Why
I chose this blog host?
a) All articles and comments are directed to
the teacher for approval before they go to the Internet.
b) All the students
are listed in the one space so it creates a learning community.
c) David Warlick
(who runs it) is a well respected educator who knows the issues that teachers
face and offers support through an online group.
d) The Collaboration Tool
- you can use Classblogmeister to colaborate with other classrooms all around
the room if you wish to.
NB
Before you begin looking for your blog's host be sure that your administrator
does not already have a space available for you to use.
Other
blogging hosts that I looked at or read about and you might like to consider...
Edublogs
- Many people speak
very highly of Edublogs.
It is a site that has the catch cry of "By Teachers for Teachers!' so it
has to be good :) I haven't tried it myself but it would be well worth your while
taking a look.
Wordpress
- Wordpress is free
software that you would have to get someone to install on a server for you. Often
this turns teachers off as they would then have to 'negotiate' with the systems
people to get it going. You can get a Wordpress
blog hosted free online.
Moodle
- Moodle in a Learning
Management System and it has a blogging feature that can be added on but again,
you would need to get it installed and that can be a hassle. That said, I hear
it is a fantastic tool.
They
are good but there are a few too many battles to fight to get them going... ;)
Blogger
- Blogger.com is
a nice blog hosting option. Its easy to set up, has a variety of templates, allows
comments to be moderated but does not allow student posts to be moderated. Many
people also worry about the 'Next Blog' button as it takes the user on to a random
blog that may have content innappropriate for children. I have my blog set up
on a Blogger account but unfortuanately many school systems around the world block
access to all .blogspot.com websites ie you might have a great blog but a lot
of your audience will be blocked from seeing it.
MySpace
- MySpace
is a great site with great tools and has a user base that if it was a country,
it would be the eleventh biggest in the world. Mind you, it would be a very brave
educational leader who would venture into this world for education purposes. You'd
probably have a parent or two to contend with. Not one you'd use in a school setting.
