Blogs


 * back toTeaching tools**

Get a free site at www.blogger.com. Works with other Google services. A team blog allows contributions from a group of people (your class). Use for assessment - Posts record time. This provides legitimacy to journalling as it shows development and contribution of ideas over time.

A **blog** (a contraction of the term "**weblog**")[1 ] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning //to maintain or add content to a blog//. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog ), photographs (photoblog ), sketches (sketchblog ), videos (vlog ), music (MP3 blog ), and audio (podcasting ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog


 * []
 * [] - 7 things you should know about Blogs
 * [|http://connect.educause.edu/display/39382]- 7 things you should know about video blogs
 * [] - A guide to blogs

**Student Blogging Guidelines** As a student blogger at ISB, you are expected to follow these blogging guidelines below. Use the questions in //italics// to help you decide what is appropriate to post on your blog. **1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, in other countries) to know.** //Ask yourself: Is this something I want everyone to see?// **2. Do not share personal information.** //Ask yourself: Could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?// **3. Think before you post.** //Ask yourself: What could be the consequences of this post?// **4. Know who you’re communicating with.** //Ask yourself: Who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?// **5. Consider your audience and that you’re representing ISB.** //Ask yourself: Do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?// **6. Know how to give constructive feedback.** //Ask yourself: What will I cause by writing this post?// **7. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.** //Ask yourself: Would I want someone to say this to me?// **8. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.** //Ask yourself: Would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?// **9. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).** //Ask yourself: Is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?// **10. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.** //Ask yourself: Who is the original creator of this work?// **Commenting Guidelines** As a blogger, you will be commenting on other people’s work regularly. Good comments:
 * are constructive, but not hurtful;
 * consider the author and the purpose of the post;
 * are always related to the content of the post;
 * include personal connections to what the author wrote;
 * answer a question, or add meaningful information to the content topic;
 * follow the writing process. Comments are a published piece of writing.