Group+One

=**What is a BLOG?**= Wikipedia defines a blog as, "A **weblog** (usually shortened to **blog**, but occasionally spelled web log or weblog) is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles, most often in reverse chronological order." Click here to view an introduction to blogs from Common Craft hosted on You Tube.

=Uses of Blogs in the Classroom= Blogs are websites in which users post their thoughts, writings, images, widgets, videos, and whatever else they would like to share with a global audience. Then, other users can view and comment on what the author posts. For educational purposes they can be used for:
 * writing - ANY aspect
 * character development
 * journaling
 * creative writing
 * current events
 * class updates/newsletter

=Ease of Using Blogs= The ease of use is dependent on the site on which to host your blog. The five listed below are fairly easy to learn and navigate after taking some time to view the tutorials and set up your blog. The sites come complete with many templates and widgets to choose from, making it very easy to customize the look and feel of your blog.

=**Popular Blog Sites**= [|Edu Blogs] - "Blogging for teachers and students, made easy..." [|Class Blogmeister] - Blogging engine created specifically for classroom use (Created by David Warlick) [|21 Classes] - Host and manage blogs for your student and use a Class Homepage to communicate with students [|Word Press] [|Blogspot]

=**Benefits of Blogging in the Classroom**=
 * Easy way for students to share their thoughts on different issues and topics
 * Promotes student collaboration with the teacher and other students
 * Students can hyperlink articles to their blog, which will demonstrate inter connectivity and higher level thinking skills
 * Student ownership of work
 * Easy for students to get diverse opinions and thoughts
 * [|Click Here] for a brief video "Why Blogging" hosted on Youtube.

= = =Blogs In Depth= Provides additional information about how you can use blogs in the classroom.