Following interest from more schools, we are holding another one day hands-on Blogging course on 23rd October for forward thinking schools in the North East!
Please browse the website for testimonials and other schools blogging successfully as a result of this course....
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As with the previous course, I am proud to say that the 'Creating a Blogging Class' course on 23rd May has been rated as 5/5 by all participants for 'Course Delivery' and 'Course Content'! Here are some of the testimonials from the course: "Very practical course that included plenty of time to trial and experiment with the apps and blog site. I achieved a lot in the day." (Ruth) If you are interested in what the course involves, I've added some of the slides from the day. A date is to be added in September so watch this space ...... Wow! A month has passed since 8 teachers came to Tanfield Lea Primary School for a course to set up new class blogs. I must admit I've been particularly busy and not managed to blog as much (either with the class or personally) as I would like. What a pleasure, then, when I looked at what the participants had got up to with their blogs over the period! Most of the participants have established blogs, with some rolling out other class blogs. As one head said to me, all the other teachers had asked when they could get one, so the whole school was up and running within days! Below are links to show what you can do with some great ideas, and a little know-how:
I might have guessed though, given what a dedicated bunch they were! We hope to run another course in September, so keep watching this space.... 
Teachers creating class blogs in a day
Exciting news! We have a date for a new blogging course: May 23rd at Tanfield Lea Primary. It's the last working day of the half-term for most; why not spend the day creating a working class blog, which can transform the standard of pupils' work by providing them with an international audience for their efforts? No technical expertise required; just some imagination from committed teachers about how to inspire your pupils! For more on the benefits of blogging, click here. For testimonials from the previous course click here, or browse some of the blogs created on our workshops. We hope you can join us..... 
I previously wrote about Blogging in the Foundation Stage.
In addition to those ideas, Key Stage 1 children are increasingly able to produce content on iPads, often using an iPad set up by the teacher. Thus, the child creates the content, which is then uploaded by the teacher. 1. Show Mes This fantastic iPad app allows children to create short podcasts about a subject. Here is a Year 1 who did a recording of something she had learnt in class. Note, also the parental comments, which I have mentioned previously. Audioboo can be used in a similar way, requiring a teacher controlled login. 2. Puppet Pals This app allows children to make cartoons. It involves scripting, practising and performing. Here is a snippet of a Year 1 puppet pal! 3. Using the Weebly app Another way of getting children to contribute to the blog is by giving them an iPad with the Weebly app loaded and getting them to type about what they have been learning. Here a Year 2 child leaves a simple comment about what he has been learning. All of the ideas above develop the idea of children creating blog content, without children needing cumbersome logins. Ultimately, the children get the thrill of an audience seeing and commenting their digital work, which is one of the key benefits of class blogs! Following our staff meeting tonight, where the staff discussed different apps which could be used from Early Years to Year 6, I think this is a good opportunity to promote a fantastic resource made by a colleague, @MattPEducation.
Recognising the mutually beneficial relationship between blogging and iPads, within his Year 5 blog he has been cataloguing his use of iPads in the classroom. It really is an ever-growing list, which should be a must-read for those new to iPads and blogging: Using iPads in Education Another great iPad resource which Matt references is (another) Mr P's ICT site! When looking your class blog statistics, it is always interesting to ponder who your viewers are. Are they:
If we judged this by the comments we receive, the overwhelming majority would be from groups 1, 2 and 4! (Reassuringly, spammers all get filtered out as part of the blog's safety features) What is interesting to consider is how much our parents use the site (either independently or with their children). Today, I asked my class and most said they had looked at the blog with parents. Our school are in the process of preparing the Parent questionnaire, which give us harder data on this, but otherwise it is hard to quantify. Ways we can engage parents to view (and hopefully comment!) 1. Meaningful Posts When we went on our residential to Howtown, the blog became a meaningful link for parents who were keen to see what their children were up to. 2. Encouragement through Parent-Child Involvement in Blogs Nevertheless, I also firmly believe parents are looking at the blogs and beginning to develop the confidence / familiarity to comment. This is particularly true lower down in the school, and in fact our Foundation Stage teachers led the way by setting homework to involve the parents (Well done Mrs Geach, Mrs Hunter and all the FS team!) As a result (and not wanting to miss out on an opportunity), we used Safer Internet Day across the school to encourage parents to comment on the children's learning / understanding of esafety. 
Parents were commenting and we hope that this pattern will continue. In fact, our Year 4 teacher said that parents had been commenting on other blog posts, such as when the children performed their ukeleles.
After all, boosting self-esteem, supporting home-school links and sharing successes are some of the benefits of blogging. So set the parents some homework and get them involved! Sources and Lots More Ideas by Kathleen Morris: http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2013/02/09/a_guide_to_involving_parents_in_your_class_blog/ (Fantastic tips on involving parents) I have added a Testimonials page to the sidebar to reflect the training day from January.
Thanks to all those who contributed and left positive comments! 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! 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! |
AuthorThis website was created by Mark Temple, teacher at Tanfield Lea Community Primary School. Archives
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