Community reviews for Fanschool

It is a wonderful teaching tool because it allows students to post what they feel and it gives me piece of mind knowing that what they post is for the class only. Signing into your class can be a little difficult sometimes if you have not set up a permanent link or bookmark to it directly. But overall a big thumbs up!

I think there are so many possibilities with blogging besides just creating with the language and working on the writing skills, students can peer review and work on their reading skills as well. I like that it is so quick to start, easy for students to use, they can respond on their phones, at any time, and so it is very accessible. As a teacher, I want to promote student ownership of their learning, let them have a choice in how they show what they have learned and can do, and to be creative as well. it makes it more exciting for me to read their stories, whether they be real or imaginary, and I get to learn more about them personally as well as their needs with the content being covered. Blogging can serve so many purposes, in any level, and is something that can benefit all students, but also the teachers as well because it is another way to assess students in a manner that is more authentic. it gives students more empowerment and hopefully more engagement and motivation in their learning.

This tool is amazing, specifically for blogging, because each post must be viewed and approved by the teacher before it is able to be viewed. My 5th grade students were able to navigate the site with ease. I found that students were eager to respond to each post. I hope to use this resource again. I find it helpful for facilitating discussions.

This is an excellent teaching tool but it does require some set up and tweaking to get all of the preferences to your specifications. Students will need guidance at first as the interface is initially a bit cluttered. Same goes for the teacher interface, largely because there are some many settings and options. Don't let this discourage you, as we have had great results with Kidblog.

Overall this is a great tool to promote engagement in writing and deeper understanding of topics. One of my favorite features is the comment moderation feature, which allows the teacher to filter comments before they actually post on a student's blog. This is great for the beginning of the year, when norms and expectations are still begin established. If I could change one thing with Kidblog, I would enable template changes with the free account. There are now many services (such as Weebly and Google Sites) that provide free and highly customizable student templates, and I would like to see Kidblog follow that lead.

It can be time consuming to set up student accounts, but once it's up and running it's a great tool. I find that it encourages our students to become stronger writers. They want what they post for the "world" to see to be the best they can produce.

I love the flexibility that this tool gives the teacher. Overall I think it is the best blogging platform for schools where blogging is new and there is some skepticism about whether they should be public or more secure since the teacher has so much flexibility in privacy settings. Older students might not appreciate the title "kid," so for my high school students I will probably explore other options, but for grade 8 and under I'm comfortable recommending this as the best option to introduce blogging!

Publishing student content is an awesome way to empower students. Anytime I can send their blogs on to others, I do. Comments from people outside of their classroom and school are so empowering. Kidblog has endless potential for student writing and publishing. The teacher options for moderating posts and comments help those unsure of publishing content feel more comfortable, however, students do love to see their content published immediately. Kidblog also opens the opportunity to incorporate the importance of digital citizenship.

Professionally I use WordPress which I know some teachers use with older students. For younger students or teachers who are not tech-savvy, KidBlog has created an easy tool for all to use. There are so many options regarding student security which is great because of teacher's comfort levels with information on the Internet.

As an educator, I was looking for a way to prepare my students for the Common Core Standards that will be tested soon through computer testing and Kidblog has been that answer for my instruction. Kidblog has been an incredible authentic tool for my students to use to practice their typing skills, to learn how to manage spell check and how to revise a typed document. It takes time to set up, train the students how to use it, and time to learn the structure of the site, but it is well worth the learning time it takes. The site can be confusing at times, but the students are never afraid to figure it out. Approving the post can become time consuming for the teacher, because the teacher has to spend time reading the responses or conversations between the students, in order for posts to become approved and then public to the group. At the same time, it is rewarding because it can be a tool to assess the students’ writing and thought processes. It is the future to grading assignments! There are ways to be creative on the blog through whatever writing genre is presented to the students. From simple book clubs of analyzing books, to writing book reviews, to persuasive writing, it starts with a teacher’s post or question for the students to respond to through writing. It is endless in how it can be used in all subject areas. I highly recommend incorporating this into your classroom.