professor claims "blogging makes teens better writers"

Despite punctuation lapses, grammar shortcuts and creative spelling, online communication invites critical thinking and better writing, says Purdue University English professor Samantha Blackmon.

"Who cares if a student, to save time, types 'u' for 'you?' I want to see them writing more and if that means breaking a few rules, that's OK."

and

The best part is when they get on the computer to write to friends. They don't view it as work or learning, but see it as fun, she says.

By routinely using a blog, a kind of cyber hangout for journaling and information gathering, young writers master sourcing and critical thinking.

"Blogging forces students to be more accountable for what they say," Blackmon says. That leads to more solidly written papers.

meeting...

we had are first meeting today. here are some of the main points:

• my main goal is that we collectively put our brains together and investigate how blogs can be used in an educational context and that each member determine if and how they can be used in their respective area
• we received a bit less money than i requested; i will work on compensation for each of you.
• we reviewed the definition of blog (site that consists of diary-like posts) most often with links and commentary. the big difference between blogs and other "personal pages" is that software makes it easy for those without technical skills to create and post to blogs. in fact, i created a blog in under 3 minutes (see mike substelny for the exact time)
• we reviewed there are potentially four uses of blogs in education: teachers can read them, teachers can create them, students can read them, students can create them. a big part of blogs is that they are useful in finding and commenting upon resources - as well as providing an opoportunity for reflection.
• you all should have received an invite to join our group blog. the process of signing up is fairly straightforward, but i can help you work through it.
• those who weren't there - we have three options: you can try to work through it on your own, we could schedule another meeting to repeat what was reviewed today, or i can stop by and talk to you individually.
• the site we will use to create our blogs is blogger
• i will get back to you regarding our next meeting - that being said - given we are investigating an electronic means of communication - my aim will be to conduct as much business as we can (discussions, etc..) thru our group blog.
• next steps: sign up and start posting to our groupl blog your thoughts, create a blog of your own and start thinking how they can be used in your classes

test with pat

here is a test

lccc's page

this is a blockquote

weblogs:the new class bulletin board?

from azcentral.com

For teachers, blogs are attractive because they require little effort to maintain, unlike more elaborate classroom Web sites, which were once heralded as a boon for teaching. Helped by templates found at sites like tblog.com and movabletype.org, teachers can build a blog or start a new topic in an existing blog by simply typing text into a box and clicking a button.

Such ease of use is the primary reason that Peter Grunwald, an education consultant, predicts that blogs will eventually become a more successful teaching tool than Web sites.

this artilce discusses their use with very young children, but much of it is relevant to us, i think.

first meeting

our first meeting will be friday, august 27th from 9:00-10:00 AM in bu203.

anyone who has tried to schedule a meeting knows the difficulty in finding a time that works for everyone. i sincerely apologize to those of you that can't make it. i expect we will be able to communicate what happened at the meeting to those that could not make it (hmmm, maybe i could post info about the meeting ....ON OUR BLOG!!!

anyhow. please enter in the comments what are and are not good days/times for future meetings and i will do my best to schedule our meetings optimally....

blogs of interest

I have tried to find an example of a blog somewhat relevant to each of your subject areas. Keep in mind these are just examples...

Distance Learning Blog
Nursing Blog
Library Blog
Public Administration Blog
Writing Blog
Social Work Blog