Still buzzing from my inspirational chat with Volker Green the previous evening, I was all fired up to speak about blogging and podcasting at the Primary Languages Conference at UWE organised by Allison Bolster from The Graduate School of Education at Bristol University. In addition to uploading my audio and PowerPoint as normal, I thought I'd try out SlideShare which allows you to embed a presentation (minus animations) directly into a blog. See Ruth Parker, Primary Languages Consultant for Dorset for another example.
I was obviously feeling adventurous as I also decided to experiment with an idea I'd recently read about using Post-it notes as paper 'blog comments' from Mobile Learning by Leonard Low (see below). Delegates responded enthusiastically although it is clear that some wanted more practical examples of blogging in action. This is fine in principle, but requires a web connection which can be problematic. Hopefully, my video tutorial will suffice as recompense for the time being. Enjoy!
Download UWE_conference_blogging.mp3
Download posting_to_a_Typepad_blog.wmv
Summary
- Introductions
- Definition of blogging
- Scottish innovations (MFLE, PiE, one stop animation, The VerbCast)
- Teachers TV programmes on Scottish Primary Experience
- Where to research about blogging
- Starting with the TES ICT blog
- Blogging as assessment for learning
- How blog comments can foster motivation
- Being inspired about the power of the blogosphere
- Primary Scottish blogging examples
- How to set up a blog (purpose, audience, content)
- Establishing blog rules and moderating comments
- Reasons to start blogging
- Setting up class categories
- Pupil and teacher feedback
- Having a blog scribe
- Recording school events such as European Day for Languages
- Adding different widgets to your blog and the benefit of having a sitemeter
- Blogging with post-it notes
- Promoting your blog
- Writing a blog post is as easy as sending an email
- Choosing your blogging platform
- Getting rid of the Next Button in Blogger
- Time considerations and being the blog master
- A few final thoughts
Show Notes
KS1/2 MFL - The Scottish Experience - Training
KS1/2 MFL - The Scottish Experience - Teaching
Using film-making and animation in lessons
Sous la mer and L'histoire de Mrs Vandertramp
Languages Colleges Discussion Forum
TES Modern Foreign Languages Staffroom Forum
Blogging and Podcasting articles on Languages-ICT website
Blogosphere programme on Teachers TV
Woodhill Primary and SETT session 'To blog or not to blog?' (Susie Buchanan)
European Day for Languages 2006
Different types of blogging platform
Getting rid of the Next Button in Blogger
Post-it note comments
Would love to do this for my school
Some good ideas. Easier than I thought. Thank you.
I think we got a lot of useful links, but many of us aren't as advanced (in ICT) and so would have learnt and understood better if we'd had a step-by-step example (modelled!) of how to do it. You obviously do great work, but that would have helped.
I will use a blog to support our visual literacy work
Very interesting, but what's a widget??
Good idea! Useful information. Any specific examples how pupils learn on this blog?
This will create new enthusiasm for all subjects. Could you have shown us an example of a blog and how to set one up before the links for where to go for more info.
Mindblogging
It sounds very interesting, but I still don't understand it. Too fast.
Could I use a blog to 'read' a bedtime story in weekly instalments? (That children can access from home?)
Opens up a totally different world! How can I convince our ICT coordinator that it will be 'safe'?
Looks useful for peer to peer assessment. Capturing pupil interests in MSN, Bebo, MySpace etc for school/learning application is almost certain to be motivating
I found this very interesting and it's a good way of motivating pupils! Maybe a useful thing to do would be to do a practical workshop on how to start a blog.
Wonderful idea of real audience and purposeful communication within and beyond school.
Sounds brilliant for motivation. I need to take time and try it all out.
I think blogging is a really good idea as pupils become actively involved in what they do and learn instead of forgetting everything that's been done during the lesson when going out of the classroom.
Could blogging be used for MFL pupils at primary and secondary to communicate about their language learning experiences or to communicate with pupils in other countries in various languages? What's the advantage over sending emails?
Glad I came. Inspired. I want one now!!
What a lot of brilliant ideas. I can't wait to get my blog started. I'm KS1 too. Thanks Joe!
C'était intéressant de voir comment utiliser les blogs en dehors de l'école, à la maison et partager avec la famille! On aurait pu avoir plus d'exemples et de pratiques!
Endless possibilities for using blogs in the classroom and not only for MFL. The children will love it.
Quite inspiring, but maybe a bit too much info for people who have no idea about blogging. Some great ideas though!
Thanks Joe. I'm really inspired to give this a go. Watch this space!
Feel like my school is losing touch with the children it teaches due to the massive movement in technology. Think it's now my responsibility to try to catch up with them and get into using this potentially powerful teaching and learning tool.
Fantastic workshop. Thank you! Am looking forward to introducing this to our school.
It was like a technical whirlwind!
I want my pupils to be able to share their work with everyone too.
Thanks for the talk on blogging. I'm still not very confident using ICT and now I will have no reason not to give it a go.
I will now try to create a 'blog'.
Amazing timing. I will be doing a workshop with PGCE students on blogging in a few weeks. Lots to learn in a short time, but looking forward to get stuck in! Thanks for the great inspiration.
What is the youngest age group that you have introduced blogging?
Wow! Lots of ideas and new info to get to grips with and so motivating for our students.
Thank you! I thought it was really interesting, but feel a little overwhelmed! Could have done with a step by step demonstration as to how to set it up?!
Thank you! Inspiring! I'm going to start a blog to show off my Yr10's creative work. One of our link primary schools is going to France this Easter so I'll see if we can do a blog on that too.
Has given me an idea of how a blog could be used but I still feel a bit lost as to where to start, how to create one ... I did think that's what you were going to show us!
A brilliant resource especially as so many pupils enjoy looking at it outside of the classroom, yet I think it will take me time to develop it for teaching languages.
Good to hear it goes down well with pupils, but still have no idea how to actually create 'blogs' etc. Perhaps fewer comments and instead actual, clear advice on how to start this up. Useful links, but would have liked to learn more. Interesting though.
Some inspirational ideas. I love the idea of a blog scribe for plenary purposes.
I didn't even know very much about blogs so it was a nice introduction, but it would have been useful to have more real examples and demonstrations.
Really exciting and useful. Great to have links to find out more!
I can see enormous potential for blogging. Thanks.
Useful information about how to get into blogging. I would have liked to see a 'blog example'. Gone on the blog and have a demonstration of what exactly you've put on it and how you use it.
Comments