Welcome to Kids Like Blogs! This is Jon Schwartz. I set up this site to tell you about the interesting work my elementary students and I are doing with blogs. These student blogs are where teaching, classroom technology, computers, creativity, statistics, art, public relations, geography, graphic design, and the internet meet. If managed properly and carefully, they provide a virtual workbench that students can use to find their creative muse and learn about the technological world they are inheriting.
The blog format has enabled my students to create organized online portfolios of work that foster pride, enthusiasm and a sense of ownership and empowerment. They've revolutionized my classroom and the work habits of my students, and have increased meaningful communication between the parents, students, and myself.
The kids anonymously publish their writing and art and share it online with an authentic audience. They analyze demographic information about their readers, including how many viewers they receive daily and what country their readers live in. As soon as the student publishes a new article, I get an instant email on my mobile device, enabling me to review and moderate the work. The parents can also get this instant email.
I ensure the post is appropriate and can then add encouraging comments to the student's blogs within minutes. Other readers (including other students in my class) can submit comments too, but they won't show up on the blog or be seen by the author until the the comment has been deemed appropriate.
I hope you enjoy reading about our work. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Jon Schwartz, Teacher
