C4K 10 - Part 1

Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog

I'll begin by saying Mrs. Yollis' blog definitely helped me out at the beginning of the semester. I was brand new to blogging and the "How To" videos and posts made it very easy for me. In one particular video, Mrs. Yollis involved her students by having them explain how to write a quality comment. There are actually several parts to it. As a result of following those tips, I've managed to get a couple of conversations going. :)

Mrs. Yollis and her students love to blog about what they're learning. In order to encourage family members to get involved in the online community, Mrs. Yollis declared the month of November Family Blogging Month. Students invited their family and friends to leave comments on the blog. This is a great way to stay connected with what the kids are learning in class.

Mrs. Yollis also created a Wiki as a resource for teachers interested in starting a blog. In addition to some of the videos found on her classroom blog, you can also find information on why you should have a class blog, what students write about, and things to consider when blogging. Mrs. Yollis also shares a lot of links to other classrooms that blog as well. She says it's very valuable to find like-minded teachers to share and collaborate with. Mrs. Yollis offers a lot of insight in this wiki space.

I checked out the ClustrMap for Mrs. Yollis' class blog, as well as EDM 310's. At the moment, Mrs. Yollis' class blog has been visited 24,371 more times than EDM 310's. WOW! I read on the wiki space that her students actually learn about geography by tracking their visitors and sharing comments with them. Skyping with them also "brings geography to life." Recently the class Skyped with some students in Australia. What a great way to learn firsthand about each other and the countries they come from.

One thing that caught my attention was Mrs. Yollis' 365 Project. Each day a different picture is posted with a little caption or some background information. This blog has so many great and interesting pictures. Each post generates a lot of comments and reactions. I'm trying to figure out where the pictures come from (Mrs. Yollis, her students, subscribers, etc.). I may end up asking if I can't figure it out on my own. But I think this is something I would like to do for my own enjoyment.