Class Blogs in the Early Years
cc licensed by Chi King: http://flickr.com/photos/davelau/2852596885/
This is our second year at having blogs in the Infant School at UWCSEA, and we're happy to share our journey with you.
We wanted a way of sharing the wonderful things that students and teachers are doing every day at our school with parents, and blogging seemed like the perfect fit.
It wasn't necessarily an easy sell to our staff, but they asked the right questions:
How would a class blog help student learning?
Would the parents be ok with it?
Is it ok to put student photos online?
Is it going to take a lot of time?
Will parents actually check our blogs?
What's wrong with what we're already doing?
We wanted a way of sharing the wonderful things that students and teachers are doing every day at our school with parents, and blogging seemed like the perfect fit.
It wasn't necessarily an easy sell to our staff, but they asked the right questions:
How would a class blog help student learning?
Would the parents be ok with it?
Is it ok to put student photos online?
Is it going to take a lot of time?
Will parents actually check our blogs?
What's wrong with what we're already doing?
Getting Started
cc licensed by .robbie: http://flickr.com/photos/rtv/80080055/
Thankfully, we had enough support from administrators and teachers to undertake a trial, involving every infant teacher.
We worked with our communications department to develop a header which teachers could customize and include a photo of the class. We wanted our blogs to be like our classrooms - having similar elements, but each with its own distinct flavour which reflects the teachers and students in it. Being able to personalize their blogs was important for teachers.
Before we launched our blogs, we conducted workshops with teachers where we took them through the set up process together. We created some blog posts to accompany our workshops, in case teachers wanted to revisit them.
Our first post was literally the nuts & bolts of how to use the template. We followed up with a post on how to get iPhoto to talk nicely with Picasa, and how to add a Picasa slideshow to their blogs.
We worked with our communications department to develop a header which teachers could customize and include a photo of the class. We wanted our blogs to be like our classrooms - having similar elements, but each with its own distinct flavour which reflects the teachers and students in it. Being able to personalize their blogs was important for teachers.
Before we launched our blogs, we conducted workshops with teachers where we took them through the set up process together. We created some blog posts to accompany our workshops, in case teachers wanted to revisit them.
Our first post was literally the nuts & bolts of how to use the template. We followed up with a post on how to get iPhoto to talk nicely with Picasa, and how to add a Picasa slideshow to their blogs.
Involving Parents
Once the blogs were live, we turned to a workshop for parents. Most of their concerns were to do with being public online, which we addressed at the workshop, and followed up with a blog post on publishing on the web.
Teachers were getting more enthusiastic about their blogging by this stage, so Louise took them through a workshop on Blinging your Blog to add some extra features.
Where we are at now, is that that class blogs are ticking over nicely. We have keen teachers, involved parents and engaged students.
Teachers were getting more enthusiastic about their blogging by this stage, so Louise took them through a workshop on Blinging your Blog to add some extra features.
Where we are at now, is that that class blogs are ticking over nicely. We have keen teachers, involved parents and engaged students.
Top Tips
- Encourage personalization.
- Involve students - it's a great way of showing what they are capable of achieving.
- Keep blog posts short, sharp & regular - that way readers will keep coming back for more.
- Show parents how to subscribe by email - have them sign up on Meet the Teacher day (or whenever possible!)
- Add widgets such as ClustrMaps and Shelfari to give a more visual experience
- A class blog is a great start to a child's digital footprint. It helps them take steps in a supportive, moderated environment.
- Don't be afraid!
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