Approving blogs for publication can be a tedious process. Some teachers will use the approval feature( such as the one in Classblogmeister) to ensure that their students do not inadvertently have something published that discloses personal information about them, their families, or their classmates. I believe that was the original intent of the approval process being enabled.
I worked with a teacher in our district who used the approval tool for a different reason. He wanted to review the content in much the same way that he would review any other piece of writing done by his students. His commitment to rapidly reviewing his student blogs meant that when a student checked in the following day or blogging period, if their blog was not up for public review, then there was something that needed further editing. This lead to more collaboration with peers or with the teacher to review the work to get it to a stage that it was ready for the outside world.
I thought that was a pretty good use of the review / approval tool, but it does rely on the teacher being as committed to the student blog as the student.
This link is a tutorial for setting up a Classblogmeister blog for a class.
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3 comments:
that is indeed a good strategy. It stimulates group work and collaboration.
And using ICT in the classroom does not decrease the amount of time teachers dedicate to their students and work, but it does increase the value of their practice. Because - let's face it - teachers who aren't engaged, will find it hard to engage students.
The web hasn't made teachers' life easier in the sense of workload, but it can make their approach become more meaningful for all the parties involved. And let's admit it: a teacher that uses the web in his/her classes is a cool teacher! What can I say ...the kids like it! :-)
Bob, I have just spent some time on the opencontent wiki - what a valuable resource! thanks for sharing.
I think your colleague's approach is especially valuable when students are first learning about blogs and posting to the world audience. A great opportunity to provide additional information on being safe in cyberspace.
I think it would be essential that the teacher approve any blog content written by her/his student, if the blog is sanctioned/required by the teacher. The teacher is, after all, responsible for what the student produces, right?
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