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When digging a little deeper he/she might recognize that blogging is more about WRITING than technology. But let’s roll blogging back even a little further and we will discover that blogging starts with READING!

Blogging is about writing, but it begins with reading. Teachers recognize that in order to teach about blogs, they have to read good blogs. Most want to jump immediately in and have their students start blogging, sit back and expect students to write quality blogs. It won’t happen. Teachers need to take time in reading other blogs, before they expect to be able to lead their students in quality blogging.

Start with your PASSION! Passion is what will make you read when you are too tired or have too many other things to do.

I used to think blogging was an add-on. I didn’t realise that it can be seamlessly integrated into the classroom literacy program. I used to feel guilty about taking time away from my reading and writing curriculum. It was a light bulb moment for me when I realised that blogging is literacy; and an authentic and important style of literacy too. Now a day without blogging as part of my literacy block would be hard to imagine.

In a world of social media and connectivity, what role does a blog play for teachers? Is it worth having one?

. It’s a place for authors to craft their thoughts in long-form statements that wouldn’t be possible or appropriate for social networks. It’s also become quite apparent that some of the best articles I’ve read all year were on teacher blogs.

For the forth year, Teddy Bears from around the world are contributing images about their travels, traditions and customs to this blog.

The idea is to collaboratively create a space with stories from different locations around the world. Students practice creative writing skills as they contribute stories from the bear’s perspective about their lives, surroundings and customs. I would like to expand having classes connect and interact with the stories of their teddies via more commenting. About the Project:

There is no need to send a Teddy Bear to another school or teacher. All you need to do in order to participate is to register via the Contact Form, integrate writing and documenting (via images, videos or audio) the adventures of your own class’ teddy bear.

The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/ I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make participation easier and to facilitate the process of passing on the information.

This blog is set to connect classrooms across the world as they read a book simultaneously in their classrooms. Throughout the book, the blog will help the classrooms with projects, discussions and possible skype discussions to open up classroom walls. My classroom is inviting any 4th, 5th or 6th grade classroom that might be interested in collaborating on this project.

Introduction to copyright, fair use and using images in blog posts You can’t just use any image you like in a blog post. Why?  Because unless stated otherwise, the law automatically grants full “copyright” over any creative work a person makes.

I’m sure you’re probably thinking it is okay because as educators, we have a few more flexible rules, called “Fair Use”, to play by.  Fair use, in some cases, if an image, text, video, etc. is being used for educational purposes, means you may have more flexible copyright rules. The trouble is, most of the laws and rules that cover fair use and education were written well before the invention of the web.  They don’t apply to use of copyright material on the Internet.  Using copyright material leaves you open to copyright infringement. So what does this mean? You need to: Learn what images you are and aren’t allowed to use, and why. Learn how to attribute images you are allowed to use. Educate your students that you can’t just use any images off the Internet in their blog posts, show them how to source and attribute images they are allowed to use. Understanding digital copyright is an essential skill we need to understand and teach our students.  This post focuses on use of images.

The 2012 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is now open! This national sustainability challenge empowers K-12 students to develop and share environmental solutions that may just change the world. Students from kindergarten to high school develop environmental solutions for their schools, homes, and communities for a chance to win prizes for themselves and grants for their schools. Teams of students work and compete with other students across the United States. The challenge is open August 24, 2011 through March 15, 2012. Prizes include scholarships and school grants – up to $50,000 for the first place team! For more information go to the contest website: WeCanChange.com

Look at the Clustrmap and see if you can answer any of these questions. How many different countries have we had visitors from? What continents have we had the most visitors from? Have we had visitors from all seven continents? We have eight more weeks of school. How many visitors do you think we’ll get?