A Note from Konrad Glogowsky - Our Special Guest

Hello everyone,

First of all, I'd like to thank Carla for the invitation to be part of your online workshop. I enjoy working with educators and am very interested in how electronic environments can help educators engage in meaningful professional development. I know that participating in this workshop will be an illuminating experience.

I've been asked to contribute to this workshop by submitting a blog entry on my experiences with blogging. Those of you who have seen my 2007 Online Conference presentation on initiating and sustaining conversations in blogging communities (http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=166) know that I am very interested in the role of the teacher in the context of a blogging community. I am currently researching various approaches to engaging students as writers and creating an online environment where students see themselves as contributors and not mere pupils. My most recent blog entry addresses some of the strategies that I've been implementing in my own grade eight classroom in order to engage students as thinkers and writers. Specifically, I am interested in strategies that can help create and sustain student blogging communities as places of mutual support and empowerment for students. The entry that I've written to initiate our conversation focuses on a specific handout that I developed to help students become more reflective bloggers.

I look forward to your feedback and our conversation on blogging.

The entry can be found here:

http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2008/02/04/towards-reflective-blogtalk/

- Konrad

Week 1 - Personal Reflections

Now our course is just beginning, so let's take some time to think about our previous experiences with blogging for educational purposes, or to dream of how blogging could be used as a vehicle for professional development or for the benefit of the students enrolled in your courses.

Please share your experiences and reflections about blogging with the group. In your comment, please reflect on any or all of the following questions:

Have you ever blogged?

Have you ever blogged with your classes?

How might a blog contribute to your professional development?

What might you do with a blog in your classes?

Week 1 - In your own words

In your own words, can you explain the difference between a blog, a wiki, and a web site?

This week we are just beginning our blogging journey, so let's try to identify what a blog is! Right now you are looking at our group's blog, and you may also know that our group also has a wiki. Finally, let's look at the TESOL web site.

After looking at the blog, wiki, and web site, can you explain the difference in your own words? Especially consider how people can interact with the information presented in these various formats!

In your comment, let us know how you distinguish between a blog, a wiki, and a web site!