Been "Blogging" Lately?

By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant ()

I used to think that "spam" was a canned meat. "Backbone" was something to help you stand up straight. A "virus" required a

doctor's attention. Well, the language is "a-changing." In reading, I ran across a computer term that was unfamiliar to me: "blog."

So, what is a "blog"? A blog is a combination of the words web and log and is exactly that a page made up of short, frequently updated postings usually arranged chronologically. (Blogs are sometimes called "push-button publishing" and have the same flavor as instant messaging.) The content and purpose of a blog varies greatly. Personal insights, journals, photos, poetry, essays and book responses are just a few of the areas that are posted on the web.

In the classroom, blogs can be used to create resource bases or to develop an online community. A teacher might use a blog as a resource to post online quizzes, display timetables, give project links and write notes to his/her students. As the audience for any specific blog increases, students can post stories and pictures on the blog. Conversations and discussions can also occur.

Many blogs allow you simply to join and be part of the group. Web logg-ed at http://www.weblogg-ed.com is an excellent source for getting your feet wet on blogs (select topics on the left of the screen). You'll find many examples of blogs as well as recommendations for management tools. Here are some other resources about blogs:

Blogger is a free service that allows you to either publish a blog at your own web site or Blogger will create a site for you. You provide Blogger with a template of your page or use one of the pre-designed templates. You fill in the information on the template, hit publish and your information is sent to the server. You'll find Blogger at http://blogger.com.

LiveJournal allows you to create and customize you own journal, which you keep online. You are given information on creating and updating your journal at http://www.livejournal.com.

We need to be cautious about where we send kids (like you didn't know that!). Xanga.com is another weblog community. When I visited this site, there were MANY blogs I would not have wanted my students to visit. You can check this site out at http://www.xanga.com.

Take a minute and investigate this new approach to web publishing.