Blogs automatically archive all your entries. They can be about any topic. They can be a great resource for helping students develop their writing skills. They can be open to everyone or restricted to a few. They can focus on a single topic (NH History) or many (academic subjects). They enable teachers to connect with other teachers and to communicate with parents and students. We can learn firsthand from eyewitnesses.

"People blog about politics, technology, sports, media and religion. You'll find rants, raves, memoirs and movements. If folks are discussing it at the bar, bowling alley or beauty shop, someone is blogging about it."(Bob Rankin, Internet Tourbus )

Some students and teachers are using them for more than a diary. They are using them to draw out critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. They are building online communities where they reflect and interact with others.

They are searchable. Here are some of the better known sites for seaching blogs.

Technorati.com is an indexed list of blogs. It also lists the most popular terms being blogged and has a Top 100 list.
Icerocket.com is a good resource for looking up blogs on a particular topic or by a certain author.
Google's Blog search
Blogarama - A directory of blogs.

Just like there are e-mail hosting services such as Hotmail and Yahoo, blogs have hosting sites. Some are free and others cost for either the software and/or the host site. Apple has just released iWeb, a basic website authoring program that offers drag & drop blogs, podcasts and pictures with canned templates at $99 a year.

Blogger.com - one of the largest free blogging services. Very easy to follow the step by step process. Just recently they added a "Comment Moderation" feature so that you can review all comments before posting. For detailed instructions to help you set up a blog in "Blogger" click here. (instructions are in WORD and 20 pages)
BlogMeister - A free service designed especially for schools. Allows you to set up class lists and review comments before posting. (I have a school site password) "BlogMeister is a blogging tool developed for teachers as an authentic publishing environment to promote te development of effective communication skills in students. Teachers establish a blogging account, which they can use to publish their own articles. Teachers can then set up blogging accounts for their students, in which the teacher maintains publishing control."
LearnerBlogs.org - free blog service for schools. Teachers can set up student blogs and review posts.

Develop a focus for student blogs.

Get parental permission before starting. Make sure they understand what they are, how they will be used and what protections are in place.
Letter to Parents

Make sure students understand the importance of not giving out personal information (e-mail, address, phone #, address, school).

Make sure students understand blog "netiquette".
Blogging contract

These ideas came from Julia Siporin (http://www.4j.lane.edu/~siporin/) a teacher I found searching for educational blogs used in the classroom. Another good source is an elementary teacher in Georgia, (jhhweb.rockdale.k12.ga.us).

1. Blog a sentence with many mechanical errors & have students retype the sentence correctly. (Like D.O.L. Daily Oral Language) The sentence to be corrected will serve another purpose; it will be a journal prompt; - kids being rude, etc.
2. Students blog about what they learned in science... some cool facts they are learning.
3. Have students explore a website such as Discovery.com. Then have them to blog an interesting fact about something they'd learned.
4. blog lunch/hall/dismissal problems/teasing /bullying
5. vacation plans
6. status of the class: what's your topic? Fascinating fact?
7. blog to long-term sick student
8. blog to a student who moved away
9. Explore news sites - opinions on current events
10. story/ book predictions
11. Daily Oral Language
12. ask questions to check for understanding, monitor progress on a project.
13. express opinions using 1st Person Narrative point-of-view
14. Debate sides of an argument to make blogging more interactive.
15. Lit. Circles
16. Word Wizard
17. post a vocabulary word you learned in your book
18. Create an online book review club.
19. Write a TV, movie review
20. Write an entry as a character from a book.
21. Historical characters…."My Dear Countrymen, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you both good news and bad news. We have signed the Declaration of Independence. This means we will be going to war. Tell me what you think about this. How will this effect your family? You? Your friends?" General Washington
22. "Yo Colonial Dudes & Dudettes! How do you feel about the way of King George III is taxing the colonists? Are you a Patriot or a Loyalist? I know you guys disagree about the fairness of his taxes. Do you think they're fair? Can you live with them? Will you continue to pay them? How are all of these taxes effecting you & your family? What's the scuttlebut in town?"