best practices

Teacher forum about Blogging in the classroom.  Classroom2.0's discussion forum for teachers about using blogging in the classroom.

Anne Mirtschin's ideas and experiences with blogging. Loaded with information, ideas, tips, assignments, and experiences about an Australian teacher's classroom blog ideas, tips, etc.

First sentence activity.  A Vermont middle school teacher writes about having her students write the first sentence of a story.

Feedback from peers is a surprisingly effective tool in helping students develop their writing skills.  It gives them a chance to hear how their writing is understood by readers who have only the words -- none of the thoughts or context or background that lie in the mind of the author.  When it is thoughtful and meaningful and is offered in a supportive learning environment, peer feedback can also help students gain confidence about their writing.  As one eighth-grade girl put it, "I think the comments I have received from other people have been very helpful because they have supported my writing and helped me grow to be a better writer."

Digital Storytelling Finds its Place in the Classroom - A teacher describes how he guided his fourth- and fifth-grade students through all phases of creating a digital story in an assignment he called "Project Place."  Lots of well-chosen, detailed tips about all phases of the process, as well as helpful hints about using iMovie.

Teacher forum on digital storytelling.  Classroom2.0's discussion forum for teachers about digital storytelling in the classroom.

Materials you will need

photos and/or pictures

microphone

computer

desktop scanner (optional:  for scanning traditional photos, artwork and memorabilia)

software for editing audio, such as Audacity

software for editing images, such as iMovie (for Macs only) or Photo Story 3

Edutopia article about a K-6 school in Hawaii that uses technology to help kids write and learn about the world in a meaningful way.  Lots of great examples of classroom projects.

Flickr Ideas: 

"My Friend Flickr" An Edutopia article with useful tips on using Flickr in the Classroom

Flickr.edu A Flickr Group to share teaching ideas

Alan Levine's Fifty Web Ways to Tell a Story.  Outstanding and first-stop resource.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Image-sharing sites

Flickr.com An image-sharing site where you can sort, group, tag, comment on, geo-tag and leave stickies on--all kinds of applications across the curriculum

Splashr : a Flickr plug-in for presentations

23, An image-sharing site

Photobucket -- Image and video sharing

 As a first step have students incorporate images into their work.  They can use pictures or photos they have created themselves, or choose from the many available online.  

Images also make great writing prompts that you can use to get your students started.  Use one image or create a collection of several.  You can post them on a blog or classroom site, or create a slideshow.

Next, begin to look at how images can be used in collages and slideshows as part of the writing.  

A memorable moment.  In order to have your students do an audio story, you need to approach it as you would any story or poem or essay. Here is an idea for a podcasting assignment that helps you and your students understand how to do it.

Favorite teacher.  A middle school teacher introduces a podcasting assignment to her students by creating an explanatory podcast herself. Scroll down to #17 on the list that comes up and listen to the podcast by Amanda Asher.

Podcasting with 5th graders.  Written by a teacher who used a telephone to do the actual podcasts, but the process of writing and recording could also be done with a microphone.  

Island School student blogs.  An outstanding example of what middle-school students can do with their own blogs.

Thinking and Writing Wrinkles.  A class blog with links to fifth-grade student blogs.

Flurogreen Luvs U!!  Blog written by an enthusiastic Australian student.

It's easy to create a blog for your classroom and students.  As they become comfortable with writing and posting online, they can add multimedia to their posts. 

Step 1:  Choose a blog host.  There are many to choose from but a few that are favored by educators. You want one that is reliable, has adequate space, an intuitive interface, is affordable and has good support.  Click here for a list of tips and suggestions for choosing a blog host. 

Step 2:  Decide on a name.  Something short and memorable.