Today I had fun playing around with my blog and wiki. I learned how to add widgets and embed videos. I also played around with a couple different websites to create an avatar. I settled on a voki and added it to my blog. I've read a lot of different teaching articles that suggest having your students create an avatar. I think this would be a great way to get them excited about participating in online discussions. It's also a great way for them to personalize their blogs.
My 5th grade daughter started a blog at school a couple weeks ago and was so excited to show it to me. For some reason, they blocked access to the site for most of the time, only allowing the students to work on it at school. This seems like a waste of a wonderful tool. The one night she was able to work on it from home, she spent the majority of the night creating a new post and reading and commenting on others' posts. She had me proofread it (something she rarely does with regular schoolwork) as she wanted it to be perfect for everyone that may read it. I talked to her tonight about setting up her own blog from home that she can work on whenever she wants. I know she'll love creating an avatar and finding widgets and videos to put on it as well.
Students may not think to double check homework that is simply being "checked off" by a teacher, but they will more likely want to proofread their own creations that are going to be viewed by their peers and family members. Students should take pride in their work. Having a worldwide gallery is one way to achieve this.
