> I'm new to Blogmeister and would like to know how teachers are using
> the blog in their classrooms. Do you post a question or topic? Do
> you use a computer lab? Are students asked to respond from home? What
> has worked for you? What didn't work? I'll be doing a workshop for
> the middle school teachers at my school and would like to suggest
> tried and true lessons.
> Thanks,
> Jenni

Hi Jenni,
I've only been doing this for a little over a month, with third graders, but
here's how we do things. I've tried to post a message, say one a week, with
enough info for my kids to know what they are to write about that week, and
enough info so the public, family, friends, whoever tunes in - knows what to
expect. Then in class, where I have lots of computers, I give them time to
write. What's worked best is two writing periods of 20-25 minutes, where
kids write in Word (save from one day to the next), and then post
(copy/paste) on the third day. This gives enough time for thoughts and ideas
to spread around and evolve, writing to improve, get good enough for the
public, etc. My early finishers are recruited as editors and consultants for
kids who need more help to polish their writing. It's not real clean, it's
often chaotic, but we do muddle through. Questions I've asked:
- a welcome message
- what should people be thankful for
- Pretend you are a turkey. How will you escape being served for
Thanksgiving dinner?
- Besides presents, what things do you look forward to the most in December?

Several of my kids post from home - sending in new articles or commenting on
classmate blogs. These are usually the kids who want to write about
something else, all on their own. For instance, there are a bunch of poems
coming. Some have been writing poems in their reading class (not with me),
and I think some have been motivated by reading poetry of other blogmeister
classrooms (check out Pam Lewis' third grade class in Colorado right now:
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=5419)

Good luck! - Mark

http://epnweb.org/blogmeister/blog.php?blogger_id=5655

Mark Ahlness
mahlness@...
http://ahlness.com
http://roomtwelve.com