- Use only your first name and last initial in your blog.
- Make sure you have permission to use any images you share, including your background or header for your posts. DO NOT just take an image from a Google search. Use your own photos or try Creative Commons or Pixabay.
- Come up with some kind of catchy title and then stick with it! Use Part 1, Part 2, etc. It will be easier for others to track your blogs though our KidBlog link and something more interesting than "My Project" is going to attract more attention.
- Your blog, including the avatar you choose, represents you, our band, our school, our district, our county, our state, and even our country!
- Writing for a blog is a little less formal than an essay for class, but your writing needs to be something you're comfortable sharing beyond those who know you. You should still use complete sentences, punctuation, etc.
- Posts don't need to be a full five paragraph essay, but just a couple of sentences is not enough either. Give details. Be specific.
- Link back to previous blogs to help others track your journey.
- Your blog should reflect on your process, share new things you've learned, and request feedback from your reader.
- Invite your reader to be part of a conversation! Ask questions, seek advice, etc. Getting comments is a great way to learn from others and can be a lot of fun!
- It doesn't just have to be writing! Include pictures of your project, links to sites you're using, screenshots, etc.
- Posts do not have to be very long, but do need to have some substance.
- You should be doing a minimum of one post per week through the end of our project.
To those experienced bloggers and/or Genius Hour-ers, do you have some other tips you'd include for my students? Please leave some feedback and say Hi to my students in the comments!
Hello music students, and welcome to the wild and wonderful world of #GeniusHour & blogging!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful list of tips, and I wish I had used something similar with my students this year. I ended up addressing many of these reactively instead of proactively (whoops).
Are you having students do any kind of structured commenting on each others' posts?
We didn't have any required commenting last year, but looking through yours, I think I need to include that. Did you have any specific guidelines?
DeleteWhen we started, I encouraged them to share one positive ("Something I liked is...") and one question ("I was wondering..."). That seemed to work well for soliciting feedback in a pretty safe way.
DeleteI did moderate comments heavily at first, but after they practiced a couple of times, I felt a lot more comfortable with letting them go for it!
Thank you for all the tips, Amy! One way I do project check-ins with my students is to have them answer: where we were, where we are, and where we are going. This allows them to reflect on their progress, and plan for the next big step in the project. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I borrowed that when talking about a student's post with them yesterday. I will definitely revisit it when they start doing their follow up posts next week.
DeleteThis is a solid list of fundamentals, Amy. I remember visiting the first iteration of your students' blogs *a year ago,* and I can clearly see in these bullets some of the insights that you and they learned from that inaugural experience. One of my not-a-secret blogging secrets is that I reread my blog drafts aloud to see how they sound. (This sometimes causes my wife to shout from the next room, "Are you talking to me?") In my experience, hearing my writing is a key move to smooth out many rough drafting edges.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brian! Improving on last year's blogging was a big goal and I appreciate the feedback as you were probably more familiar with some of their blogs than I was! Reading out loud is a great way to build on drafts too. I'll remind them of that one next week.
DeleteExcellent list!!! I especially like the point that blogging is less formal than an essay, but you still want to produce good work. My biggest blogging tip is #JustBeYou. Let your personality come out. You are one of a kind and the world needs to experience you.
ReplyDeleteHappy blogging,
Mariyn . . .
Thanks! Students were pretty excited by that point. When they realized this wasn't a five paragraph essay every time they write, their blogging anxiety really dropped.
DeleteWriting quality comments for other bloggers is also really important. The feedback is great for the blogger and the commenter grows as a blogger by reading and commenting on posts. A great blog is the starting point for a conversation. Try including a question or a call to action to get the comment conversation started. #sunchatbloggers
ReplyDeleteGood point. I wasn't very clear about that in my bullet points and will probably edit the post to include that. Thanks!
DeleteThis is a great idea to use with students, and replace the tired journals! Some of the best advice I ever got when I started blogging was to write with a primary audience of one- write for yourself as a means of reflection. And then if someone else can benefit from it, then excellent. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I try to follow that when blogging, but didn't remember to share that with them. I'll add that point to our discussions as they work on follow up posts. Thanks!
DeleteGreat list of tips, Amy. I'll be sharing this with teachers who are planning to have their students blog next year. I would definitely include a "commenting" component. Comments are motivating to bloggers and the feedback can help them grow.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to edit the post to include something about comments. That's a great point and half the fun of writing is getting the feedback from others to help you improve! Thanks!
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