Why should I have a classroom blog?

Many of today's schools use BlackBoard and other platforms that allow online sharing of class notes, assignments, etc. However, these services require one to log in, and are often not viewable or fully functioning on mobile devices. These are some of the reasons why a classroom blog can be of great use.

Pros of a Classroom Blog

• Teachers can create separate blogs for each class. Most teachers opt to have a single blog, wherein the teacher uses separate posts or bold headings to highlight specific classes.
• Parents and guardians can easily access the blog because it is public. This means no lying that "we didn't have homework today."
  
• Parents feel connected to the school when they have instant access to classroom goings-on.
• Blogs are free.
• Teachers can update blogs from anywhere at any time. Those with iPods, Droids, etc., can download free apps that allow quick and easy posting from their phones.
• Students in a "BlackBoard-free" school can access class assignments from home. If teachers use tools such as Google Docs for posting worksheets, students who are home sick can complete their assignments and turn them in the next day, as if they'd never missed a day of school.
• Teachers and administrators have a running log of what happened each day in the classroom. This can be of great benefit should questions ever arise.
• Regular classroom teachers can keep special education teachers informed as to what mainstreamed students are doing. For example, resource room teacher Mr. O'Connor asks Samantha, "What are you working on in Mrs. Johnson's class?" Samantha answers that the class is doing nothing, or something else misleading. With a quick click of his mouse, Mr. O'Connor can look at Mrs. Johnson's classroom blog and see exactly what the class is doing, making Mr. O'Connor better able to help Samantha.

Classroom blogs are a terrific and economical way to share information between teachers, parents, students, and administrators.

Tips for Classroom Blogs

• Remember your audience: busy people. Keep your posts as simple and direct as possible.
• Separate your classes clearly, either through separate blogs, separate posts, or bold headings.
• Establish a posting format. Use it consistently.
• Don't force your readers to wade through a mess of text.
  

Sample Posting Format

• Today's Lesson: Today we covered a PowerPoint on the early labor movement, then studied primary source documents on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
  
• Today's In-class Work: Student groups drafted responses to a DBQ on a speech by Frances Perkins, and turned these in at the end of class.
  
• Homework: Students are asked to write at least one paragraph explaining why, had they been factory workers living in 1910, they would or would not have joined a labor union.
  
• Coming Up: The test over the Industrial Revolution will be on Tuesday. The test will include 30 multiple-choice questions and three essay questions. Students may not use their textbooks or notes during this test.
  

GOOD SAMPLE BLOG POST: American History, Periods 1, 3, and 5

The end of the year is quickly approaching and there is still so much to learn and do!

Today we discussed the Vietnam War in greater detail. We imagined ourselves as policymakers and voters in 1968, and created pros and cons charts for continuing the war. There were a lot of interesting ideas.

On Monday we will examine how opposing viewpoints over the war clashed during the 1968 presidential election.

Homework: Read Chapter 26, Section 3 in the textbook (pages 364-368). Come to class on Monday prepared to discuss the platforms of Humphrey and Nixon. You can also read more about the election here.

In the meantime, best of luck to Jefferson Cougars Girls Basketball as they take on defending district champions the Washington Spartans!

BAD SAMPLE BLOG POST: Do Not Try This at Home/School/Anywhere

I was really disappointed today.* You kids acted like a bunch of buffoons.** If you can't get your clowning under control, we're going to cancel the Friday movie.***

The test grades were awful.**** There were no As, and the only people to earn Bs were Ashley and Jamal.*****

Im going to start sending yuo to the principle if you dont start acting write.******



* Never post when you're upset.
** Never insult your students.
*** You shouldn't be offering regular Friday movies. If you do, don't advertise the fact.
**** Never discuss grades publicly.
***** Major FERPA violation.
****** Check your spelling and grammar. No one is going to demand your resignation over a simple typo or mistake, but chronically bad writing will make you look bad.

How to Manage a Classroom Blog

It's your blog, so you can manage it how you'd like.

• Allow or disallow comments.
• Post daily or weekly.

Why bother?

• Parents and students have 24/7 access to what is going on in the classroom.
• Students and parents don't have to wait until the next class to find out what was missed during a sick day.
• You can provide interesting links for supplemental learning. Where this page displays ads, you could include a list of links to interesting sites such as the Library of Congress or Project Gutenberg.
• You can utilize free hosting services and post links to your handouts amd worksheets.
• Rubrics and rules can be posted for easy review.
• Frequent updates keep students on task.
• It's great PR! Parents, coworkers, students, administrators, and the community at large will know that you are committed and doing a great job.

Warnings:

• Check with your school administration before starting a blog. Try putting up a sample page and submitting it to your principal before giving students the link.
• Remember--if you allow comments, some students might get a bit frisky.
• If you promise to update the blog daily with assignments, etc., UPDATE DAILY. It will reflect very badly on you if a parent checks the site in November to get the homework for his/her sick child only to find that you haven't updated since September.
• Be careful if your educational blogging account links to another more personal account. Think carefully about how much personal information you want your students to know.
• Respect students' privacy and do not describe any student by last name. Get explicit permission before posting any classroom photos.
• Determine a simple purpose for your blog--in this example, giving a lesson recap and the homework assignment--and then keep it simple.
• Know your audience. Students will be clicking on the blog to get missed assignments, not to read your opinions on NCLB.