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We're officially bloggers!

     We've officially begun our blogging process for the 2017 school year! Three cheers! Hooray! I am exceedingly happy because I have always wanted to incorporate blogging into a classroom setting, yet I've never had the chance. Here at HMS it's pretty much expected all of the students are using it in some way, which makes me sooooo happy! :D Students are using social networking sites, they are on the internet frequently. I think it's important we show them how to use it safely. Blogging also allows students the chance to feel like part of their community, like their voice matters. Students need that more than anything.
      In my classroom, I tried to set up student blogs as soon as possible so we could get used to them and be comfortable using them. We use Google Blogger, an app associated with Google. There are alternative blogging options available, however I felt the Google one was simple and easy for them to use. It also allows them to use their school email and sync all of their pictures and information straight from their iPad, which again, keeps it simple for students. 
     The first week, we worked on signing students up and personalizing their blogs. I yet again owe a huge thanks to Michelle Brezek for helping me prepare for this with my students. I made sure to copy each of their web addresses to save on my blog and their Language Arts homepage so they are able to view and comment on each other's blogs. I also made sure to add myself to all of their accounts as ADMIN, enabling me access to not only see, but edit anything on their blog. Then, we were ready to blog!
     So far, I have had students create two pages: About Me and Book Reviews. We spent the past two weeks writing our first posts, and it went great. I'm having students work on two posts a week, so they have just enough to be frequently writing, but not enough to overwhelm them. Most days, I try to designate time in class to work on them, in case students have questions. However, sometimes class time isn't enough and a few students have continued working on them at home. I've made Friday of every week a "soft" deadline. However, for those students needing more time, my "hard" deadline is Sunday at noon, when I start grading them. 
     The blogging has been a huge success. Students ask every day if they will have time to blog in class and wondering what they will be writing about. Students had a free post last week and took advantage of the Writing Ideas Jar I shared last week. There are some students still having trouble with understanding the difference between "pages" and "posts." However, that seems to be our only big problem. Now that we've been working on our posts a few weeks, I'm going back and reviewing with students expectations for future posts. They should be writing a certain length, checking grammar, using details, etc. I think it was a good idea to put off working on specifics like that so students have a chance to become familiar with blogging first.
     I've attached below a PowerPoint I created to discuss with my students about blogging appropriateness and criteria. It is by no mean a final product, and repeats many of the same concepts, but I wanted to share some of my guidelines being used.
                                                       Blogging Made Great

With love,
💜Ms. Haury
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