Secret Life of Bees

Book clubs can involve students and parents, or students from other communities. This blog started as a literary discussion forum on 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd -- she even joined in the discussion! Thanks to Alan November for identifying this link that I've been looking for.

Instructional Blogging Article

Stuart Glogoff published an interesting and relevant paper on the instructional applications for blogging to promote interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input.

Using RSS to Keep Up with Blogs

According to Will Richardson, "In simple terms, Weblogs (and an ever-growing number of other sites) generate a behind-the-scenes code in a language similar to HTML called XML. This code, usually referred to as a "feed" (as in "news feed,") makes it possible for readers to "subscribe" to the content that is created on a particular Weblog so they no longer have to visit the blog itself to get it. As is true with traditional syndication, the content comes to you instead of you going to get it, hence “Real Simple Syndication.”

One of the best feed aggregators that I've found is called Bloglines. According to the site description, "Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content. With Bloglines, there is no software to download or install -- simply register as a new user and you can instantly begin accessing your account any time, from any computer or mobile device."

Here's a great tutorial for using Bloglines.

Weblogs in the Classroom - Aussie Style

Thanks to David Warlick for the following site. The page is called Weblogs in the Classroom and the introduction says…

Weblogs provide a communication space that teachers can utilise with students whenever there is a curriculum need to develop writing, share ideas and reflect on work being undertaken in the classroom.

The part that caught David's attention was lit up by a conversation that is going on right now about blogging best practices. The section is called Classroom and Teacher Applications, and features uses of blogging in English instruction, Science, Health, Drama, Libraries, and general studies.

Here's a link to the site: Weblogs in the Classroom