Having a Blog as a Teacher Web Page
So why have a blog instead of using the tried and true TeacherWeb? The question really might be – why not?
Blogs provide interaction between the reader and the writer. The comment area allows the readers to ask questions or give feedback on the post. Comments should be set to be moderated before they are allowed to appear on the page to avoid having personal info posted for all to read.
Blogs can be subscribed to so that any time a new entry is made the subscribers are notified. No need to fill out a separate form to make that happen. Caution: Emails are not sent out instantly, there is a time delay so test this out before relying on it.
Entries are listed chronologically and can be tagged for key words so the reader can easily navigate to the topics they are interested in.
Files: Space to house the files can be considerable larger than offered by TeacherWeb at this point. You can also post video and audio files rather easily for your students to access. Using plug-ins like drop.io you can also provide a way for students to turn in work to you online, without worrying about what email the work was sent to you in.
The look can be customized and be as colorful or as simple as you would like. The sidebars can be customized to contain just the info you want including pictures from Flickr, feeds from new sites, etc.
This diagram shows the ”Antaomy of a Blog”
Want to see examples of teacher Blogs:
Here is a teacher in our district who started using blogs a few weeks ago and has already replaced his TeacherWeb page with a blog: http://www.mrcookscorner.blogspot.com/.
Here is a wiki that lists MANY teacher blogs:
http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers#toc5
Technology Ideas:
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