This is my final assignment for the E-learning and Digital Cultures course organized by the University of Edinburgh on www.coursera.org in February 2013. The assignment consists of two files. The first file includes a PowerPoint presentation dedicated to the use of blogs and blogging activities in the system of teaching English as a second/foreign language. The second file contains some theoretical materials related to the use of blogs in English language teaching, as well as my meditations and reflections on the use of blogging activities in my actual teaching practice. So both files are related to the same topic - the use of blogs as a form of online writing in the system of teaching English as a second/foreign language. So these materials refer to some extent to several important and up-to-date aspects discussed in the given course as "Communication technologies", "Open (and Opening) Education" and "The Meanings of Learning".

1. Blogs in English Language
Teaching

2. Online Writing for Students
and Teachers
Use of Blogs at English Language
Lessons
E-learning and Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course
(EDCMOOC), University of Edinburgh
Coursera.org
Olga Muranova (Saint-Petersburg, Russia)
February 2013

3. What Does the Word ‘Blog’ Mean?
• a frequently updated website that often
resembles an online journal;
• enables people to publish their writing
onto a website and allows a wider
audience to interact with it if the writer
wishes it.

4. Types of blogs:
• The Tutor Blog (run by teachers);
• The Class Blog (shared between
students and their teacher);
• The Learner Blog (individual for every
student);
• The Photoblog (implies using photos and
pictures).

5. LiveJournal ( www.livejournal.com )

6. Examples of the Activities Based
on Using Blogs
• writing student • freewriting activities;
comments on the • role-plays;
topic discussed; • making dialogues;
• reacting to the • whole-class and
comments of other group discussions;
students or blog
• creating student e-
writers;
portfolios;
• language exercises;
• organizing school
links projects.

7. The Most Common Topics for
Student Blog Discussions
• Traveling and trips;
• Students’ favorite musical band and
singers;
• Different films and TV programs;
• Students’ favorite personages of some
popular books and films.

8. Other Popular Topics of Student
Blogs
• Students’ hobbies;
• Students’ favorite football or some other
sport teams;
• Ways of spending holidays;
• Participation in different university events
(including student KVN, sport
competitions, etc.);
• National celebrations.

9. Some Possible Criteria for
Assessing Student Blogs
• blog posts on the whole;
• participation in different preparatory and
post-writing language and communicative
tasks;
• writing commentaries on others’ blogs;
• replying to the blogs of some other
students;
• managing blogs, etc.

10. Advantages of Using Blogs in ELT
• an effective means of developing • a good way of finding pen-
student writing, reading and friends all over the world;
partially speaking or listening • a useful tool applied for
skills; creating student e-portfolios;
• improving student knowledge of • a productive means of the
grammar and vocabulary; direct and indirect assessment
• developing student creative of student progress;
critical or logical thinking and • a good base for organizing
imagination; school links projects, etc.;
• enlarging student cultural • possibility to use blogs for
outlook; home task;
• a free tool for introducing a wide • developing student IT and
spectrum of video, audio, digital skills;
pictures, texts, PowerPoint • require only basic access to
presentations, etc. the Internet and a minimum of
technical know-how.

11. Disadvantages of Using Blogs in
ELT
• involving and motivating • necessity to spend the
students for creating their teacher’s precious time
own and reacting to on preparing students to
others’ blogs can be time- writing their own blogs,
consuming; providing them with good
• difficult to use blogs with initial examples of blog
elementary and pre- posts and reading or
intermediate students; reacting to students’
• necessity to find only posts;
appropriate blogs which • possibility of cyber-bulling
won’t “spoil” or distract attacks;
students’ attention; • can be not well-applicable
for reserved and timid
students.

12. Popular Sites for Setting New Blogs
• Blogger http://www.blogger.com
(easy to use blogging tool that allows users
to create a blog in three steps);
• Edublogs http://edublogs.org/
(educational focused blogging tool to create
personal and class blogs);
• 21 classes http://www.21classes.com/
(tool to create class blogs with privacy
features).

13. Blogs Related to English Language
Teaching or Education on the
Wholeday -
• Larry Ferlazzo's websites of the
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/ ;
• Madness in the Method -
http://mrscaldwell0.edublogs.org/ ;
• Teaching Journal - http://joychou.blogspot.com/ ;
• Grammar Guy - http://azargrammar.com/grammarGuy/ ;
• Learning technology teacher development blog -
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/ ;
• Mr C’s Class Blog - http://mrcsclassblog.blogspot.com/ ;
• Daily English activities -
http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/ ;
• British Council Italy - http://romelfblog.blogspot.com/ ;
• Don Ledingham’s Learning Blog -
http://edubuzz.org/blogs/donsblog/ .

14. Thank you for attention!