A while back, I did a posting on What Is A Blog. That was followed up by Where Is That Blog. I have been addressing the idea from the point of view of going out to look at OTHER people’s blogs. But what about YOUR point of view? Should YOU have a blog of your own? The answer rests solely with you.
There are a couple of big blog questions to ask yourself. First, and foremost, is what is your purpose for doing a blog? The reasons are as numerous as there are blogs. The reason for THIS blog, for example, is to provide information about learning online from several people’s perspectives. Our goal is to be a resource to those that are considering it, while at the same time being a sounding board for people that are in the midst of it. While I am seeing the results of that first goal, (I feel that there have been several great postings from Henry and Lauren), I am still looking forward to the blog becoming more interactive with people responding to the postings. When I was teaching a 2nd Grade class in the computer lab, I used a blog as a way for students to post their writings in response to questions about Native American Indians. In my original post, I included links for them to go do their research and come back with the answers. I had them create pictures in KidPix, saved them to a shared drive, and I went in and edited posts to include their pictures. It was a great experience. I encouraged them to include questions in their responses so that others would respond to them. I am hoping to do something similar to that with my current 5th Grade class. The common thread here, though, is that it should be a purpose that is not static. If you just want to give information and not get responses, create a simple Web Page, not a Blog.
There are varying degrees of difficulty in creating a blog of your own. At the most basic level is to use a site like Blogger. It is very intuitive and easy to use. It is a great place to start. I have not used Thoughts.com, but it is free, which makes it worth checking out. This site is created using WordPress. It is probably the most complex way to go, but the management of it once it is set up makes it well worth it. There are a couple of ways to go with WordPress. You can sign up for a free blog at Wordpress.Com. If you already have your own website and place to host it, you can download the WordPress software and set it up yourself at Wordpress.Org. I have used WordPress for my actual website for my students for a couple of years now (MisterMeeker.com). I love being able to handle all of my postings and maintenance from any computer with Internet access.
Whichever way you go, make it fun. Make it informative. Make it interactive.
If you use a blogging site that I have not mentioned and would like to recommend it others, or if you have questions about getting started, please post it here so that we can get everyone out there talking…about whatever you want.
