Blogs for Educators (Week 7 Entry)

I looked at and really enjoyed exploring Susan Sedro's blog. Some of what she wrote was a bit difficult for me to understand but she added plenty of links to explain the things that she posted in further detail. She added a link to a fellow colleague's blog that I visited. This teacher was newer to bloggingm, so I could understand the things that she posted a little more easily. Some advice that I learned was to start out small and simple when introducing students to blogging. This teacher, Ms. Cofino, explained that she started her third graders off on learning about blogging safety before she ever explained what blogging is. This left the third graders and their parents very confused. She advises that if you are going to set up individual student blogs or a classroom blog to first start by reading the ABC's of blogging blook as a class together. Or assign each student a letter from the blook to read independently, then share with the class what they learned. This will help students understand what blogging is before they set up their own accounts. The next step after reading the blook is to look at a collection of student blogs together as a class. This will allow students to see the different features that some students have added to their blogs and will give them knowledge of what a blog actually looks like and how it functions. The next step in Ms. Cofino's advice would be to talk about web safety. Once students understand online safety and appropriate behavior, the next step is to actually make individual student blogs! I thought that Ms. Cofino and Susan Sedro thought this plan through quite well. Starting out small and simple is the way to go!

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2008/01/27/learning-to-blog-the-elementary-way/

http://www2.gsu.edu/~coeapd/abc/index.html

http://ssedro.blogspot.com/

Someone please help! I can't seem to figure out how to make these URL addresses links. I click on the Insert Link button, copy the URL, paste it to the blank insert link space, then click OK. It won't work though. Once I preview or publish my post the link is not there. What am I doing wrong?