I know I spent some time 'randomly' browsing the web and I know that some of our pupils did too!

A few left comments and some accessed educational games. Some just checked their own work by clicking on their name down the sidebar and some past pupils wished us Happy New Year!

That is the power of the blog: a link between the home and school, engaging, a place to learn ('stealth learning' it has been called), share great work (writing but also videos, puppet shows and podcasts) and build self-esteem!

I look forward to continuing the blogging into 2014 - the next challenge is getting the children building their own sites!

Boxing Day had the most blog visitors during the holidays

The First County Durham-wide Blogging CPD Course is filling up

12/19/2013

With a few days to go before Christmas, our first County-wide blogging course (on Friday 17th January 2014) is filling up nicely.

Would you like an online presence for your class - a public space to share your children's terrific work and give them a wider audience?

For an example of what you could create in during this interactive 1 day course, click the Successful Class Blogs link on the sidebar!

If you would like a class blog, but aren't sure where to start, this course may be a chance to motivate pupils as the year begins....

Children creating 'Podcasts' to demonstrate learning

12/4/2013

A blog is a great place for children to demonstrate their learning. One of my favourite iPad apps is Show Me which gives children a virtual whiteboard, pen and recording facility. Amazingly, it's free!

Recently I used Show Mes to photograph area and perimeter word problems, which the children had solved. Using the app, they enjoyed demonstrating the skills they had gained. Below is an example:

For more examples of the work they did, click here.

How to do this

1. Create an account at showme.com.
2. Get the iPad app - it's free!
3. Make a Show Me and upload it to your showme.com account on the iPad.
4. Go to your computer/Safari and access showme.com. In your Show Me account, play the video and click on the Share button in the bottom right corner. It will then show Embed, like the screen below:

5. I have blogged previously about how to Embed code, but as you can see in the picture above, I have highlighted all the code (using Ctrl-A) and copied it.
6. In Weebly on your computer, drag and drop the Embed Code icon into a blog post and paste in that code.
7. Your Show Me should appear!

Why Blog? Speed Learning event in County Durham

11/19/2013

Tomorrow, a colleague and I will present at the County Durham Speed Learning event.

We will be sharing about iPads in Education and Blogging, cramming our presentations into 3 minutes!

If case, you don't have 3 minutes to spare, or you want to look at it in your own time, I've attached the presentation below.

If any readers of the blog are there, come and say hello!

speed_learning_presentation_nov_2013.ppt
File Size:	4820 kb
File Type:	ppt

Oddizzi : Linking Children in the Global Classroom

10/30/2013

Last week, I wrote about using Oddizzi to make real, meaningful links with other children around the world as well as to give us a real purpose for writing.

Since then, we have had 1 reply from Nepal, an introductory letter from Egypt and another letter from St. Kitts and Nevis. Our American partner school say they will be writing shortly too!

Harsha Home, our long-term partner school in Nepal, left us this interesting reply below:

Hello Ryan, Jack and Drew,

Thank you for writing to us.

We liked the the second paragraph where you have written about our country Nepal. Also, we liked your invitation, but it would be very very difficult for us to go to England for economic reasons... Your 1 Pound is equal to 160 Rupees Nepali ... The normal salary of a common person is about Rs. 6000 per month which is about 38 British pounds. Only the rich business people make a lot of money.

We stay at Harsha Home (https://www.facebook.com/harshahome) ... our second home ... but we study in St.Xavier's School ... we are lucky to be given scholarships. At Harsha Home we are 10 girls, from class 2 to class 8 ...

We have answered your questions below:

How old are the people in your class?
Our ages are from 9 to 14 years.

Who is the oldest person in your class called?
At Harsha Home the oldest girl is Bipana Lama - 14 years old. (Photo 1)

Who is the youngest person in your class?
The youngest one is Torani Ghale - 9 years old. (Photo 2)

Who is the smallest person in your class?
The smallest person is Anusha KC. (Photo 3)

Who is the tallest person in your class?
The tallest person is Laxmi Ghising. (Photo 4)

with best wishes
The Harsha Girls ...

Name
Brikha Maya Tamang- Class 2
Torani Ghale - Class 3
Rejina Ghale - Class 4
Meri Maya Tamang- Class 4
Anusha K.C. - Class 4
Dolma Tamang - Class 5
Sumitra Pun - Class 6
Laxmi Ghising - Class 6
Bipana Lama - Class 7
Rama Rana - Class 8

6 reasons every 'iPad teacher' should have a Class Blog

10/29/2013

I have previously written of the benefits of blogging with your class.

Below is a list of reasons that a teacher who uses iPad (iPad is the singular or plural apparently!) in class.

1. Celebrate every day events with the school community.

With 1 click via the Weebly app, you can share what the children are doing with parents and the whole school community. Here are a few examples:

2. Showcase digital and 'traditional' work from across the curriculum

A blog is a perfect place to showcase work done across the curriculum. Again, it could be a simple photo of work (in effect a display board on the internet), like these examples:

However, for the iPad teacher, so much content will be produced on the iPads (video, audio, posters, text). Why keep it on the device? Why print everything out? Instead, create a digital portfolio for each child!

Here are some examples of work that can be uploaded directly via the Weebly iPad app:

With a tiny bit of work between the iPad and PC, children can embed audio or produce screencasts (For tips on using Audioboo, click here) which gives children a performing voice:

'Posh' arguments
Scientific explanations (using the Show Me screencasting app)

In short, iPads and a blog were made for each other!

3. Get children writing for a purpose and an audience

If you are using iPads in the classroom, you will know how engaging they are for pupils; a class blog is a natural outlet to allow pupils to consider themselves as writers. Try the 100 word challenge to get children writing regularly. It really gives them a sense of accomplishment to succeed in front of a global audience, as Leah did here!

4. Teach digital literacy skills

A class blog is the perfect place to develop digital literacy skills for children. From hyperlinking text, embedding HTML code, tagging work and considering the layout and design of a site, children are developing skills which will equip them for the future.

4. Flip the classroom /Break down barriers between the home and school

I have previously written about how a class blog allows you to show videos, share weblinks for games and generally prepare children for learning in the classroom. In addition, files, PDFs and pictures can be uploaded to a blog, reducing the need for photocopies or for digital work to be emailed. This allows the class blog to become the VLE for your class.

5. Encourage children from around the world to collaborate as global citizens

A big claim here, however, a class blog allows children to interact with children and adults that they would never normally meet. Consider here the response from an adult after 1 child left a positive comment for a child in another school! Obviously, this is not strictly limited to an iPad teacher's
classroom, but the Weebly iPad app gives children the opportunity to post work by themselves, thereby making creating digital content so much simpler and efficient.

As children use the internet to make connections with others, a class blog is the ideal way to encourage our children to see themselves as global citizens (For my post on using Oddizzi to make global connections click here).

As for other reasons, raising self-esteem, collaborating and generating excitement are a few which are applicable to class blogs, whether in an iPad supported environment or not!

Flipping the classroom: Preparing Pupils to learn with a class blog

10/13/2013

Do your pupils begin a new topic with few ideas?
Do you start work on measures in Numeracy and they have forgotten all they ever knew?
Do children ask you for the website of the game you just played in class?

The idea of 'flipping your classroom' (so children learn before they come to class and classwork is more about application) is more of a Secondary phenomenon.

However, you can prepare your pupils for learning, by using your class blog.

As I do my planning, which invariably involves putting weblinks, Youtube videos etc. into my school's planning sheet, I simply have my Weebly website editor open.

Every time, I cut and paste, I also paste into the Weebly editor, giving my pupils a list of the games / videos they will be looking at during the week.

Does every child access it? No, but each Monday, 3 or 4 of the class have already played games, watched videos etc. about the week's work! What a great start to making progress....

Here are examples of blogs I have used to prepare the children:
History
Numeracy
Literacy

Hope this gives you some ideas!