Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Chapter 9 Summary
Andrew Thonstad
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 9: What It All Means
Now we have to put everything discussed in this book together, like a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece needs another in order to fit together. These pieces (or Big Shifts as Mr. Richardson calls them) include:
1. Open Content: The content that educators have used in the past (textbooks) are no longer needed. The process for printing textbooks results in information being used that is outdated the day it is written, let alone printed, bound and shipped. With open content, educators and students can create their own “textbooks.” And the information contained in them can be updated immediately.
2. Many, Many Teachers, and 24/7 Learning: The teacher no longer has to be the only teacher for the class; teachers can utilize many other “teachers.” These “teachers” can be experts in their fields, experienced in their activities, and/or knowledgeable in their passions. No longer do students need to watch a movie about chimps when they can converse with Jane Goodall herself.
3. The Social, Collaborative Construction of Meaningful Knowledge: Unlike education, I cannot think of any other activity where we require someone to work independently. The world has moved to collaborative teams: at work, in athletics, in associations, everywhere. Only education requires that students work by themselves (and only up to high school as most college classes have team projects). In addition to that, the Read/Write Web offers the opportunity for the students’ collaborative work to be shared to large audiences.
4. Teaching Is Conversation, Not Lecture: The changes in the way people learn has affected business and education. No longer can the teacher/trainer/presenter stand up front and lecture (always seems to be in a monotone voice). Using the Web, educators can create conversations with their students. This becomes an active process, not a “shut-up and listen” ordeal.
5. Know “Where” Learning: No longer is specific information quite as important as it once was. I remember learning all of the states and capitals, the Presidents (in order), and many other facts. Today I can have all of the same information at my fingertips by knowing how to search for the answers.
6. Readers Are No Longer Just Readers: In the past, most of what we read was checked and double checked for accuracy before publication. With the Read/Write Web, we will come across information that has not been fact-checked. It may sound truthful (kind of like those wild stories from the web) but it could be a complete hoax. We, as processors (not just readers) of information, need to be able to discern the factual from the lie. We also can be writers to the web. A great example of this is Wikipedia, where anyone can add or edit information about a particular topic.
7. The Web as Notebook (or Portfolio): We can use the web to track and manage information we believe is important to save and/or share. Portfolios no longer need to be in books, all the information can be on a webpage. Notebooks no longer need to contain notes from reading textbooks, since the textbooks are online, the important information can be notated in the links. We can also include other media formats (audio, video, photography, etc.).
8. Writing Is No Longer Limited to Text: We now have opportunities to share information through many different mediums: writings, blogs, audio, video, music, digital photography, computer code, etc.
9. Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test: In the past, mastery meant passing a test with a score in a given range (sounds like the Praxis I am about to take). In this Read/Write Web age, mastery can be shown through projects and ongoing assignments, with all of being published for the world to review.
10. Contribution, Not Completion, as the Ultimate Goal: Through these technologies students can contribute their own work and ideas to the Web. This can be a 24/7 ordeal, as the time for contribution is only limited by the access to the technology itself. I can see many projects that no longer have a starting and ending; they have an origination and then keep growing and changing.
What does it all mean? I believe it means to buckle in and hang on – the ride is just starting. For those educators who want to be part of it, there will be opportunities and learning. Those educators who choose to sit on the sidelines and watch may never catch up and the world (and their students) will leave them behind.
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 9: What It All Means
Now we have to put everything discussed in this book together, like a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece needs another in order to fit together. These pieces (or Big Shifts as Mr. Richardson calls them) include:
1. Open Content: The content that educators have used in the past (textbooks) are no longer needed. The process for printing textbooks results in information being used that is outdated the day it is written, let alone printed, bound and shipped. With open content, educators and students can create their own “textbooks.” And the information contained in them can be updated immediately.
2. Many, Many Teachers, and 24/7 Learning: The teacher no longer has to be the only teacher for the class; teachers can utilize many other “teachers.” These “teachers” can be experts in their fields, experienced in their activities, and/or knowledgeable in their passions. No longer do students need to watch a movie about chimps when they can converse with Jane Goodall herself.
3. The Social, Collaborative Construction of Meaningful Knowledge: Unlike education, I cannot think of any other activity where we require someone to work independently. The world has moved to collaborative teams: at work, in athletics, in associations, everywhere. Only education requires that students work by themselves (and only up to high school as most college classes have team projects). In addition to that, the Read/Write Web offers the opportunity for the students’ collaborative work to be shared to large audiences.
4. Teaching Is Conversation, Not Lecture: The changes in the way people learn has affected business and education. No longer can the teacher/trainer/presenter stand up front and lecture (always seems to be in a monotone voice). Using the Web, educators can create conversations with their students. This becomes an active process, not a “shut-up and listen” ordeal.
5. Know “Where” Learning: No longer is specific information quite as important as it once was. I remember learning all of the states and capitals, the Presidents (in order), and many other facts. Today I can have all of the same information at my fingertips by knowing how to search for the answers.
6. Readers Are No Longer Just Readers: In the past, most of what we read was checked and double checked for accuracy before publication. With the Read/Write Web, we will come across information that has not been fact-checked. It may sound truthful (kind of like those wild stories from the web) but it could be a complete hoax. We, as processors (not just readers) of information, need to be able to discern the factual from the lie. We also can be writers to the web. A great example of this is Wikipedia, where anyone can add or edit information about a particular topic.
7. The Web as Notebook (or Portfolio): We can use the web to track and manage information we believe is important to save and/or share. Portfolios no longer need to be in books, all the information can be on a webpage. Notebooks no longer need to contain notes from reading textbooks, since the textbooks are online, the important information can be notated in the links. We can also include other media formats (audio, video, photography, etc.).
8. Writing Is No Longer Limited to Text: We now have opportunities to share information through many different mediums: writings, blogs, audio, video, music, digital photography, computer code, etc.
9. Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test: In the past, mastery meant passing a test with a score in a given range (sounds like the Praxis I am about to take). In this Read/Write Web age, mastery can be shown through projects and ongoing assignments, with all of being published for the world to review.
10. Contribution, Not Completion, as the Ultimate Goal: Through these technologies students can contribute their own work and ideas to the Web. This can be a 24/7 ordeal, as the time for contribution is only limited by the access to the technology itself. I can see many projects that no longer have a starting and ending; they have an origination and then keep growing and changing.
What does it all mean? I believe it means to buckle in and hang on – the ride is just starting. For those educators who want to be part of it, there will be opportunities and learning. Those educators who choose to sit on the sidelines and watch may never catch up and the world (and their students) will leave them behind.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Chapter 8 Summary
Andrew Thonstad
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 8: Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, Live Streaming: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses
With the changes in technology over the past decade, it is now easier and cheaper to publish to the World Wide Web. The prices of hard-drive disk space and RAM have declined, while the internet connection speeds have substantially increased. These combinations, combined with programs that make publishing easier, have contributed to in exponential increases of information to the “Read/Write Web.”
Podcasting
Podcasting started out as the creation and distribution of amateur radio. These early and still current podcasters are people from around the world. Today many mainstream companies and “noteworthy” people are podcasting. From NPR, ESPN, CNN to President Obama, and other politicians, podcasting is being used to spread information to the world. All you need to create a podcast is a digital audio recorder, server space to host the file, a blog, and something that you want to share with the world.
There are a number of ways that we can use this technology in schools. For my focus, I could see downloading podcasts from corporate meetings and college courses focusing in business. The class could also create podcasts of business plan presentations, stock market updates, and “How To” business seminars.
Getting started with podcasting is easier than you might think. As mentioned before, there are a few steps in creating a podcast.
Screencasting is the next step after podcasting. Screencasting involves combining a computer presentation (PowerPoint) or video presentation with the audio narration (podcasting). Beyond screencasting is live streaming. Live streaming allows teachers and students to create their own TV shows. Think of the possibilities: online broadcasts of school plays and concerts, sporting events, and any other school activity that you would want to share with the school, community, and the world.
I do see a number of positive uses for this technology. Getting the students involved in their learning will yield rewards as well. As we know, if the students are interested, they will learn. Utilizing technology in the classroom that they may be using every day will get them involved.
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 8: Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, Live Streaming: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses
With the changes in technology over the past decade, it is now easier and cheaper to publish to the World Wide Web. The prices of hard-drive disk space and RAM have declined, while the internet connection speeds have substantially increased. These combinations, combined with programs that make publishing easier, have contributed to in exponential increases of information to the “Read/Write Web.”
Podcasting
Podcasting started out as the creation and distribution of amateur radio. These early and still current podcasters are people from around the world. Today many mainstream companies and “noteworthy” people are podcasting. From NPR, ESPN, CNN to President Obama, and other politicians, podcasting is being used to spread information to the world. All you need to create a podcast is a digital audio recorder, server space to host the file, a blog, and something that you want to share with the world.
There are a number of ways that we can use this technology in schools. For my focus, I could see downloading podcasts from corporate meetings and college courses focusing in business. The class could also create podcasts of business plan presentations, stock market updates, and “How To” business seminars.
Getting started with podcasting is easier than you might think. As mentioned before, there are a few steps in creating a podcast.
Screencasting is the next step after podcasting. Screencasting involves combining a computer presentation (PowerPoint) or video presentation with the audio narration (podcasting). Beyond screencasting is live streaming. Live streaming allows teachers and students to create their own TV shows. Think of the possibilities: online broadcasts of school plays and concerts, sporting events, and any other school activity that you would want to share with the school, community, and the world.
I do see a number of positive uses for this technology. Getting the students involved in their learning will yield rewards as well. As we know, if the students are interested, they will learn. Utilizing technology in the classroom that they may be using every day will get them involved.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Chapter 6 Summary
Andrew Thonstad
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 6: The Social Web: Learning Together As has been discussed many times in this book, the world wide web has become social in nature. This chapter delves into that idea even more. In this chapter, Mr. Richardson describes three of the “hottest” applications available”: Twitter, Diigo, and del.icio.us. I must admit that I have not used (and have not had the urge to use) these programs.
Twitter is a mini blogging tool that lets users share 140 characters of type in their tweet. Your tweet goes out to those that are part of your group. On the news we hear of actors, athletes and other famous people tweeting the events of their lives to others. Even after reading this section, I am not sure how to successfully implement Twitter in my classroom.
Social bookmarking services allow users to tag websites with keywords to assist others in searching. Many sites have a number of tags or keywords attached to them and users can see who else has tagged the site with the same keywords. Two of front runners for social bookmarking are Diigo and del.icio.us.
Diigo is a tool that allows users to construct their own little piece of the web. I just spent the last minute setting up an account and it could not be easier. I think that setting up a page for classroom use would be beneficial. The fact that you can save the original view of a web page is wonderful. Now I have to find the time to learn the system and see how it can benefit my classroom. Diigo focuses on saving content. del.icio.us, on the other hand, is about sharing links.
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 6: The Social Web: Learning Together As has been discussed many times in this book, the world wide web has become social in nature. This chapter delves into that idea even more. In this chapter, Mr. Richardson describes three of the “hottest” applications available”: Twitter, Diigo, and del.icio.us. I must admit that I have not used (and have not had the urge to use) these programs.
Twitter is a mini blogging tool that lets users share 140 characters of type in their tweet. Your tweet goes out to those that are part of your group. On the news we hear of actors, athletes and other famous people tweeting the events of their lives to others. Even after reading this section, I am not sure how to successfully implement Twitter in my classroom.
Social bookmarking services allow users to tag websites with keywords to assist others in searching. Many sites have a number of tags or keywords attached to them and users can see who else has tagged the site with the same keywords. Two of front runners for social bookmarking are Diigo and del.icio.us.
Diigo is a tool that allows users to construct their own little piece of the web. I just spent the last minute setting up an account and it could not be easier. I think that setting up a page for classroom use would be beneficial. The fact that you can save the original view of a web page is wonderful. Now I have to find the time to learn the system and see how it can benefit my classroom. Diigo focuses on saving content. del.icio.us, on the other hand, is about sharing links.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Chapter 5 Summary
Andrew Thonstad
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 5: RSS: The New Killer App for Educators
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is an “aggregator” or informational feed collector that checks the feeds you subscribe to and collects all the new content from these sites. This process frees up your time. You no longer have to visit every site and blog to check on new content, the RSS collects it for you. You only have to visit one site to get all the new content.
Setting up an RSS feed reader is a fairly straightforward process. I used Google Reader (because of my Google email account). In Google reader, all you have to do is type in what you are looking for after selecting the “Add a Subscription” button. Adding RSS feeds is very easy from there. I agree with Mr. Richardson in that using folders to sort your feeds is very helpful and easy to navigate.
Mr. Richardson shares many ways that you can use RSS feeds in the classroom, including:
• RSS Feeds with Student Weblogs
o Use this for checking your students’ blogs by visiting one site instead of every student’s site.
• RSS Feeds without Student Weblogs
o Set up student accounts to track current events and research information.
• RSS Search Feeds
o RSS Feeds for News Searches
This enables you to search from numerous news sources (Google has about 4,500 news sources to choose from).
o RSS Feeds for Weblog Searches
This would offer some really great potential research information, just be wary as some results may be questionable.
o RSS Feeds for Website Searches
By using this search you can search non-news sites for your information topic.
o RSS Feeds for News Group Searchers
Set this up to search internet news groups.
o RSS Feeds for Other News Outlets
Mr. Richardson suggests using Moreover.com and Syndic8.com to track more predefined topic searches.
o RSS Feeds for Bookmarks
Use these for tracking what others are reading and bookmarking for future use.
• Vanity Feeds
o Mr. Richardson uses this title for setting up feeds of people that are blogging about you, your school, hometown, or anything that is fairly particular that you want to follow. I ran one with my last name and came up with news feeds and a couple of blogs in which my family members were talked about.
Once you have all these RSS feeds set up, you need to keep up on reading them. Set up a time to read them on a daily basis. I can agree with the few that I have set up. There have been a number of feeds and if I am not diligent about reading them, it could be very overwhelming.
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 5: RSS: The New Killer App for Educators
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is an “aggregator” or informational feed collector that checks the feeds you subscribe to and collects all the new content from these sites. This process frees up your time. You no longer have to visit every site and blog to check on new content, the RSS collects it for you. You only have to visit one site to get all the new content.
Setting up an RSS feed reader is a fairly straightforward process. I used Google Reader (because of my Google email account). In Google reader, all you have to do is type in what you are looking for after selecting the “Add a Subscription” button. Adding RSS feeds is very easy from there. I agree with Mr. Richardson in that using folders to sort your feeds is very helpful and easy to navigate.
Mr. Richardson shares many ways that you can use RSS feeds in the classroom, including:
• RSS Feeds with Student Weblogs
o Use this for checking your students’ blogs by visiting one site instead of every student’s site.
• RSS Feeds without Student Weblogs
o Set up student accounts to track current events and research information.
• RSS Search Feeds
o RSS Feeds for News Searches
This enables you to search from numerous news sources (Google has about 4,500 news sources to choose from).
o RSS Feeds for Weblog Searches
This would offer some really great potential research information, just be wary as some results may be questionable.
o RSS Feeds for Website Searches
By using this search you can search non-news sites for your information topic.
o RSS Feeds for News Group Searchers
Set this up to search internet news groups.
o RSS Feeds for Other News Outlets
Mr. Richardson suggests using Moreover.com and Syndic8.com to track more predefined topic searches.
o RSS Feeds for Bookmarks
Use these for tracking what others are reading and bookmarking for future use.
• Vanity Feeds
o Mr. Richardson uses this title for setting up feeds of people that are blogging about you, your school, hometown, or anything that is fairly particular that you want to follow. I ran one with my last name and came up with news feeds and a couple of blogs in which my family members were talked about.
Once you have all these RSS feeds set up, you need to keep up on reading them. Set up a time to read them on a daily basis. I can agree with the few that I have set up. There have been a number of feeds and if I am not diligent about reading them, it could be very overwhelming.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Chapter 4 Summanry
Andrew Thonstad
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 4: Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All Wiki? What is a wiki? The word wiki is a short form of the Hawaiian wiki-wiki, which means “quick.” It was created as an easy authoring tool to assist people in publishing to the web. This website allows anyone to add, edit or delete any information anytime they want. Probably the best known wiki is Wikipedia.org. This encyclopedia is attempting to store the “sum of human knowledge.” Today there are over 3,062,190 articles in English on Wikipedia. To add to that, they have numerous over wiki___ sites (wikinews, wikispecies, wikibooks, etc).
I agree with the book about the first time I came across Wikipedia – I was skeptical. It did not seem like a legitimate source for information. A lot has changed since then. It has become a respected source for researching information.
Another plus for wikis is that while they are easy to modify, they are easy to fix if a person (or people) add information that is incorrect or inappropriate.
There are many different uses for wikis. Large corporations are using them to manage information and documents; schools and universities are using them to share information (South Africa has their whole curriculum on a wiki); project teams are using them to keep track of their work; teachers are using them as a resource for their students (like this class).
Wikis in schools
Students have been using Wikipedia as a resource for many years. Due to the ability of anyone to edit information, the information found on Wikipedia can be (and usually is) the most up-to-date research and information available. The chapter lists a number of good wikis by educators to review. The author goes into detail on building your own wiki site. He also lists a number of wiki tools and resources that can be used to enhance your wiki.
How will I use Wikis in my classroom? I am not quite sure yet. I like the idea of using a wiki to keep a paperless classroom for handouts, assignments, and other important information. But beyond that, I am going to have to continue to play around with my new wiki. Now I have the power to rewrite history!!!!!
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 4: Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All Wiki? What is a wiki? The word wiki is a short form of the Hawaiian wiki-wiki, which means “quick.” It was created as an easy authoring tool to assist people in publishing to the web. This website allows anyone to add, edit or delete any information anytime they want. Probably the best known wiki is Wikipedia.org. This encyclopedia is attempting to store the “sum of human knowledge.” Today there are over 3,062,190 articles in English on Wikipedia. To add to that, they have numerous over wiki___ sites (wikinews, wikispecies, wikibooks, etc).
I agree with the book about the first time I came across Wikipedia – I was skeptical. It did not seem like a legitimate source for information. A lot has changed since then. It has become a respected source for researching information.
Another plus for wikis is that while they are easy to modify, they are easy to fix if a person (or people) add information that is incorrect or inappropriate.
There are many different uses for wikis. Large corporations are using them to manage information and documents; schools and universities are using them to share information (South Africa has their whole curriculum on a wiki); project teams are using them to keep track of their work; teachers are using them as a resource for their students (like this class).
Wikis in schools
Students have been using Wikipedia as a resource for many years. Due to the ability of anyone to edit information, the information found on Wikipedia can be (and usually is) the most up-to-date research and information available. The chapter lists a number of good wikis by educators to review. The author goes into detail on building your own wiki site. He also lists a number of wiki tools and resources that can be used to enhance your wiki.
How will I use Wikis in my classroom? I am not quite sure yet. I like the idea of using a wiki to keep a paperless classroom for handouts, assignments, and other important information. But beyond that, I am going to have to continue to play around with my new wiki. Now I have the power to rewrite history!!!!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Chapter 3 Summary
Andrew Thonstad
October 8, 2009
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 3: Weblogs: Get Started
Getting started early with Weblogs (blogging) should be a priority it we want to use them in the classroom. A smart idea would be to start small by reading blogs that are of interest to you. Hopefully you can find some that are well done. Your next step in becoming familiar with blogs is to start responding to the blogs you are reading. I can share how anxious I was with my first post to someone else’s blog. I reread my thoughts several times to make sure it said what I wanted it to say and that the spelling and grammar were correct. I believe that maintaining a blog will take dedication, as it is easy to skip over now and again.
I agree with Mr. Richardson in that we should model appropriate blogging techniques. There may be some students who have not blogged in the past, so having a model that they can follow is important. I have been thinking about using blogs when I start teaching, and living in a rural area, I wonder how many students have access to computers and the internet. The book makes reference to this fact (“80% of households have internet access at the end of 2004”). My idea would be to have a paper survey to determine the level of connectivity of my students. The results might have some bearing to the possible success of blogging in my classroom. Mr. Richardson lays out the important steps to blogging with the students:
1. Get the students reading blogs.
2. Let the students respond to the post on your class blog.
3. Consider giving each student his/her own blog.
As discussed in the first chapter, make sure that you have the correct permissions before staring the class blogs. Student safety is important; educators should consider ways to limit the students using personal identifiers about themselves or others when they publish. Educators should have a plan in place that clarifies the uses and purposes of the blogs. Before starting this project, you should set the guidelines as to the expectations for the blogs and how you are going to grade them. As always, the more documentation you have in place in the beginning, the easier it will be to hold all the students to the same level.
I agree with Mr. Richardson in that using a freestanding (and free) service would be easiest. While there are a number of blogging programs and sites available (Edublogs.org & 21Classes.com are the two he listed), Blogger seems to have the capabilities that are needed. During these budget-constrained times it would be hard to get the school district to purchase and support a program that can be found for free. Having lived in the corporate world for too long, I know that trying to get most IT professionals to support an outside program can be extremely difficult. I do like the capability of blogger.com to control the members of the blog.
While Mr. Richardson does reiterate previous information, he does add some new ideas and techniques to this chapter.
October 8, 2009
Richardson, Will (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Chapter 3: Weblogs: Get Started
Getting started early with Weblogs (blogging) should be a priority it we want to use them in the classroom. A smart idea would be to start small by reading blogs that are of interest to you. Hopefully you can find some that are well done. Your next step in becoming familiar with blogs is to start responding to the blogs you are reading. I can share how anxious I was with my first post to someone else’s blog. I reread my thoughts several times to make sure it said what I wanted it to say and that the spelling and grammar were correct. I believe that maintaining a blog will take dedication, as it is easy to skip over now and again.
I agree with Mr. Richardson in that we should model appropriate blogging techniques. There may be some students who have not blogged in the past, so having a model that they can follow is important. I have been thinking about using blogs when I start teaching, and living in a rural area, I wonder how many students have access to computers and the internet. The book makes reference to this fact (“80% of households have internet access at the end of 2004”). My idea would be to have a paper survey to determine the level of connectivity of my students. The results might have some bearing to the possible success of blogging in my classroom. Mr. Richardson lays out the important steps to blogging with the students:
1. Get the students reading blogs.
2. Let the students respond to the post on your class blog.
3. Consider giving each student his/her own blog.
As discussed in the first chapter, make sure that you have the correct permissions before staring the class blogs. Student safety is important; educators should consider ways to limit the students using personal identifiers about themselves or others when they publish. Educators should have a plan in place that clarifies the uses and purposes of the blogs. Before starting this project, you should set the guidelines as to the expectations for the blogs and how you are going to grade them. As always, the more documentation you have in place in the beginning, the easier it will be to hold all the students to the same level.
I agree with Mr. Richardson in that using a freestanding (and free) service would be easiest. While there are a number of blogging programs and sites available (Edublogs.org & 21Classes.com are the two he listed), Blogger seems to have the capabilities that are needed. During these budget-constrained times it would be hard to get the school district to purchase and support a program that can be found for free. Having lived in the corporate world for too long, I know that trying to get most IT professionals to support an outside program can be extremely difficult. I do like the capability of blogger.com to control the members of the blog.
While Mr. Richardson does reiterate previous information, he does add some new ideas and techniques to this chapter.
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