Students love blogging on Kidblog... even when they discover blogging is actually writing!

Submitted 8 years ago
Lindsey B.
Lindsey B.
Campbell Middle School
Campbell CA, US
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

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.

How I Use It

I use Kidblog in my classroom to extend knowledge and application on science concepts. In place of science journals, students use their blogs to express ideas and connections around our current lesson focus. They are able to generate hypothesis and critique each others' hypotheses, make real-world connections, and express how their thoughts and opinions change throughout the course of study. They truly enjoy getting their thoughts down on their blogs (even the students who proclaim they "hate writing" love blogging!). When students finish their own blog posts, they enjoy reading and commenting on their peers' blogs.