What is a Blog ... and what about Blogging?

What is a Blog ... and what is Blogging??

The word blog is an abbreviated from of weblog.

A blog, according to Wikipedia is "a website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video."

A blog is a site that typically contains :

• brief informational posts, arranged in reverse chronological order
• Frequently links to additional content
• Time stamps are present on each post
• Archives of previously posted content

A blog, is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating and maintaining a blog is blogging and someone who keeps a blog is a blogger.

Still confused? Maybe this informational video on Blogs will help you out:

What content can I put on a blog?

You can post a variety of content / media on a blog. The most popular (or common) is text, however, many now post videos, photographs, music, files and links to other blogs / websites.

What do I / my classroom Need to Start Blogging?

First you will need a blog site / account. There are many options here.

The most popular option are free web-based blog hosts like Blogger, LiveJournal, Wordpress or Edublogs. With these blog systems, your blog is hosted on their servers so you don't have to worry about having server space for the blogs to 'live' on.

If you have the technical expertise and support, you can also host your own blogs using your own server and domain with the help of a variety of blog platforms such as Wordpress, MoveableType, Typepad and Drupal.

Both of these 'platforms' have their pro's and con's. So research a head of time to determine what will best suit your needs.

Second, if you are planning to do classroom blogging, come up with a set of rules that everyone can agree on (what content can and can't be published, who can and can't access the blog ....).

Third, have a plan. What do you want the blog to be about? What do you want to get out of the experience? What about your learning goals for you and your students?

Why would I want to use a Blog in the Classroom?

What Can I Use Blogs for in My Classroom?

You can use blogs in your classroom for virtually anything. Blogs are a great way for students to develop literacy skills (reading and writing) as well as digital literacy skills (technology and computers). Blogs are also a handy tool for students to publish and share their own work and research and network with the world.

Links of interest:

Introduction to Blogging
What is Blogging?
Blogging 101
Blogging? It's Elementary my Dear Watson!
Edublog Insights
Blog Basics
Classroom Blogging: Blogging for Beginners