Student-to-student blogging questions
Students in my elementary blogging group compiled questions to ask Mr. Fisher’s class. I love the questions. I thought it might be fun to post them here and if any of you would like to tackle one of the questions yourselves it would be fun to compile those answers to share with students and others.
- What strategies do you use in blogging?
- How does blogging help you as a writer? As a reader? As a publisher?
- What are some tips on how to proofread on a blog?
- When you post how do you get the ideas to post about your topic?
- What is your favorite blog, your favorite post, and your favorite comment and please give your reasons for your choices?
- Has anyone given you tips about blogging? What would be the 3 most important tips you would give?
- What is your favorite or the most interesting thing you like about blogging?
- What makes you want to comment to a blog?
- What is the worst problem you have in blogging?
- How does blogging help you in school or anywhere?
- How has blogging gotten better since you started?
- What is your perspective on blogging? What does blogging mean to you?
- How have other people’s comments helped you in blogging?
- What are some verbs you would use to describe blogging? Some adjectives?
- What inspired you to do blogging? Do you think you will blog later?
- How do you feel when you get comments?
- What have you learned in blogging?
- How does blogging help you make friends?
- How have other people’s comments helped you in blogging?
- How did you feel when you first started blogging? Were you nervous, scared, happy? How do you feel now?
- Does blogging help you learn more in writing and language?
- What do you think of your blog?
- How has your blogging gotten better since you started?
- Is blogging a part of your life?
- How do you respond to other blogs (what sequence)?
Flick Photo - 
http://flickr.com/photos/pkeleher/
http://flickr.com/photos/pkeleher/So step right up, pick a number (more if you like) and post your answer in a comment. Thanks for giving a little time to share your thoughts and ideas with these “budding” bloggers!
March 28th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
16. As thrilled as i used to when i had a letter from someone. I admit to feeling disappointed if a post I think good receives no comments - and I love it when one I wrote ages ago suddenly attracts a new one.
18. Yes! I’d never have met you, for a start, without blogging. And I find that friends whom I don’t see all the time know everything I’ve been up to because of my blog and i can’t tell them anything new.
21. Even at my advanced age, I think my blog keeps me on my toes with the way I write and forces me to adopt a more contemporary idiom than i might otherwise have done.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
All of them great questions - for bloggers of any age! I’m going to share your post with some teachers in our district who are considering blogging with their students
I’ll take a stab at number 6: Has anyone given you tips about blogging? What would be the 3 most important tips you would give?
Lots of people have given me tips, almost all without knowing it. I watch how bloggers that I admire work and emulate the parts that fit my style and personality.
The three most important tips I would give are:
1. Be honest, both about your subject and yourself. That includes giving credit to the sources of the ideas in your posts.
2. Don’t limit yourself. If you find something that interests you, write about it.
3. Welcome comments. Talking to yourself is no fun. You want other people to join your conversation. In the same way, write comments at other people’s blogs and extend their conversations.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Chris,
You\’re right, it is great fun to find a comment on one you wrote a while back. These are great answers and I bet lots of the kids will agree. I smiled when the kids shouted with joy and squealed \”Oh look, Chris is back!\” They were anticipating your comments with sheer delight!
I think I shall take some time and browse around and just spend some time commenting today!
March 29th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Tim,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I like these 3 tips. I can’t wait to share them with the kids! All this talk about comments makes me commit to stepping up my own commenting a bit more! We need those conversations! Best to you!
April 1st, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I actually never blog, but I’m leaving a comment just to show my Ed. Tech professor I am capable!
April 1st, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Wow! What great questions!
I’d like to have a go at #10: How does blogging help you in school or anywhere?
I’m the coordinator of the Polar Science Project, http://www.polar06.yesican-projects.ca/ , and as such you would expect me to say “blogging can help you learn Science”. While this is true, it’s a very small part of the picture.
Through our blogs we brought nine scientists, (five in Antarctica and four in Toronto), into over 100 classrooms around the world! These scientists, who are experts in the aerobic development of Weddell seals, are working to apply their knowledge to the development of therapies for humans with heart and lung disease. Without our blogs these busy scientists would never have been able to share their expertise with students, and students would probably never have been able to “take part” in real scientific research. Blogging brought “experts” into classrooms.
That’s an exciting result, but it doesn’t end there. Because everyone, scientists and students alike could blog with “an equal voice”, students became experts in the areas that interested them, publishing blog articles from how to create web pages to profile their own research to how to understand the muscle sampling techniques the scientists were describing. The blogs allowed the student experts to share their knowledge with other students and the scientists.
So, the bottom line is that blogging can both help you connect with experts and share your own expertise, helping everyone learn about whatever topic you are passionate about. Very powerful, don’t you think?
April 5th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
#15 This is the first time I have ever left a comment on a blog. I have not gotten into the blogging world, just yet. I was inspired to respond to your blog, because I had to do it for a technology class that I am taking. I am curious if I am writing to students or the teacher and what grade level you are. I teach elementary students too and I would like to find a way to incorporate blogging into my classroom. Now that I am inspired, I think I will blog in the future. Who knows, maybe I will be able to answer more of your questions later. Thanks for having such great questions to share.
April 6th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
#2 Now that I am blogging I notice that I am reading blogs, websites, and even books much more carefully. I know that if something inspires me, I have a way to respond to it. Before I started my blog, if I wanted to discuss something interesting that I had read, I would have to convince someone else to read it so that I could talk to them about it. Now I know that someone on the Internet has read what I have read, and we can have blogged conversations about our reading. In my writing, I have discovered that I use my blog to explore new types of writings that I did not use as much before. I write reviews, responses, and am starting to write instructions as well. I look forward to seeing where my blog takes me.
#8 I have discovered that I post most often to blogs when the author asks questions. I will also comment on posts that make me curious and encourage me to ask questions.
#20 I just started blogging recently, and I was very nervous. I was worried that there were many people in the world who know far more than I do about any of the topics I wanted to discuss. To get over my fear and start blogging I had to define a very specific audience so that I could convince myself that I had something of value that I could say to them. I choose to write mainly to the other teachers in my schools, and narrowing my audience so much has helped me lose some of my stage fright. I think that the longer I blog, the wider my audience will become, and the less fear I will have of not being perfect in every subject. After all, I have seen my favorite bloggers make mistakes, and we are all allowed to be human.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Ciao,
sono una laureanda che sta preparando la tesi sul blog nei contesti educativi. Trovo molto interessante il tuo lavoro e mi dà tanti spunti per la mia tesi.
Anche io ho aperto un blog e devo dire che è una esperienza incredibile. Per me il blog è un modo per aprirsi e per andare “oltre “; è uno spazio per condividere pensieri con persone a migliaia e migliaia di chilometri; è uno spazio di libertà , di ricerca e di apprendimento. Un ‘apprendimento che si effettua nella vita….. nell’esperienza! Questo è il bello del blog!
Mi piacerebbe essere in contatto!
Ciao. Imma
April 14th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
I’m thinking about having my students create blogs for their June indep. writing projects. What do you think?
Thanks for these great questions!
April 19th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I think it would be a great way to start learning all the possibilities for using blogs. Go for it!
May 16th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Great blog, very instructive!
If you would like to get this out to a wider audience I would counsel you strive a press release.
There are many free press release services available and I am at all times joyful to offer any advice on writing and presentation.
Thanks
http://www.bwrnews.co.uk