Blog Post #2

Please reflect on your learning about blogging in the classroom. Make another post of around 2 paragraphs on your blog.

• In the first paragraph, share your learning. What have you learned about blogging? Why are teachers and students blogging? What are some ways blogs are being used? What is their effectiveness in improving student learning?

I have happily learned a lot about blogging in this class so far. A theme I have been overhearing and reading is that technology can be super helpful and beneficial or the exact opposite in the classroom. I really liked the edtech review article that makes a point of saying that technology is not the lesson, it is a medium to the lesson. I think that is exactly what blogging should be used as well. I think the way to avoid technology being used in an unproductive way is through having clear expectations of how the technology should be used in class.

After reviewing the blogging about the web 2.0 connected classroom (http://blog.web20classroom.org/2013/04/soyou-wanna-use-blogs-in-classroom.html ) I felt more strongly connected to the power of blogs in the class. I could relate to feeling of "this seems pointless to write this much for only one person like my teacher to read" feeling I have had with a lot of my papers I have worked hard on. I looked at the several links he posted to blogs and I felt that they had good tips, but the layouts seemed a little sloppy to me. I have noticed that about several blogs I have ran across, I know that doesn't matter to some people, but for me when something is clean, clear, and easy to follow I find myself wanting to read more of the blog.

• In the second paragraph, provide the link for and describe one or two blogs that stand out to you. Why are you attracted to these blogs? What are some interesting aspects of them?

My best friend has created a blog that I absolutely love. The whole theme of her blog spot stood out to me. I am really into art and pattern, so i always notice things like a design and layout of a blog, it catches my eye then I continue to read on to learn more about the blog. My best friend Tess is going to school for event planning and has created this blog that not only gives a total overlook of the types of person she is but she has embedded all sorts of unique trendy themed crafts, photographs and mood boards that help show off her type of style that she continues to update:

http://tess-chilton.squarespace.com/

Another blog that I enjoy following is an arts and crafts blog from a clothing company that I like to wear called Free People. Similar to what I said before about how colors and style stand out to me, the free people blog has a "pretty and floral" theme that is and always has been one of my favorites. I really like how within the blog there are links that extend to read more on a post that interests you. Since there is already so much on the blog it is a nice way to keep things organized clean and easy to follow:

http://blog.freepeople.com/diy/

After reviewing many of the blogs on the powerpoint for this assignment I ran across the Elementary Blogging and it stood out to be from it's layout.

http://smartblogs.com/education/2012/08/08/rewards-teaching-young-children-blog/ This blog was easy to follow, simple, and organized, so I was a fan! I also loved how some of the links within the blog brought you to student work examples. I also thought it was important how involved the parents can be in this blog.