What is a blog? Exercises to try NOVICE APPRENTICE PRACTITIONER EXPERT  Examples Professional Blogs by UWCSEA East teachers Personal Blogs by UWCSEA East teachers Blogs with an educational focus Further reading/exploration

AIM OF THE WEEK:

To get you to read a few "blogs"

in the hopes that you'll find them

interesting enough to want to read more

What is a blog?

"blog" is short for "web log" -- a website where an individual (or a group of people) can post entries, usually in chronological order (with the most recent at the top of the page) ...  Think of a blog posting as a short article and think of a blog as a personal magazine.....  The frequency of posts varies dramatically, with some posting daily, others monthly, and others only when they have something burning to say...

Watch this Common Craft video for a visual introduction:

Exercises to try

NOVICE

1.  Read at least one blog posting on three different blogs.  You might start by looking at a blog by someone you know, e.g., see these personal blogs by UWCSEA teachers or these professional blogs by UWCSEA teachers.  If you recall, the mother of one of Alyssa's students just died of cancer -- the blog she kept makes for very powerful reading:  Shin's Cancer Blog.  You could check out Keri-Lee or Katie's favourite blogs for some varied reading.  Below we have also give you links to a few sites which collect lists of educational blogs for you to try.

APPRENTICE

1.  Complete the Novice task.

2.  Explore at least three other blogs -- which means reading at least four postings on each blog and finding out something about the author, e.g., on the "About" page of the blog. 

PRACTITIONER

1.  Complete the Apprentice tasks.

2.  Recommend three blog postings other teachers might enjoy -- by bookmarking them on your Delicious page.

EXPERT 

1.  Complete the Practitioner tasks.

2.  Recommend three blogs other teachers might enjoy reading on a regular basis -- by bookmarking them on your Delicious page.

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Examples

Professional Blogs by UWCSEA East teachers

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Personal Blogs by UWCSEA East teachers

Blogs with an educational focus

A great place to find great educational blogs -- annual awards are given in many categories.  You might as well start by looking at the best, i.e., the award winners.

Check Out Class Blogs:  "This page has been set up so you can check out different types of class blogs to get ideas for your own class blog. You could also use this list to make connections with classes in other countries."

A wiki that lists links to hundreds of educational blogs -- class blogs, student blogs, principal blogs, administrator blogs etc.

Further reading/exploration

Find some local blogs via Singapore Blogosphere: Bringing you the best of Singapore's blogs.

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