Blog

= Description =

The assignment was to create a blog using blogger.com, a free online service, that correlates with our course on Blackboard. If we already had a google account we were able to sign in using our google sign-in and password, luckily I had one and it was an easy task. Once, we have logged into our blog we were to name our blog, choose a design, add a picture, add a description and add our first post which was required to be in English and translated into one other language of our choice. In addition to those requirements, we also had to incorporate 3 types of media. . The most important task was to create a space for our classmates to provide feedback, I done so by adding a page to blog that was only for EDT6020 students to use. This blog was to be incorporated into our virtual classroom for student use.

= Selection of blog =

Earth Science is the main focus of my Blackboard course and that is the name I chose for my blog. My plan for this blog is to have all of my students use this blog as a discussion forum as well as answering short answer questions from class readings. For an example, for week two of the course students were to complete a 3 day observation lab at home. Once the observation period has ended, students were required to go to the class blog and share what they observed during the 3 day observations. There is also a page that I have created within the blog that is for Earth Science course students to use for discussions and to share thoughts. To add more learning opportunities within the blog, I added a RSS feed to Dr, Karl's Great Moments in Science which provides a plethora of articles for students to read and learn more about different things going on in the science world. In addition to the RSS feed gadget, I linked Youtube to my blog where several science videos on the topic of earth science is available for my students to have visual learning opportunities along with the article feeds.

= Reflection =

This is my first time participating in this particular type of blogging. Signing up and designing my own blog was very easy using Blogger, I thought that it would be a long process and a teach yourself type of assignment. I'm content with the outcome of my blog and what I needed to accomplish. At first I thought finding an appropriate and useful feed for my blog would be difficult but it wasn't, I like the articles that are available for those who visit my blog. Being able to follow and interact other classmates blogs is a great tool and I enjoyed viewing my classmates blogs and seeing how they were using their blog to make their students learning more meaningful. Also, viewing other classmates blogs allowed us to provide feedback on what we saw and it's great because I saw some things that the creator may not have noticed and I was able to suggest changes. There were also classmates who suggested changes for my blog as well, in addition to letting me know that my blog was welcoming, colorful and well organized. Using Blogger was one of my favorite assignments of this course and I plan to incorporate the blogging experience in my own classroom.