How to set up and use Kidblog.org for classroom blogging.

1. Blogging In The Meredith
Martin
Classroom
@geekyteach

2. What Are Blogs?
• A personal website
• Contains journal-like entries
• Entries can be commented on by others,
leading to discussion
• Updated often

3. Example
teachertech.techforteachers.com

4. Why Not Just A Website?
Image From: http://langwitches.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/blog-vs-static-site.jpg

5. Getting Started With Blogs
• Two Way Communication - Teacher
posts, students comment
• Classroom Communication - Students
post, teacher and classmates comment
• Global Communication - Students and
teacher post, people outside the
classroom can comment

6. Teach Proper Commenting Skills
• A good way to practice is to hang a few
paper blogs around the room and have
students comment using sticky notes.
Include examples of poor comments.
Discuss comments as a class to point
out good commenting vs. poor
commenting.

7. How Have Teachers Used Blogs?
• had daily student “bloggers”, who were in charge of
updating the classroom blog, being the Official Scribe of
the day.
• had students take (handwritten notes) summarizing the
daily learning during each subject area, to be then typed
and uploaded on Friday to the blog (younger grades).
• highlighted best work from students as it was produced.
• put students in charge of photographing
classroom/resource activities and learning taking place
during the day, the class discussed and voted on the final
images to be uploaded at the end of the day and write a
short blurb to each image.
http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/10/08/implementing-blogging-in-the-classroom/

8. • Some classroom blogs were growing beyond
homework assignment, as teachers found opportunities to amplify
the use of their virtual spaces to get kids involved and engaged in
conversation
• As commenting and posting to the classroom blog became the
routine, especially in the upper elementary grades, students were
eager to “earn” their own blogs. It was up to the teacher to set the
criteria for students to earn them (ex.5 quality posts moderated and
published on the classroom blog).
• Once having earned that promotion, students became
administrators of their own blogfolio , a combination of an online
portfolio and a learning blog. Students were able to choose their
own theme from a variety of pre-approved themes available. They
chose their own title and tagline, and wrote their About Page.
http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/10/08/implementing-blogging-in-the-classroom/

9. Why Kidblog?
• Simple, quick, and easy to set up.
• Free!
• No email addresses or personal
information required for students
• Teachers have full control over all blogs
• Teacher determines privacy level of the
blogs.

10. Setting Up: Kidblog.org

11. Setting Up
• On the Kidblog.org main page, click on
Create A Class
• Fill in your information - Display name
(username), Password, Email, & Class
Name
• Enter anti-spam code, and then create
your class!

12. Create Your Class

13. Welcome To Your Blog. That Was Easy!

14. Control Panel
• At the top right of the page, click on
Control Panel
• This takes you to your control panel,
also called a Dashboard
• From here you can change your
settings, add students and classes,
review posts and comments, and more

15. Your Control Panel

16. Multiple Classes
• You can create as many classes as you
want.
• Each class can have its own list of
students, and its own settings
• Simply click Create New Class at the
top left of your dashboard

17. Multiple Classes? No Problem!

18. View Your Classes

19. Add Students Manually

20. Adding Students
• There are several ways to add students
- Manually, and with Class Codes
• Manual addition: singly or in bulk
• Useful when adding existing students
to a new class

21. General Settings

22. Important Settings
• Title - The name of your blog
• URL - The website address of your blog
• Can be changed - preferably before students
start using the blog
• Sign Up Code - Allow students to join using
a class code instead of manually adding them
• Be sure to allow joining with a code if you use
this option

23. Make It Pretty With Themes

24. Widgets

25. Blogroll
• A Blogroll is a list of favorite websites
• Be sure to include your classroom
website if you have one
• You may also want to link to other class
blogs, or websites your students use
regularly

26. Post Settings

27. Post Settings
• Who May Read - Set the privacy level of your class
• Visitors - public to anyone with the URL
• Users in Classes - Only your class, or add other classes
• Admin/Teacher Only
• Post Approval - Require teacher approval before a student
post goes live
• Notify - notifies you when a student adds a new post for
you to approve
• Tags - keywords for posts to make it easier to search for
specific topics

28. Comment Settings

29. Comment Settings
• Who May Comment - restrict who can
and cannot comment on posts
• Comment Approval - require teacher
approval of comments
• Notify - receive notification when new
comments are ready for review and
approval

30. User Settings

31. Users Menu

32. Users Menu
• Add new users
• View users and their roles
• Change user roles
• Delete or modify users

33. Your Profile

34. Comments Menu

35. Comments Menu
• View all comments
• Filter by type or user
• Approve / Mark As Spam / Delete
Comments

36. Review Posts

37. Review Posts
• Allows you and any moderators to
view and approve posts
• Filter by type or user

38. Add A Post

39. Add A Post
• Simple to use editor - if you can use
Word, you can write a blog post!
• Add Media
• Save Drafts or Publish
• Set publication time and date
• Set visibility
• Add tags

40. View Your Blog

41. Setting Up Student Blogs

42. Student Login - Secret Code
• Easiest way to add students is with a
secret code
• Students click the red Secret Code
button
• Enter class code
• Choose display name and password

43. Student Login

44. Students Enter Class Code

46. Student Home Screen

47. Student Dashboard

48. Student Post Screen

49. Student Post Screen
• Same editor as teachers
• Fewer posting options
• If you have required
teacher/moderator review before
posting, students will only be able to
submit for review, not publish

50. Student Avatars

51. Avatars
• Students love avatars
• Library of kid-friendly avatars to
choose from
• Or take photos and upload them

52. Logging In Using Search

53. Logging In With Search
• Search for class blog by teacher email or
by URL
• Search brings up a list of matching
blogs to choose from

54. Select Your Class

55. Log In With URL
• Easiest way to log in once students
have an account
• Go directly to blog URL and click Log
In
• Students select their display name and
enter password

56. Log In With URL

57. Enter Username / Password

58. Yes, There’s An App For That!

59. Class Blog Examples
• http://theedublogger.com/check-out-
these-class-blogs/