Blog Critiquing

The first blog I visited is called The Great Adventure. The first thing I noticed  is that Cherie Blessing, the blog creator, actually keeps her blog up to date! I think this is one of the most important things about blogging.  If a blog has lots of time between posts, of if the posting is random and sporadic, I think viewers will tend to lose interest, especially kids.

I like the simplicity of the blog and find it easy to maneuver around in it.  Cherie uses lots of photos and videos, which make it easier and more interesting to read.  I think the use of photos of students will motivate students as they enjoy being a star!  The photos also document activities and can remind students what was done and also create possible future writing activities.

Another thing I like is that she has allowed students to create their own blogs and has the links to them right at the top of her blog.  This shows that she values them very highly and wants everyone to visit them.  I think having students create a blog can be an excellent way to encourage good writing and thinking as everyone in the class will go and read the posts and view any photos or other forms of media.

All in all, I like this blog.   I think I would like to see something a little more interactive with built-in assignements.  Cherie has some of that, but I think I would like more in mine.

School is Cool     

The next blog I visited is called School is Cool.  This blog is excellent.  I liked everything about this one, except for how overwhelming it is for me to think about all of the work she has put into this and continues to put in to maintain it.  I particularly like all of the educational links she has for students, parents and other teachers. 

The author, Mrs. White lets me see how I can put my entire curriculum on a blog and use it as a focal point for the school year.  This will help me change the way I teach by allowing me to use the technology we have in our building to make learning more interesting and challenging.  I can also see how this will allow parents to be as involved as they wish to be.  She has put a lot of interesting sidebar gadgets on the blog, which makes it more interesting.  This blog is a wealth of information and links!

Mrs. White allows anyone to come in and view all of the information contained in her blog, which includes lots of photos of children and their work.  I am a little uncomfortable allowing such free access, as the location of the school as well as names are all plainly visible.  I think I would keep my classroom blog a little more controlled as far as who may view it.

I just finished perusing Mr. Toft's blog called Mr. Toft.ca. I looked around this blog to see what the main point of the blog is and I believe one of the main purposes of the blog is to involve the students in the use of technology and helping stimulate personal academic involvement by using cool technology.  I really enjoyed the TV episodes.  These look really good!  The students did the work on the program and it looks like they are having a lot of fun while learning some great stuff.

Video can lend such a great hand to motivating kids.  Most kids love the camera and then watching themselves and getting a good laugh.  I can see how a monthly TV program like this can focus learning and activities and make them memorable. Time is a huge requirement as the programs have to be planned, scripted, filmed edited and then polished into a final product.  This can be very time consuming!  However, if academic achievement goes up, it is a good thing.

I am going to continue to explore this site and test out the various technologies Mr. Toft is using to see if fourth graders can handle it, and if I can handle it!

Next, I went to Mr. Rhodus' Classroom Blog.   I  found this one to be simpler than the others I visited.  There weren't as many links to other sites, but I'm not sure I missed them.  Mr. Rhodus does cool things on this site that the students enjoy.  I like his slideshows that commemorate important school functions and also how he gives assignments like: comment on this and on two other student's comments.  His school-related links seem to be mostly functional and not stimulating.  I like having the lists of materials, spelling lists, rubrics, etc., available for both students and parents.

However, there doesn't seem to be any real academic use on this blog.  I don't see much in the way of student interaction areas.  It seems to me that a blog like this could go to another level and include continually updated information on the academic areas so both parents and students can know what is going on in the classroom and what is expected.  I must admit that I find this blog to be a bit stodgy and boring.  Looking through the blogs at the Edublogger is very helpful in finding out what kinds of things I think are important to have in my blog.


26 Bay Bloggers is the last blog I visited today and I must say, I was initially unimpressed.  The white background and all the business on the sidebars made this blog difficult for me to wander around.  It seems like it needs more distinction for each section so visitors know what they are looking at.  The Blog Visitors gadget is full of HTML and looks way too busy and cluttered.  Maybe the teacher in charge hasn't been on in a while to "clean things up." 

On the other hand, there is a lot to like about this blog.  It is full of  interesting student-made videos, which look complicated and challenging.  I like the freedom the teacher gives the students for their contribtions.  Another of the things I like, is the Voki Avatars.  I think students would love to create these.  However, the down side is that you have to pay at the web site to have the class create them.  All in all this is a decent blog.  It can be hard to look at, but if you dig, you will find lots of creative and student-led initiatives.