Edublog Talk

Read Student and Teacher Blogging that Succeed.

Now that we've started exploring the edublogging world, let's openly discuss possibilities for the classroom, fears, interests, challenges.

Please, share with the group your experiences and reflections on blogging here.

Food for thought:

Have you ever blogged? What has your blogging experience been ?
How do you envision blogging in the 21st century classroom?
What are the main challenges for edublogging?
Is blogging still too vague of a concept for you? Why?

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An account of educators who had just started blogging:

Blogging with language students

Believe it or not, the most important word in this post title is the preposition. I say that because it is very common to see educators blogging at students, at other educators or about students. But the beauty of such a tool is actually to be able to blog with your students.

The first choice you have to make when blogging with students is what kind of blogging you will have:

- A teacher's blog in which students participate in the comment area

- A class blog in which all students are added as authors

- A class portal (using tools like 21classes, pageflakes or netvibes) with students' individual blogs

There aren't better or worse options, all of them work and the examples used to illustrate my suggestions come from the three kinds of blogging:

1. Working with students' writing

The characteristic of being able to receive comments and to edit posts makes a blog the perfect environment for process writing.

1.1 Peer Feedback

You could have class blog and have students post their initial drafts there. You and other students could give feedback and students can then edit their writing in the blog. check these examples of a students giving (previously instructed) peer feedback on content and organization:
- South Africa (esp. Tahís' comment)
- Australia (esp. Luciana's comment)

1.2 World Feedback

The usual route of a student's writing is this: Student gives it to teacher, teacher corrects it and gives it back to student, student sees the grade and rarely cares about mistakes, student puts writing in a drawer (hopefully) or throws it away (most probably).

However, by allowing learners' to realize that in a blog they are writing to a global audience and that anybody can find, read and react to their writings, they can develop a better sense of authorship and readership. Writing to one person only (the teacher) is a very artificial task, whereas writing to a real audience, who is more interested in the content rather than the form (the world), is more authentic.

By networking with other language educators, you could have language students and teachers from different countries read your students' writings and give them meaningful feedback.

Check out the following examples. Students get really excited when they see real people from different countries are reading their writings:
- Chocolate com Pimenta
- Malhação
- The Simpsons
- Kennan and Kell - notice how, in this last example, students from different classes (one from Casa Thomas Jefferson south branch and the other from CTJ north branch) get into real information exchange to whether the actor from the show has really died or not.

1.3 Teasers

You could brainstorm for ideas or simply generate expectations in students about he writing they will have to do. I have used this to introduce a writing about their favorite TV show and about their dream vacation destination.

2. Intercultural Projects

Again by networking with (language) educators from different countries, you could have joint projects with a class of English students in a different country. Here are two ideas:

2.1 What makes your country unique

You could ask your students to answer the question "What makes Brazil (or their country) a unique country" using a word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, picture(s), video(s), etc. and then have them post their finding in the class blog or their own blogs.

Last semester I did this with my students and I had Sophie, a teacher in Australia, do the same with her ESL students. We compiled students answers in an animoto video and here are the results:

- What makes Brazil a unique coutry

- What makes Australia a unique coutry video and word map using wordle

2.2 Questions about your country

You could also have students come up with questions about the other students' coutry(ies). Send them the questions and they can publish their answers, which could also generate more discussions. Here are some of the posts with what my students answered about Brazil and here the one in which EFL students in Australia answered to my students' questions.

You can also vary the way the questinos are answered. For example, in this blog post you can see in a video the answers my students in Brazil gave questions asked by Russian college students.

3. Grammar

3.1 Modal Vebs of Speculation in the past

I searched for images on the web, put them together in a slide.com slide and asked students to write sentences in this blog post about what might/could/may/must/can't have happened to the people in the pictures.

3.2 Second Conditional

I embedded this "If I had a million dollars" video in the blog post and students had to write in the comments what they would do if they had a million dollars.

To get away from the cliche, next time I work with second conditionals, I'll definitely use this other video - if my nose was running money (check it out - it's really funny).

Final Considerations

Only two of them:

- two groups that I recommend if you want to to start networking with other language educators are Learning With Computers and Webheads In Action. Join them!

- All digital activites I propose to students are optional. However, as an incentive, I have been doing something Carla Arena suggested: the HALL OF DIGITAL EXCELLENCE. It's a grid with students' names and the online tasks on the wall and, for each task accomplished, they get a tick in the chart. At the end of the semester the most digitally excellent student gets a prize. It's interesting to see how this HALL works on their egos...

I hope you find some of these suggestions useful!

Ronaldo Lima Jr

more EdTech tips on my blog ihopeitworks

Google Reader - RSS

As we are talking this week about RSS and how to add all our favorite blogs, sites, wikis to our Google Reader, I've aggregated all participants blogs in one folder in Google Reader and then I made the folder public by going to the "settings", "Folders and tags". After making it public, I clicked on "add a blogroll to your site", I copied the crazy code there and just copied to this post so that you have an idea of it. The ideal is to add it to your class sidebar if you have students with individual blogs, or if you want to call the attention of your blog audience to certain blogs you enjoy reading.





Here's how the blogroll will look like:





You can also add a "clip", which is like the latest updates on the group blogs so that it's easier for your audience and you to visualize the latest posts on a blog, for example:




And how about sharing a clip of your favorite shared items?




All of this is made through the "Settings" part of your google reader. If you have any questions or comments about this, just ask here!

Poverty, We, Empowerment - Blog Action Day 08

Silent, it surrounds us, no matter where you are. We want it to be invisible, untouchable, but it's there waiting for you, me, US. No government can really change it. WE CAN.




I am the daughter of parents who struggled, who came from very poor environments. I'm the daughter of Italians immigrants who lost the little they had during World War II. I'm the daughter of Brazilian migrants who moved from the hardship of one of the poorest states in my country, Piauí, in search for better, decent living, in search for opportunities, trying to leave poverty behind...I am lucky. I live a comfortable life because my family survived and thrived. I am the generation of the inheritance of what my parents, grandparents fought, dreamed, worked hard for.


The president of my country, Lula, is a vivid example of a childhood of the dispossessed kids in my country that fought against his own poor destiny. Lula was a shoe-shine boy. Now, his government tries to fight poverty. He takes the reigns.


We want poverty to be invisible, but it is around us even in the countries considered the richest in the world. Even if Brazil is still considered Third World, it is full of richness. The paradox lies in the inexorable truth. In a country where natural resources abound, millions of people are hungry. In a place where the biodiversity is generous, we struggle with health care. In my Brazil full of bright minds, creative souls, millions just don't have the minimum education that empowers one to dream of a better, decent life.


How can we reverse, re-imagine, redo the world surrounding us with the contrasting beauty and the ugly, superfluous hot bodies and sick ones lying on the streets, brightness of a sunny day and the gloomy senseless darkness of the ones without hope, decency, or food to eat?


Maybe WE could start with little steps, WE could start by seeing what surrounds us, WE could take small actions that could make a difference to one person or group, WE could hold the hands of the ones who need to stand. No. Fighting poverty doesn't need only to begin with huge governmental actions. It's easier, isn't it, to blame invisible forces and governments for viable possibilities. The solution starts in our homes, teaching our kids about generosity, sharing and giving. Facing poverty is being brave enough to see reality through different lenses and taking action in every little way we can.


I'm a believer in the transformative power of social action, mobilization. Just like my parents and their families changed the course of their poor lives, WE can help others do the same. I try to do my share, but still I feel I'm not doing enough. It's time for action and engagement.


I finish with Sebastião Salgado, a Brazilian photojournalist, whose work and willingness to raise awereness touch me deeply. He's doing his huge contribution to poverty. How about US? What can WE do?

Sebastiao Salgado - biography via kwout

Terra: Brazil's Landless Movement via kwout

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Of Interest: Brazil's Economic Boom Marred by Social Inequalities

Friends’ Posts: Dennis Oliver’s
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Originally posted at http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/poverty/

Blogging Away

We are already finishing the Week on RSS, but it's just a supplement to blogging. It's what brings everything together in a customized way. I've been enthusiastically following participants' comments in each others' blogs, and it's going stronger than ever.

This might be the ideal way to get started. You start checking blogs, start adding comments, your views. Then, you consider your own blogging ways, your own style, tone, voice. You get more confident to even give it a try with your learners.

If it's still not the moment, you let it marinade, keep posting to reflect upon your own learning in order to find momentum to give it a try in your classroom.

Some have already been blogging. For example, Ana Albi had already started her Teachers' Development Course blog and the result you can see by yourselves. Cecília, who makes a point in saying that she's not into tech, has just started with a wonderful post to her students and even got a nice reply from her student. Exciting the first time you get a comment, isn't it? Patrícia Fleury has just had so many engaging posts and she shows how the grammar topic could be a great one for blog discussion. No, Pat, your thoughts will never lose their nutritional value on a blog. Quite the oppostite, in fact. It just adds your voice on topics which are dear to you and sometimes we don't have time to discuss. Lueli has also created a blog for her advanced grammar classes and has just created a wonderful playlist. Victor is getting ready to give blogging a second chance.

I'm pretty sure Marina Brazil is a visual learner and this is clear on her blog. She has already created slideshows and added appalling videos. Certainly a box of tricks there. Talking about a treasure of wonderful resources, Kelly always has an interesting widget or webtool to talk about on her blog. Thanks, Kelly, for your precious contributions.

I knew Cleverson was crazy about sitcoms and the 70s. Blogging is certainly one of the ways that we show who we really are, what our styles are. Take a look at his finding, a snippet of "Escrava Isaura" with subtitles in English! This is the Web!


Pat Faustino is all about culture and the cultural aspects of her own Bolivian background. I find it fascinating the possibilities blogging gives to raise cultural awareness and tolerance, to show how the different peoples live, their traditions, thoughts, food. Thanks, Pat, for the wonderful gastronomic trip. Besides, Pat has just published a fantastic Bubbleshare with her basic students.

Sandra, Marina Couri, Lilian, and Chris Moisés have also embraced the challenge and have already created blogs for their classrooms. They all think in anticipation, "OK, now what? The blog is there, but how will I motivate my students to be there with me?"

Maria da Luz talks a bit of the place she's living now. Gabi has this wonderful last sentence on her first blog post in Blogger,

"I don't think computers are addictive , learning is addictive."

Ana Luisa reports her journey of successes and struggles. Through her writing, I can picture the scenes she mentions. I just loved the one of the "panick attack"!

Daniela Meyer and Gilmar inspire us! Daniele is pure poetry. Talking about inspiration, he's always with us, commenting, chatting and blogging. Dennis is certainly a true example of a passionate educator to all of us, as well as Mary Hillis and Cris Costa, believers of the transforming power of education.

Vinicius started in his hip hop excitement already featuring himself on a YouTube Video. Great!
As mentioned before in our audio chat, there's no formula. In blogging, we find our tone, our voice, our audience, our niche.

We need to find our own purpose. It needs to add value to you and your learners. It's not about doing it because it's cool. Yes, for me, it's cool, but it's about connections, conversations, expanding horizons in ways never imagined before.

Just some quick reminders for new bloggers:

• If you get comments, comment back. Blogging is establishing a dialogue, not a unilateral act. If readers are saying something, interact with them.

• If you are blogging in English, have your whole blog in English. To edit this setting, just go to your dashboard(where you can see your blogs and edit their settings), http://www.blogger.com/home . There, on the top right of the page (once you're signed in), you'll see "language". Just change it to English. Another way is just to visit your blog, on the top right, you'll see "customize". Click there and then "dashboard".

• Pay attention to the title of your posts. Now that you have an idea of RSS, when you add a blog to your Google Reader, certainly the title of a post is what will attract you to read the whole post or not. Grab your readers' attention just like we ask our students to do when they're writing a composition!

• Don't forget to hyperlink and tag your posts!

• Start adding the tag webtools4educators in your posts. And check the magic in technorati, a blog, tag aggregator!

• Remember to use blogging as a learner-centered space. How could you do it? Think of ways to let learners opt, have their own voices, and create content.

As Elaine sums up, "See you around in one or two clicks"! Blogging is connecting, learning.

I'm still breathless with so much enriching interaction taking place in this fantastic group. Thanks for daring and delving into this Web of learning.

Edublog Talk

Read Student and Teacher Blogging that Succeed.

Now that we've started exploring the edublogging world, let's openly discuss possibilities for the classroom, fears, interests, challenges.

Please, share with the group your experiences and reflections on blogging here.

Food for thought:

Have you ever blogged? What has your blogging experience been ?
How do you envision blogging in the 21st century classroom?
What are the main challenges for edublogging?
Is blogging still too vague of a concept for you? Why?

___________________________________________________


An account of educators who had just started blogging: