More ups than downs

“It

helps me reflect and challenges me and my youth work practice,” he

says. “It’s a good way to build useful relationships. At youth work

conferences people will come up and say hello, which is why it’s good

to sign your name instead of remaining anonymous.”

So goes a  quote from Ian Macdonald, a diocesan youth adviser at the Anglican Church. He started Youthblog,

which is aimed at youth workers and ministers. The objective of the

blog is to share experiences and discuss issues. He continues by

stating the following:

“People get overwhelmed with

emails, but you can mix pictures and content with a blog. There are

also a number of ways to engage with blogging. It’s about personality,

because there is a forum for a voice and it’s more dynamic.”

Young People’s Blog

is another  blog created to find out exactly what young people

think of their schools and issues such as bullying, physical education

and new technology.  It was created by the Every Child Matters

project at the Liverpool City Council. Check out the front page of this

blog. It has links to the

issues, a blog help guide of safety rules, a getting started page,

house rules, and guidelines for use.

All the comments are anonymous. They ask adults not to use the blog for

commenting. It’s very clear on the guidelines and can give educators

some ideas on wordings to explain some aspects of blogs. 

Here’s the really good part. The Liverpool City Council is so convinced about

blogging that it is even encouraging schools to incorporate it into

lessons.Wouldn’t

we love to hear some of our local organizations encouraging blog use

like this Liverpool council has? How about a school board?

The article, Internet: World of Blogs, also lists another blog, Making Music.

It is a new blog created to list ideas about how amateru music groups

could get more involved in their local communities. The article came

from Young People Now.

I like this continuing focus on the “ups” of blogs. More ideas for classroom use are brewing in my mind…….

One Response to “More ups than downs”

  1. Jesse Cravens Says:

    I just wanted to make you aware of some new blogs brewing up for the 2005-2006 school year. I am piloting a special education blog titled: findingmyvoice.org - a project that supports students as they discover their strengths and manage their needs while becoming self-determined young people who will create change in their community.

    There seems to be some similarities between the Youthblog and the future of findingmyvoice.org - our students will begin blogging next month.

    I also have been running 21stLearn.com for awhile focusing on 21st Century Learning.