Online Assignment - Educational Blog

1. ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC:EDUCATIONAL BLOG
ASWATHY V DEV
B.ED ENGLISH
165/14376006
NEW B.ED COLLEGE
NELLIMOODU

2. INTRODUCTION
“Blog” is an abbreviated version of weblog which is a term used to describe
websites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information .A blog features diary-type
commentary and links to articles on other websites, usually presented as a list of entries in
reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on
one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects. Many blogs focus on a particular topic,
such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology, some are more eclectic ,
presenting links to all types of other sites and others are more like personal journals
.presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts. An Edublog is a blog created for
educational purposes. Edublogs archive and support student and teacher learning by
facilitating reflection, questioning by self and others, collaboration and by providing
contexts for engaging in higher-order thinking.
DATA COLLECTION
A blog (a truncation of the expression weblog) is a discussion or informational
site published on the world wide web and consisting of discrete entries (posts) typically
displays in reverse chronological order until 2009 blogs were usually the work of a single
individual ,occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject more recently
multi-author blogs (MABs) have developed with posts written by large numbers of authors
and professionally edited .MABS from news papers, other media outlets universities, think
tanks, advocacy groups and similar ,institution account for an increasing quantity of blogs
traffic .The rise of twitter and other ‘ microblogging system s help integrate MABS and
single author blogs into social new streams,
A majority are interactive , allowing visitors to leave comments and even message
each other via GUI widgets on the blogs, and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them
from other static websites. In that sense, blogging can be seen as a form of social
networking services .Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs
,but also build their social relations with their readers and other bloggers. However, there
are high-readership blogs which do not allow comments such as Daring Fireball.
Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject ,other functions as more
personal online diaries , other functions as more personal online brand advertising of a

3. particular individual or company .A typical blog combines text ,images and links to other
blogs, web pages and other media related to this topic. The ability of readers to leave
comments in an interactive format is an important contribution to the popularity of many
blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focuses on art (art
blogs),photographs(photo blogs),videos(video blogs or “vlogs”),music(MP3 blogs) and
audio (podcasts).Micro blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts .In
education ,blogs can be used as an instructional resources .these blogs are referred to as edu
blogs.
Web logs have existed for close to two decades. However, it was not until the
second half of the 1990 s that the weblogs began to grow in popularity. In 1999, there were
23 known weblogs, and pit as first free build your own weblog tool was launched. An early
recorded use of the term ”edublog” can be traced to a web ring called edublog web ring,
founded on January 30,1992.in 2004, ,there was an estimated 3 million blogs and as of July
2011,there are an estimated 164 million blogs.
There are several uses of edublogs, some bloggers use their blogs as a journal or a
knowledge log to gather relevant information and ideas, and communicate with other
people. Some teachers use blogs to keep in contact with students parents. Some bloggers
use their blogs to record their own personal life and express emotions and feelings. Some
instructors use blogs as an instructional and assessment tool and can be used as a task
management tool.
There are many teacher related blogs on the internet where teacher can share information
with one on another. Teacher familiarizes themselves with edublogs before implementing
them with their students. Edublogs can be used as instructional resources, in which teachers
can post tips, explanations or samples to help students learning. The use of blogs in the
class room allows both the teacher and student the ability to edit and add content at any
time. Blogs increase exposure to other students from around country or worldwide, while
improving writing and communication skills. Teachers and parents can also use the blogs in
order to communicate with one another.
The use of blogs in education gives students a global perspective. Teachers
and students from different states, countries and continents are able to collaborate on
different projects and ideas. The use of blogs in the classroom engages children in learning
and using technological literacy that will help them in adulthood. There are many blogs that

4. teachers can use in the classroom with their students, there is also a multitude of blogs that
teachers can use for their own professional development.
Fortunately for teachers, blogs are surprisingly easy to use .they require minimum
technical knowledge and are quickly and easily created and maintained. Unlike many
traditional websites, they are flexible in design and changed relatively easily .best of all;
students will find them convenient and accessible via home or library computers. In
addition to providing teachers with an excellent tool for communicating with students, there
are numerous educational benefits of blogs. Blogs are
.highly motivating to students especially those who otherwise might not become
participants in classroom.
.excellent opportunities for students to read and write.
.effective forums for collaboration and discussion.
.powerful tools to enable scaffold learning or mentoring over.
As an educational tool, blogs may be integrated in a multifaceted
manner to accommodate all learners. Blogs can serve at least four basic functions.
A) Classroom management.
Can blogs can serve as a portal to faster a community of learners. As they are easy
to create and update effectively, they can be used to inform students of class requirements,
post handouts, notices and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board.
B) Collaboration
Blogs provide a space where teachers and students can work to further
develop writing or other skills with the advantage of instant audience. Teachers can offer
instructional tips and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make
online mentoring possible. Students can also participate in co-operative learning activities
that require them to relay research findings, ideas or suggestions.

5. c) Discussions
A class blog opens the opportunity for students to discuss topics outside the classroom
.with a blog; every person has an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions.
Have time to reactive to one another and reflective. Teachers can also bring together a
group of knowledgeable individuals for a given unit of study for students to network and
conference with on a blog.
d)Student portfolios
Blog present, organize and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older are
archived, developing skills and progress may analyzed more conveniently .Additionally, as
students realize their effort will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce
better writing. Teachers and peers may conference with a student individually on a
developing work and expert or peer mentoring advice can be easily kept for future
references.
Blogs are dynamic .they can be updated at any time with corrections and the latest updates.
It’s a two way communication tool. The readers can able to add comments to individual
posts. Anyone can read the content on the blog. It is a searchable in search engines .there is
no permanent deletion. All of past content is still viewable.

6. CONCLUSION
As the internet become increasingly pervasive and persistent influence in people’s lives,
the phenomenon of the blog stands out as a fine example of the way in which the web
enables individual participation in the market place of ideas .Teachers have picked up on
the creative use of this internet technology and put the blog to work in the class room. The
education blog can be a powerful and effective technology tool for students and teachers
alike. The education blog can easily create and manage student and teacher blogs, quickly
customize and include videos .Blogging has become such a mania that a new blog is being
created every second of every minutes of every hour of every day. The blogs are differing
not only in their type of content but also in the way that content is delivered or written. The
collective community of all blogs is known as blogosphere.
REFERENCES
http://:wikibooks.org
http://:en.wikipdia.org
http://: www.shoutmeloud.com
http://:www.digitaldiamensions4u.com
http://: www.codex.wordpress.org