Creative Apps as Positive Tools in the Classroom

Leveraging the Power of Creative Apps in the Classroom

Every year, we step into our classrooms, armed with a wide variety of strategies.  We meticulously plan out lessons with graphic organizers, foldables, mnemonics, storage and station routines, etc.  All in the hope that everything we do will help our students to succeed. Now, this is all really important to do, but we live in the twenty first century.  This is the era of TECHNOLOGY.  Many of our students will have a starter phone by age five. My friend's two nieces shared an iPad at ages two and four. The brains of the children of today seem wired for apps. So why not leverage that in the classroom? In the following post, I have reviewed four creative apps. For each app, I have provided a few advantages, disadvantages, and a few ideas for classroom use.

Graphic Organizers Gone Digital

Popplet

Popplet is a tool that allows students to create mind maps.  Within each cell or bubble, students are able to insert text, make a drawing, and insert a picture. The tool is available both in the app store and online for those who do not have an Apple device.  A quick overview of the free Popplet Lite app is below:

Classroom Advantages

• Ease of use.

• No need to waste paper.

• Files can be digitally stored, emailed, or uploaded.

• Students can add pictures found online. (There's no need for endless magazines, scissors, and glue)

• Bubbles can be easily moved or changed without the need to erase or start over.

• Maps can be personalized with color to suit each student's personality.

• Larger maps with more connections can be made than on traditional 8.5x11 paper.

Classroom Disadvantages

• Internet must be available and working for online version and email on app.

• Some teachers have reported students signing into classmate's accounts and modifying work.

• As with any app, it may freeze and content may be lost.

• Popplet Lite is sometimes slow to respond when adding drawings or pictures

Classroom Usage

Create a digital storyboard

Objective: I can create a storyboard to brainstorm ideas for my movie.  I can include text descriptions of actions, shots, and a drawing or photo representation of the shot. 

Teacher Actions: Prior to the lesson, the students would have received a lesson on storyboarding basics. Students also would have created an about me Popplet to learn how to use the program.  The day prior to the lesson, teacher would ask students to write down on a slip of paper what they found most difficult about storyboarding. Teacher would start the class the next day by telling students the most commonly noted problems:

• I have to erase if I decide to change the order.

• I can't draw.

• I don't know how to spell _____.

• This takes too much time. 

Since I've taught storyboarding lessons before, I can attest, that these are the most common complaints from students.  Next, the teacher can tell the students that they have an app that will solve all of these problems! They can use Popplet!  Teacher will show students an example made in Popplet.  Students will then work in groups of two to create a digital storyboard.  Using Popplet, they will be able to move and reorder cells if necessary.  They can erase drawings and start over.  They also are able to look at reference picture online to help them draw something.  They can insert pictures from the internet or use the iPad's camera to take a picture and insert it into their storyboard.  Provided students use the same iPad when filming, they will have their storyboard conveniently available without having to worry about carrying around an extra paper.  Students will also be able to make adjustments to their storyboards on the fly as they are shooting. 

A few other ideas:

• Create a plot map-->Students can create a map showing each step of the plot mountain and add bubbles to denote events happening in specific stories at the time.  Students can add another bubble to make connections between different stories at the same stage of the plot.

• Create a timeline-->Students can create a timeline of the US Presidents with year and picture and then attach four fact bubbles to each president.  Students can further make connections between different presidents by adding a bubble to make connections between the facts.

• Create a prefix/root/suffix map-->Students can create a root web to form new words or break down words they already know into their component parts. 

Where in the world are we? Green Screen Adventures!

Do Ink

The DoInk app is one of the most versatile green screen apps.  For those of you are new to the concept, the use of a green screen or chroma key is the backbone of live news broadcasts, and many hollywood special effects shots.  In a traditional chroma key shot, the actor, broadcaster, or weatherman is filmed in front of a green or blue painted screen or wall.  A chroma key filter is then applied to the film and all of the green or blue is removed from the shot. Another video is then layered beneath the chroma key shot making it appear that your favorite actor is on the moon, or that the weatherman is standing in front of a weather map. A quick overview of Do Ink is below:

Classroom Advantages & Potential Classroom Uses

• Students can use the app to make themselves appear in another place.  A student who is doing a presentation on the first astronaut on the moon could film themselves appearing on the moon. 

• Students can take other students on a virtual journey or field trip. For example, if a student was doing a presentation on landmarks in England, they could film themselves in front of the green screen, and then replace the background with videos of the different landmarks (credited on screen of course--Do Ink also allows you to insert text!). The student would be able to point out details of each location while making it look like they are really there.  This is FAR more interactive than simply putting a picture on a PowerPoint.  

• Students can app smash with Google Earth.  Students can use screen recordings of Google Earth to give tours of their hometown as part of a tourism unit.

• Ability to disappear.  Let's face it, many students are shy and hate to give presentations. Even my shyer students love the green screen.  They like the fact that if they choose, they can put something green/blue over their face and it won't be seen.  The headless reporter! It sounds silly, but students really do enjoy this.

• Special effects!  You can analyze and reenact scenes from Harry Potter or other magic based stories.  Getting things to appear out of thin air is as simple as having a green t-shirt and gloves. 

• Although traditionally used with green/blue with the apps color wheel, you can also shoot in front of other colored walls.  I've tested this with a dark purple wall as well and it worked!

Classroom Disadvantages

• The Do Ink app, although fully worth the price, is not free.

• With any green screen set up, unless you have a very wide open empty room, usually only one or two groups can film at once.  This has to be done on rotation.

• This will not work in a loud classroom.  When one student is recording, if there is any dialogue, the other students must be quiet or silent.  This can be a difficult thing to achieve in some classroom settings.

• Storage! All video files typically take up more storage space on the iPad. 

• Accidental file deletion.  Due to the price of the app, you may only have it on one or two iPads.  If students are sharing, files may be accidentally deleted. 

• Lighting.  You must have even lighting in the classroom for the green screen to fully work.  An unevenly lit screen will result in shadows or areas of green showing through.

Animate Me! I always wanted to make a stop motion movie.

Stop Motion Studio

The Stop Motion Studio app allows students to create stop motion animations. In this form of animation, a character or object is positioned on the screen. The student takes a picture, and then slightly moves the object, takes another picture, moves the object, takes a picture, etc. For a six second movie a student will take an average of 10 to 12 picture for each second of film.  Resulting in 60 to 72 pictures for six seconds of film.  By taking such a high amount of pictures, it looks like the object is really moving.  This is the concept behind movies like The Lego Movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, The Corpse Bride, etc. A quick overview of the app is below:

Classroom Advantages 

• Ability to create animated films using a variety of mediums including play doh, toy cars, drawings, stuffed animals, etc.

• Onion skinning feature to line up shots.

• Ability to create moving illustrations or models.

• App is available in free or paid version.

• Paid version of the app includes the ability to use chroma key behind the characters.

• Since the app is available free on both android and iOS platforms, students with a smart phone can download the app and create videos outside of school.  

• This app is easily used by students as young as kindergarten with some adult direction for younger years.

• Easy to learn!

Classroom Disadvantages

• If students rush the process and do not take enough pictures, the final result will not look like it is moving.

• Students may accidentally delete a sequence.  Deleted sequences cannot be recovered.

• If students do not use the onion skinning feature, the animation will not align and the video will be jerky.

• Students with less manual dexterity may have troubles manipulating objects for filming.

Classroom Usage

There are many ways that you can use this app in the classroom.  One way that I have personally used this app is by having students create animations to showcase or teach what they have learned in a CORE content area class to the other students.  We often speak of constructivism in education and how it is so important that students not only construct a good idea of WHY something works, but that they also be able to create something from that knowledge or demonstrate that they can teach the concept to another person.  This past year, in my Intro to Television class, this was extremely useful, because the classes were mixed 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. With the combined classes, the students had to work together to teach each other the concepts they were learning is their separate grade levels. We completed two stop motion videos connected to CORE content in this class.  In the first video, the student groups had to pick something that they had learned in science class to teach to the rest of the class.  First, the students brainstormed a list of topics.  Then, the students researched to fill in any gaps that they might have on the topic.  The students created a storyboard to illustrate how they wanted to present the idea on film.  ((APP SMASH! We could have used Popplet here.)) Finally, the students began filming their projects.  Throughout the filming process, I walked around the room to provide feedback, suggestions, and technical assistance.  However, the students were the ones in charge of leading their project.  After filming was finished and I approved their films, we had a movie screening day.  We watched each film and students completed a peer box office review. After reviews, students were allowed to ask the groups questions about their films.  The final projects were very creative and varied widely in topic.  We had videos on lab safety, hurricane preparation, plant and animal cells, the digestive tract, white and red blood cells, etc.  After the project, many of the students were really excited to show their finished product to their science teachers. 

Holy Batman!  I can make my own graphic novel?!??

Pixton

Pixton is an app used to create a graphic novel.  Pixton was originally available only online, but in the last year, it has also become available for iPad.  Using Pixton, students can create their own characters, settings, etc. by modifying existing characters and using drawing tools and props.  There are both free and paid versions of this program.  I highly recommend that if teachers are using this in the classroom, that they opt for the paid version.  A quick overview of Pixton for education is below:

Classroom Advantages

• Many students love graphic novels. Now they can create their own.

• Ability to create multiple characters of any nationality without the ability to draw.

• Ability to use backgrounds and props from the library or create/upload your own.

• Teachers can create individual classrooms

• Students can work in groups on the same graphic novel at computers/iPads

• Students can create and share characters with other students

• Students can instant message group mates for feedback.  All instant messages are recorded and sent to the teacher for monitoring. 

• Easy preset layouts and templates for early learning

• Online grading and feedback available

• Ability to publish digitally

• Peer evaluation

Classroom Disadvantages

• Pixton is easy to use, but it has a lot of different features.  It takes time for students to fully learn how to use the various features.

• For advanced teacher controls, you must have the paid version of the app. 

• Paid version is subscription based and not simply a one time fee.

• Students may get distracted by the little details (props) and waste time.

• Students may find inappropriate props i.e. guns or knifes. 

• Limited number of licenses per subscription.  It is expensive!!!

Classroom Use

I used this app in my classroom two years ago, when I was teaching a 6th grade modern literature class.  At the time it was only available on the web, so we did not use the iPad app. In that class, we had been assigned the book "The Skin I'm In" to read.  Since all of the students were also taking a regular reading class, and some of them were in Read 180 as well, I decided to try to make analyzing the novel as interesting, and hands on as possible.  Instead of simply reading and taking quizzes on each chapter, we would adapt the book into a graphic novel. 

First, we read chapter one of the book.  Then as a class, we listed all of the characters that we were introduced to in that chapter and then everything that we had learned about their looks or personality.  The class then divided into teams. Each person on the team was assigned a character from the book to create. Throughout the project, that team member would be responsible for changes to the appearance of that character. As new characters were introduced in the novel, they would be assigned to the teammates. After students created their characters, they worked together to create a storyboard for the first chapter.  ((APP SMASH! We could have used Popplet here!)) The students had to look carefully to analyze the actions of the characters, etc on each page of the chapter.  They were required to have a minimum of four to five panels per page of written text.  The students had to create and write dialogue or thoughts for the panels.  They could not simply copy all of the text from the book. 

After creating the storyboards, students would create a group comic and divide up the panels between them.  Students work together to complete the chapter using the storyboard as their guide.  After finishing each chapter, students would share to the classroom and compare the choices they made versus the choices other groups had made.  We would then repeat the process for the next chapter.  

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The Big Picture

Bottom line, our kids are the digital generation.  Using apps in the classroom allows us to tap into their desire to use technology while also providing them with opportunities to explore ideas in new ways.  The apps I listed above, particularly the last three, allow for an increased level of interactivity and hands-on project learning.  These apps can be used to have students analyze and demonstrate understanding of a concept by creating a product and not by simply memorizing dry facts in a drill and kill based software.  Another thing I really like about these apps is that they are useful for both children and adults.  I can see myself personally using any of these apps.  Although, of the four, Popplet would likely be the one I would least utilize. The big drawback to any creative app is the time that it takes to initially introduce the students to the app and to create the demonstration pieces.  If a teacher isn't tech savvy this can be a time consuming process.  Even so, I believe that the benefits of increased student engagement and understanding are worth it. 

"Folio Thinking" Using Electronic Portfolios in Education

This week's topic of discussion revolves around the use of electronic portfolios, also known as ePortfolios or simply eFolios, in education. We'll examine what an eFolio is and its purpose in education, compare eFolios to other assessment methodologies, determine what we need to look for when evaluating an eFolio creation site for the classroom, explore a few different options for creating an eFolio, and finally answer two questions posed in ETEC 524.


What is the purpose of a portfolio?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a portfolio is:

• A flat case for carrying documents or drawings. 

• A set of drawings, paintings, or photographs that are presented together in a folder. 

• A selection of a student's work (as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress. Merriam Webster

So essentially a traditional portfolio is a physical storage device, whether that be a case, a three-ring binder, a folder, etc. that is used to store something.  A portfolio could be a physical collection of artwork, photographs, writing, tests, etc.


How do portfolios and ePortfolios differ?

In an electronic or ePortfolio the main difference is the delivery and storage system.  While a traditional portfolio may be entirely offline, an ePortfolio is stored in cyber space.  These are a few key advantages to each method.

Traditional Portfolios

• Ability to physically feel or examine an artifact. This is most useful for projects containing artwork or 3D objects.

• Ability to verify security seals on printed documents.  A raised seal used to verify a document's authenticity may not be visible on an electronic document. 

• Increased ease of use and less time to construct.  With a traditional portfolio, you only need to add the object into the binding.  With a electronic portfolio, artifacts created offline must first be photographed or scanned and then added to a page.

Electronic Portfolios

• Ability to showcase multimedia works such as videos or class presentations without needing to save the file to an external drive.  

• Easily accessible. Electronic portfolios are stored online, so that means as long as you have access to the internet, you have access to your portfolio.  If you come upon a situation where you are unexpectedly asked for information, you won't have to worry about carrying a portfolio around in the backseat of your car. 

• Ability for others to remotely comment or view/edit. With electronic portfolios, collaborators, colleagues, teachers and students can all work together or comment on a portfolio even if they are in different cities, states or countries.  

• Ability to store a wide variety of artifacts.

• Ability to password protect files. 

•  Save paper!

How is this different from other forms of assessment?

When you're looking at assessments, the first thing you have to look at is the purpose of the assessment.  Assessments in education are generally categorized as either formative or summative. According to the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University:

Formative Assessments

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments: 

• help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work

• help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately

 Summative Assessments

The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

After you've determined the purpose, you decide on the delivery method.  Will it be a multiple choice test, an essay, a project, etc. All of these methods of delivery measure a student's knowledge differently.  A multiple choice or passage based quiz might measure their ability to recall information or make inferences. An essay may ask them to synthesize and make connections to what they have learned. A project could ask them to create a product based on their knowledge. All of these are valid measures of learning in their own way.

One of the key advantages to an ePortfolio is that it can be used both as an assessment and as a tool to store, analyze, and reflect on all kinds of other assessments. There is no need to assess students based on only one measure. Students can instead reflect on their entire body of work which may include many differing delivery methods. Electronic portfolios can also be used for peer reflection. Similar to a blog, if an ePortfolio is built in a manner that supports commenting or feedback, they can also be used for peer reflection.  A teacher could have a group of three to four students work together to peer review the artifacts included in the portfolio and leave comments with feedback either on or offline. Many sites allow the owner or moderator of the page to set permissions for comments.  In this way a student could send a private comment or feedback message that the moderator could choose not to publish. Additionally, many of the drag and drop interfaces allow students to include a feedback form.  They could also include a poll to have students rate the effectiveness of their artifacts. Another benefit to this is that it may show understanding in a way that a simple multiple choice test or essay cannot do.  Just like we have different learning styles, students also may perform better on one type of assessment versus another.  Collecting all of this information and having students reflect on it in a portfolio may be a better judge of learning.   

On the other hand, one disadvantage of portfolios is that even with a rubric, to a certain extent the grading is subjective. I might look at a student's body of work and grade it one way while another instructor, using the same rubric, may judge it differently.  This is one case where solid right/wrong based assessments are better.  


How does this work in the classroom?

I think the main things that teachers need to evaluate when looking at an ePortfolio system for the classroom are:

• Ease of Use 

• Prior Technical Knowledge

• Compatibility

• Classroom Management capabilities 

All of the ePortfolio options I looked at provided the ability to upload or include the same types of documents or links.  When it comes to content ability, they are equal.  That means that if I am having my students create a grammar portfolio, they can do that on any of the sites.  Likewise, they could create a science, art or math portfolio using any of these sites.  Now where things start to differ is in the ease of use. A simple drag and drop interface is always going to be easier to use for a student who has no prior knowledge of website design. Teachers also have to take into account that some students may have very little general computer knowledge.  A student might not know how to save or insert a picture.  A simplified interface like Weebly would be better for those students. Additionally, we have to consider compatibility.  If a school is a Google school, Google apps will be more compatible with other tools they are using.  Also some websites offer online classroom management tools while others don't.  I've detailed a few affordances and disadvantages for a select group of sites in the next section.

What are some available tools to create electronic portfolios?

Proprietary Tools: tools designed specifically for portfolio creation.

PortfolioGen is a free online tool to create a teaching portfolio.  It has a wide variety of customizable themes.  User Tina noted in her review that the website was "easy to use, easy to customize, and extremely professional looking." The user menu for the site offers a wide variety of preset pages including employment history, awards, interests, etc.  Having a pre-formatted page for these areas may be very useful to those who are not as skillful in web layout and design. However, upon signing up for a free site here, you'll discover that the free version has some limitations.  In order to upload a custom image and have additional pages/artifacts, you must pay a subscription fee. For the purposes of our project, you cannot add the required amount of pages without payment. Another downside of this site compared to other hosting services is that it does not appear to have any class controls that would make this useful to use in a classroom setting.  It is simply functional as a personal portfolio site. 

Pathbrite is a free online portfolio tool for use by both teachers individually AND for classroom use.  One of the things that makes this site standout is the ability to create courses. Students can submit and self reflect on online work.  The site features an intuitive, easy to use drag and drop interface that will help save time in class and it is easy for novice computer learners to pick up. The site also integrates with eCollege for graduate courses. As an additional benefit for schools using Google's education features, this site features the ability to login/signup via a Google account. This is the website that I would most likely use personally in the classroom due to it's ease of use and free classroom management/account capabilities. A brief introduction to the program is here: 

Online Website Design: online creation and editing sites 

The two main powerhouse website design choices are Weebly and Word Press.  For details on their strengths and weaknesses in the classroom, please see my previous post on blogs.  Although these two sources have the capability to add a blog, their true power is in website design.  Of the two of these, my favorite is Weebly.  Although you do need to pay a yearly amount for some of the advanced features, on Weebly it is worth it for their classroom management capabilities. Teachers can create accounts for students and monitor and password protect access to their websites.  The drag and drop user interface is the most user friendly out of all of the websites. I have in fact used this in the classroom before.  Two years ago, I taught groups of students with no prior knowledge of website design, the basics of using Weebly.  Their websites were entered in a multimedia competition and several of the groups won first place in their category. The program was very easy for them to pick up and the students enjoyed working with the interface.  A downside of Weebly is that you are limited in the number of student accounts that you can create.  Weebly would be my go to preference for an in class portfolio system, but if I have over the allowable amount of students, I'd go with Pathbrite. 

Google Sites is Google's solution to online website design.  With Google's shift towards bolstering education via resources like Google Classroom, this web design platform offers seamless integration with Google's other education based apps.  In a Google school, this cross-app compatibility may lead to this being the number one pick for classroom use.  However, it's user interface is not as simple or easy to use as Weebly. 

Wix is another free online website creation platform.  Wix's drag and drop user interface is even more user friendly than Weebly.  One downside to this site is that it does not have a classroom function like Weebly or Pathbrite.  The increased ease of use though does leave this as a great option for students or adults who have minimal knowledge of website design. I wouldn't personally use this in the classroom because of the lack of management capabilities. 


Offline Website Design: computer software programs 

Adobe Muse is one of my favorite options for adults and skilled youth. Adobe Muse is a program offered as part of Adobe's Creative Cloud suite of programs.  The program offers "freeform responsive web design with no code required."  Essentially this program is a web design program for graphic artists.  Anyone who is already familiar with the toolbars in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or In Design will find it a breeze to pick up this program.  This is truly completely custom website design without the coding. Adobe Muse offers something that the other websites listed above do not, the ability to create a completely unique web design.  A teacher or student could create a portfolio that truly stands out.  Now, in terms of classroom use, this could only be used in a classroom where students already had some sort of knowledge of graphic design.  A student who is brand new to graphic design and the concept of building a website would struggle using this program. Needing to create all of your own elements from scratch also makes this program very time consuming. Another disadvantage of this program for schools is that it is not free. For someone like me who is well versed in graphic design, this program is ideal, but I would not use it in a school context. This is the program that I will personally use for my ePortfolio for graduate studies.  However, as I mentioned, this is a program that is extremely time intensive.  For the purposes of this shorter class, I will create a temporary ePortfolio using Weebly while I work on creating my Muse site. 

Another Adobe Creative Cloud program, Dreamweaver, also allows users to build custom websites.  Unlike Muse, to create a website in Dreamweaver, you should have some working knowledge of html code. Last semester I taught a tech class which included an introduction to coding via Khan Academy.  Dreamweaver, if available, would be a program I would introduce students to in the second half or even the second year of a course. Likewise, with Adobe Muse I would introduce this in the later half of a graphic design class.  

Below is a video detailing the differences and uses for Adobe's different website creation programs. I think any of these programs COULD potentially be used to create a portfolio or elements for a portfolio, but only in a technologically advanced class.

Two Questions from ETEC 524

Of the following which would be more relevant to your graduate studies and what would you prefer and why?

• Answering questions about educational technology that ETEC professors have identified as the most important things to know and having them judge the logic, accuracy, depth, breadth, and precision of your answers. 

• Articulating what you know and have learned about educational technology from your academic, professional, and other experiences and providing evidence of that learning with a collection of artifacts you’ve created

I think that answering questions about the most important things you have studied would be more relevant to a person's long term career goals.  If these questions are deemed to cover the most important content, then I would like to know that I am well prepared to fully answer these questions. If a professor judges that my response lacks accuracy, depth, etc then I am better prepared to correct whatever misconceptions I have.  In terms of using a portfolio for a career, I would not want to put out inaccurate or incomplete information.  

Now as to what I would prefer, that is a bit trickier to answer.  While I would really like the solid feedback that could come with the first option, the second option provides the opportunity to show what you have learned.  It's more of a holistic measure of the whole process and product of your education versus simply being judged on what you remember and learned at specific points in the process.  Perhaps the ideal method would be to blend the two options.  Have students create a portfolio that highlights and answers these important points, but also allow them to include a number of discretionary pages to highlight what they have personally felt were the most impactful throughout the program.

The currently bare bones version of my ePortfolio can be found here: My Portfolio. Please note I will add my full name and additional content next week, but at that point the site will be password protected.

One last big advantage to using Weebly in the classroom or for portfolio use is that websites and individual files can be password protected.  The internet is not always the most safe for our students.  Websites like this allow us to have them publish work online while maintaining privacy from someone who lands on the site via a Google search.  

Blogging in Education

Hello! Welcome to my tech blog.

In this increasingly technological age teachers are constantly being introduced to new platforms to integrate content with technology in the classroom.  In this blog I will be sharing reflections on my explorations in educational technology.  This week the subject matches the medium.  Just what is blogging anyway? How is it different from everything else that is out there? Where can you blog and what are the affordances of each platform? Finally, how can we leverage blogs in our classroom?

Just what is blogging anyway? 

According to Dictionary.com, a blog is: "a website containing a writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites...a single entry or post on such a website." The term blog originated from the word weblog. By breaking apart the word into its component pieces we can trace its meaning.

WEB: The Web, or World Wide Web, is basically a system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. Definition from The Tech Terms Dictionary.

LOG (RECORD): Noun-A full, written record of a trip, a period of time, or an event. Verb-To put information into a written record.
Definition from Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary.

Therefore, a weblog or blog is: a written record published on the World Wide Web which is formatted using HTML and may include links to or embedded documents, graphics, audio, and video.

For the more visually inclined, you can view a basic intro to blogging created by Edublogs on Youtube.

A few takeaways from this video:

1. A blog is a record of experiences, thoughts, and opinions on the web.
2. Blogs are simple to use. With a few clicks you can share anything!
3. Blogs allow for personal expression via customizable and easily changeable themes.
4. Most blogs are comprised of four main parts: header, body, sidebar, and footer.
5. Pages are static typically unchanging posts on a website.  Posts are the actual dynamic online journal entry sharing your thoughts. They are typically displayed in reverse chronological order which allows for the most recently relative information to be viewed at the top of the page.
6. Users can enable comments on posts which allows them to leave comments or feedback on the content.
7. Users both young and old can create and post blogs.

How is blogging different from everything else that is out there?

The key difference between a blog versus other online thought sharing medium is in the delivery.  In a blog, the primary method of sharing your thoughts is via written format.  You may include audio, text, or video to enhance your post, but the focus is on a written dialogue.  

In video logs or vlogs, the delivery of your thoughts is done through a video medium.  In this format, instead of sharing their thoughts via text, users record themselves talking, reviewing, or performing actions and post their videos to an online video hosting service such as YouTube or Vimeo.  Similar to a blog, on most video hosting sites users can comment on a posted video.  Unlike blogs, on most vlog sites, users additionally have the option to like or dislike the post. 

Another format, graphic logs or glogs, delivers content using an interactive media poster. An illustration of the layers of a glog from Glogster.com is below. One of the key differences appears to be a lack of ability to comment on a particular post.  This method of delivery is also more focused on graphic content versus dialogue.

Online discussion boards or message boards offer a user experience that is similar in some ways to a blog.  Messages on public boards are typically displayed in reverse chronological order.  Users share their thoughts by making posts in a primarily dialogue based response.  Unlike a blog, on a message board, the purpose is to spur discussion.  Message boards are organized into forums or topics.  Within each forum, user can create and respond to posts. Posts on message boards are organized into threads. Within an individual thread there may be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of responses (the equivalent to blog comments). Message boards have a more strict set of guidelines and rules that users must follow.  With a blog, a user can post about cats one day and toy cars the next.  Since it is a personal delivery medium, you decide the content you will share each day.  On the other hand, with a message board, if I try to share a post about toy cars under a cats forum, the post will most likely be labeled off topic and either moved to another forum or deleted. Message boards also have moderators who oversee posted content and check for off topic or inappropriate discussion.  Whereas with a blog, you are your own moderator.

Where can you blog?

There are many free and paid blogging sites.  Here are four examples:

BLOGGER

Operated by Google, Blogger is simply that, a free blogging platform.  Many school districts have begun to use Google's education options to give students individualize email addresses as well as providing online class hangouts via Google Classroom.  Since Blogger is part of the Google family of products, students are able to easily join and create a new blog using the email address provided by a school using Google accounts. This is one of the key advantages to this interface. Blogger is fairly simple to use.  While writing a blog post, students have access to a toolbar that is very similar to toolbars used in standard word processing programs. This is one of the affordances that leads to ease of use in the classroom.

The Blogger editing toolbar for posts:

 Microsoft Word's Ribbon on MAC OSx:

As you can see in the above images, the iconography between the two platforms is very similar. Students who are already trained in the use of Word will be able to format their papers using their prior knowledge based on this standard iconography.  Although teachers must realize that not every student in the class will be familiar with word processing programs and thus may not have this affordance.

PENZU

Penzu is a personal journal or online diary.  Unlike other blogging platforms, Penzu's posts are automatically private.  Thus if our students use this app, they are not by default sharing all of their thoughts with the world.  This makes this app ideal for use with students under the age of 13. So, how exactly does this work in the classroom?  In Penzu, teachers have the ability to create a classroom account for an extra fee. After students have created a personal account, they enter the classroom code and then have the ability to submit posts to the teacher.  The rest of the class does not automatically see all of the posts.  This is ideal for a classroom where you have ELLs or students with below grade-level writing skills.  These students may feel shy or embarrassed sharing their writing with the class.  Using Penzu, the teacher and student decide whether or not entries are shared. The key affordance here is the similarity to a traditional classroom paper journal.  A student could write a private, daily entry and the teacher could comment or provide feedback without everyone seeing. If students are already used to writing journal entries on paper, they will be able to make the transition easily by simply replacing the notebook with the online entry. A more through explanation of Penzu classroom can be viewed in the video below:

WEEBLY

Traditionally used to create websites, Weebly is an online web development platform that offers both free and paid subscriptions.  Weebly features a drag and drop user interface that is easy for students to use. For teachers, you can pay for a Weebly Classroom account and have the ability to create logins and passwords for students.  Each student can create multiple websites within their account. Student websites can be public or password protected by the teacher. An affordance with this program is also the similarity of the iconography for adding text, videos, etc. with other standard publishing and blogging platforms that students are familiar with. An overview of how to add a blog page to a Weebly website is below:

EDUBLOGS

EduBlogs is powered by the WordPress platform.  Similar to Weebly, WordPress is traditionally known for its website design capabilities. Unlike Weebly, Edublogs does not have a free option. The advantage of WordPress over Weebly is that you have a more advanced capability to add additional widgets or design elements to your site.  Edublogs provides a complete online class home.  Students can write and provide feedback on blog posts, use a message board, download assignments, etc. Teachers can even use the site to publish a newsletter for parents. Edublogs, like Penzu, has teacher editable security measures in place to protect the privacy of student content. A video from Edublogs highlighting ten ways you can use the platform in the classroom is below:

To sum up, there are multiple blog platforms available online.  A few examples are Blogger, Penzu, Weebly, and Edublogs.  A few additional unmentioned options include Squarespace, Tumblr, and Livejournal. Some blogging platforms are available for free and some provide additional content, security, or classroom management options via a fee-based subscription.  Some platforms include sophisticated web design tools and others are simply for blogging.

A few affordances that are shared across most of the blogging platforms:

• Iconography--The majority of the sites use formatting icons similar to those found in traditional word processing software.

• Feedback--All of the blogging sites have the option to leave feedback or comments on a post. The majority of students are well versed in commenting and the purpose of commenting on posts via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. 

• Apps--A common phrase today, "there's an app for that!" Our students are used to using social media oriented apps on their devices.  The majority of the blog examples listed above also have an app.  Even if a student is not as familiar with using a desktop keyboard, within an app, the options for typing should be fairly standard across programs on the device. Often times in the classroom, when using a new app students are able to find and discover new ways to complete a task simply due to their sometimes greater background knowledge of using apps on a mobile device. 

How can I use blogs in the classroom?

The key to using any form of technology in the classroom is for the technology to aid in the creation of the content.  It should not distract from it. Simply using technology for the sake of using technology is meaningless. The article Blogging for English-Language Learners on Edutopia provides a list of several different ways to use blogs in an ESL classroom.

Illustration by Rebeca Zuniga 

In this scenario detailed below, the objective of the students is to create and participate in online storytelling blogs.  In Texas, ESL learners are evaluated using the TELPAS model which measures their reading, writing, listening and speaking levels.  The project is designed to hit on all of these domains while integrating content with technology.

In traditional classroom settings students may participate in a written or verbal round robin story.  I have used this technique effectively in my class in the past. In my studies learning Spanish in college, this is also a technique that my teacher frequently employed in small groups. In round robin story telling, a student starts off telling a story and then passes the story off to the next student at the end of a sentence or paragraph.  Offline this could be done verbally while writing on the board, or even via passing notebooks around the classroom. For ELLs transitioning this activity to an online delivery system has additional benefits.

Activity Basics

This activity presumes that the students have already received basic lessons on blog creation and use. Students will be divided into classroom teams and each team will have a blog account.  Within each account they will be able to create multiple individual blogs. Each student on the team will be given a different story prompt.  On their online blog, the student will write/post the first paragraph of their story. Students will share their blogs with the teacher and the teacher will provide feedback online. The next day, the student's will login and open their teammate's blog. After reading the first paragraph and providing feedback, they will write/post the second paragraph of the story. Students will continue doing a round robin until the story is complete. Throughout the process the students and teacher will be continually providing feedback via the comments section. The students will be able to edit their paragraphs. At the end of the task, each student will use audio tools on the computer to record themselves reciting or speaking the story they first began. The students will upload the audio recording to the blog.  The students will then listen and take notes on the stories. With continual use throughout the semester, students will be able to go back and listen to their pronunciation to chart their progression.  The levels according to Blooms Taxonomy: writing (create), reading (understand, analyze, evaluate), listening (understand), speaking (understand, apply).

Writing Affordances

• Use of spell check 

•  Ease of access to online translation and reference tools while composing a post 

•  Familiarity with formatting (standard iconography) 

•  Ability to go back and edit or revise a post without having to rewrite the whole entry or leave messy eraser marks on paper 

•  Familiarity with commenting in online forums ie Facebook

•  The blog is always accessible.  As long as students have a device and an internet connection, they can login and revise a post.  This also eliminates the possibility of notebooks being lost.  

 Reading Affordances

• Using the Google Chrome web browser, students are able to right click on words they do not understand and look them up in the dictionary.  Students may easily auto-translated words they do not understand.

• Familiarity of use with reading materials on a screen ie ebooks. Student handwriting in a notebook can be difficult for other students to understand.

Listening Affordances

• Using the Google Chrome, students are able to right click and hear words or entire passages read aloud.  If a student does not know how to pronounce a word utilized in a classmate's story, they will be able to simply click and hear the word.

• Students are able to post audio clips online and refer back to them later for comparison.

Speaking Affordances

• Students who are shy about speaking in front of a large group of their peers will be able to comfortably speak.

• By recording their voices on a computer, students are able to stop and restart.  They are able to listen and make adjustments or ask questions about pronunciation. 

• The teacher and students will have a record of their speaking that can be used to chart progression.

Potential Pitfalls

• Not all students will have the necessary computer vocabulary or technical knowledge. New computer software can take longer to introduce in an ELL classroom due to the need to pre-teach technical vocabulary terms that the students may not already know. This pitfall can be avoided by quizzing students on computer vocabulary prior to beginning the project and pre-teaching words the students are not familiar with.

• With any online platform, there is always the possibility that students will respond or provide inappropriate comments. By using a blog site that includes a classroom plan, teachers have the ability to moderate comments.  

• Teachers must always have a contingency plan with any online-based lesson.  School Wi-Fi will inevitably go down when you least expect it. The teacher could have sample student stories printed.  On days when the internet is not connecting, the students can practice editing entries on paper. 

•  Students may accidentally or purposefully delete posts.  The teacher must be vigilant and make sure students know rules and consequences for deleting posts which do not belong to them.

Even with the potential pitfalls, the ability for the students use online tools to immediately aid and edit their writing, to be able to participate in a round robin story without having to worry about a notebook being lost or misplaced, read and provide immediate feedback to peers, and to be able to listen to passages and words played aloud for pronunciation makes blogging a superior tool to use in the classroom.