Blogging in Scotland
This morning I had the pleasure of reading an educational blog created by Andy Watson in Aberdeen, Scotland. (http://andywatson.edublogs.org. Also see link in the Blogroll.) It seems Mr. Watson has been instrumental in getting their first student-created blogs online, and I took a moment to read a few of those. The students are using their blogs to showcase their literary creativity. These are middle-school students who have written some first-rate poetry, and I must say, it was a pleasure to read.
Reading Andy’s and the students’ blogs has given me some food for thought. Isn’t this a good way to encourage students to write for an audience, and would peer-editing through Comments be a workable idea? Everyone I’ve taught blogging to so far has commented on the interactivity factor of a blog as opposed to the more static nature of a web page. I’m pretty sure the excitement of blogging wouldn’t be lost on the students, especially when the comments come pouring in. Now I’ve got to investigate just how to moderate those comments to keep a few bad apples from spoiling the barrel. Stay tuned!
May 1st, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Thanks for the kind comments on our students’ work.
Just to let you know that you’ll have no problems with moderation. If you use edublogs, you can set up OPTIONS- DISCUSSION -
E-mail me whenever:
* Anyone posts a comment
* A comment is held for moderation
Before a comment appears:
* An administrator must approve the comment (regardless of any matches below)
* Comment author must fill out name and e-mail
* Comment author must have a previously approved comment
Hope this helps.
May 1st, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Have you seen Sandaig Primary School’s blogs?
You can find them at http://www.sandaigprimary.co.uk/pivot/index.php
John has been blogging with children for a few years and his work has inspired many teachers to begin blogging with children.