Blogs

= = =**__ Description __**= Weblogs are web sites that are easily created and updated by anyone with a computer and an Internet connection. Since most blogs are forms-driven and hosted by the blog service (Blogger or [|Word Press], for exa mple) there is no need for HTML or file transfer skills or server space like traditional web pages, just an account with the blog service. The newest iteration of web developers can post pictures, audio, video, and other multimedia, or set up javascript functions like random quotes, newsfeeds, and surveys, by simply filling in an online form and clicking a button. Blogs, which started as online records or “logs” of websites visited by the blog owner, quickly evolved into online journals, organized by date (although it is possible to archive via alphabetical labels, instead). The feature that sets blogs apart from traditional web pages, besides the ease of publishing, is the ability for site visitors to leave comments. This interactive capability (along with [|RSS] or real simple syndication that allows visitors to subscribe to the blog and be notified of new posts) resulted in communities developing around certain sites or clusters of sites and moved web publishing into a whole new realm.

=**__ History __**= According to [|Rebecca Blood], author of //The Weblog Handbook// (2002), weblogs were given their name by [|Jorn Barger]in December 1997. At that time, there were just a handful of these lists of sites, among them [|Camworld], published by Cameraon Barrett. Blood credits Peter Merholz with the transition to “wee-blog,” which then led to the current abbreviation, “blog.” The first free build-your-own weblog tool was the work of Andrew Smales, a programmer in Toronto, who launched [|Pitas.com]in July, 1999. Blogger, possibly the most popular of blogging tools, was released the following month by Pyra Labs (and has since been purchased by Google). With the ease and open-ended format of Blogger, weblogs began to evolve from collections of links and commentary into a frequently updated, short-form journal. The significance of weblogs, however, goes far beyond their ubiquitous presence on the web and touches upon a transformation in the concept of media. “Media is a corporate possession….You cannot participate in the media....An audience is passive; a public is participatory. We need a definition of media that is public in its orientation.” (Ruggiero in Rushkoff, 1994) The public, in all its diversity, was now filtering and commenting on online media. In their early days, they were, in the words of Rebecca Blood, “redefine[ing] media as a public, participatory endeavor….evidence of a staggering shift from an age of carefully controlled information provided by sanctioned authorities (and artists), to an unprecedented opportunity for individual expression on a worldwide scale.”

Blog creation sites today include
 * Word Press: [|wordpress.org]
 * Bravenet: [|www.bravenet.com/webtools/journal/index.php]
 * Landmark Project: [|classblogmeister.com/]
 * 21Classes: [|www.21classes.com/]
 * Edublogs: [|edublogs.org]
 * Moveable Type: http://www.movabletype.org/

=**__ Impact on Teaching and Learning __**= Concerns about privacy and security delayed and still restrict the use of weblogs in the K-12 classroom, but that has begun to change. Even our security-conscious DOE, while blocking tools such as WordPress and EduBlog, allows Blogger.Com within its state network. Indeed, more and more teachers are incorporating blogging as a means of communication, collaboration, archiving, and publishing. Blogging sites such as [|Class Blogmeister], which allows teachers to moderate all the posts and comments within the class blog, and [|21Classes], which offers student blog sites but gives teachers a management function and also allows for site security, are an attempt to adapt blogging to the concerns and needs of the K-12 school community. Educators, like Shelbie Witte (2007), are realizing that more and more tech savvy teens “will continue to become a part of the global society, with or without the guidance of schools and teachers, by using blogs to share writing with the world.” Indeed, the latest “State of the Blogosphere” now expanded to the [|“The State of the Live Web, April, 2007”] by [|Technorati] President, David Sifry, reports the following statistics: Thus, “…although many youth treat blogs as simple online diaries, some students and teachers use them as vehicles to draw out critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. Teachers are using blogs to build classroom resource portals and to foster online learning communities. Students create online, reflective, interactive portfolios of their work to share with worldwide audiences.” (Richardson, 2005-6) One of the most exciting uses of [|online blogs in writing] comes from Charles Tryon (2006). In his research into the use of online blogs in his first-year college composition course, Tryon acknowledges some of the criticisms of blogs and then details how those very shortcomings actually serve his intended purpose in linking writing and citizenship in his classes. He notes that blogs are notorious for unrestricted commentary and thus seem an unlikely forum for reflective thought and revision; however, “…the instant feedback and endless arguments that constitute a large corner of the blog world quickly bring to the surface the techniques by which good argument can proceed as well as the logical fallacies that often emerge when blog writers fail to think through their arguments.” (Tryon 2006) Tryon believes that blogs may be an ideal medium to support his ultimate goals as a teacher of writing, “to instill in my students that much of the writing that they will do in their academic lives and beyond will require them to make and support arguments, usually for a specific audience. In addition, I hope to help students become invested in their writing, to give them a sense that writing — and citizenship — matters.” (Tryon 2006)
 * 70 million weblogs
 * About 120,000 new weblogs each day, or...
 * 1.4 new blogs every second
 * 1.5 million posts per day, or...
 * 17 posts per second

Librarians use blogs to foster conversations about books and literacy. Students use weblogs as journals, forums for commentary and critique of their writing, digital portfolios. Other student groups, such as music programs, sports teams, clubs, use blogs as a way to build and maintain their community of participants and supporters. Although educators continue to face concerns and issues, such as state and federal privacy laws, as well as levels of student access and teacher oversight or content control, the ease and economy of web publishing will also continue to work in their favor. Tim Lauer, principal of an elementary school in Portland, Oregon, makes use of the many functions of weblogs throughout his school, via the Meriweather Lewis Elementary Web site [[|http://lewiselementary.org/]]. Both teachers and principal use these blogs to distribute and link information for the school community. Lauer says, "It can do just about anything those very expensive course management tools can do. So in times of dwindling school budgets, the use of tools such as [|Moveable Type] sends a message to our taxpayers that we are resourceful and wise with our school dollars." (Richardson)

=**__ Practical Applications __**= Within the world of the classroom and beyond, those 70 million bloggers seem to have addressed every esoteric inquiry and niche group possible to satisfy the web publishing needs of our diverse population. Some that have practical applications providing food for thought in the classroom include: EcoStreet: a blog highlighting the latest on the environment, including posts on “turning email into greenmail”—interesting info, engaging photos, good variety of posts. http://www.ecostreet.com/ Environmental Graffiti: (whose readers, according to them, include Bono, Al Gore, and Jesus) Quirky site with interesting articles, like a recent headliner, “Amazing House Created Entirely from Plastic Bottles.” The site then provides links to related articles. http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ Treehugger.com: (recently purchased by the Discovery Channel). Provides articles in categories like “Design+Architecture,” “Business+Politics,” and “Science+Technology.” http://www.treehugger.com/

The 21 Classes site highlights class websites that are using the 21 classes blog service for their classrooms. 21classes—media http://media.21classes.com/ 21classes—writing real http://writingreal.21classes.com/ 21classes—omni web classroom http://omni-whs.21classes.com/ [|Hometown Baghdad] : Hometown Baghdad is an online web series about life in Baghdad. It tells the stories of three young Iraqis struggling to survive during the war. Hometown Baghdad is part of the larger “Chat the Planet” site that uses video, chat, and blogs to engage young people from around the world to “talk about everything from politics, prejudices and war to sex, music and life in general…Chat the Planet is uncensored, unscripted and unlike anything else in the mainstream media.” http://chattheplanet.com/index.php?page=videos http://chattheplanet.com/

And then some that appeal to those who like heartier fare with their food for thought: http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ http://www.acatinthekitchen.com/ http://www.seriouseats.com/

=**__ Examples or Demonstrations __**= Yes I Can! Science Site with blogs from the astronauts on the International Space Station. http://iss07.yesican-science.ca/Participants/?member=10 The website also offered students the chance to communicate via blogs with the Polar Science team in Antarctica, working with Weddell seals. http://kanatous.polar06.yesican-projects.ca/~Shane_Kanatous.1.html “Through these exchanges and collaborative activities, our participants are creating a legacy resource for future generations.” (Hargardon) Landmark Blogmeister http://classblogmeister.com/index.php?display=featured David Warlick’s project to bring blogs into the classroom., offering blog accounts and support for teachers and their classes and featuring and linking blogs from classrooms around the country.

=**__ References __**= Blood, Rebecca. "Weblogs: A History and Perspective", //Rebecca's Pocket//. 07 September 2000. 25 October 2006. . Boling, E., Castek, J., Zawilinski, L., Barton, K., & Nierlich, T. (2008, March). Collaborative Literacy: Blogs and Internet Projects. //Reading Teacher//, //61//(6), 504-506. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.  Driscoll, K. (2007, May). Collaboration in Today's Classrooms: New Web Tools Change the Game. //MultiMedia & Internet@Schools//, //14//(3), 9-12. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Computer Source database.  Hargardon, S. (2007, October). A Little Help From My Friends. //School Library Journal//, //53//(10), 44-48. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.  Richardson, W. (2004, January). Blogging AND RSS--The What's It? and How To of PowerfulNew Web Tools for Educators. //MultiMedia & Internet@Schools//, //11//(1), 10-13. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Professional Development Collection database. Richardson, W. (2005, December). The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web. //Educational Leadership//, //63//(4), 24-27. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database. Sifry, D. (2007) //The State of the Live Web, April, 2007.// http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html Retrieved April 19, 2008. Tryon, C. (2006). Writing and citizenship: Using blogs to teach first-year composition in //Pedagogy, 6//(1), 128-132. Retrieved March 13, 2008. Witte, S.(2007). “That’s online writing, not boring school writing”: Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project in //Journal of Adolescent Literacy 51//(2), 92-96.

=**__ External Links __**= __Websites__: http://democracymatters.blogspot.com/ http://tryon1101.blogspot.com/  weblogg-ed.com  “Welcome to Weblogg-ed, maintained by me, Will Richardson, “Learner in Chief” at Connective Learning and the author of the recently released [|Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms] published by Corwin Press. This site is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world.”    Reflections on Classroom Use of Blogs  jsiporin.motime.com “ My 3rd grade class has a wireless lab on loan from our ESD & I just learned how to blog. I decided to try blogging with my students. We'll see how it goes.”

Youth Radio: Connecting Youth Voices to the World youthradio.wordpress.com Audio and Written Blog on Darfur Inspirations—[|Blogosphere (video)] “ Steve O'Hear, one of Britain's digital evangelists, explores how blogs can be used in schools. Steve finds some enthusiastic primary age bloggers and sees how it helps in literacy, [|**ICT**] skills and a range of other subjects.” “Being Measured: The State of the Blogsphere” David Warlick http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1585

=**__ About the Author __**= Lynne Sueoka is a teacher at Moanalua High School and a student in the doctoral program at the University of Hawaii. She has been working the student blogs for about a year, exploring the role of blogs on student writing efficacy through her class blogsite, [|e-Literate].