Blogs - blogster Vs Edublog

Well it’s that time of year again, the early autumn has been crazy, but now the time has come that things are settling down, PGCE students are off to placement and I am able to start looking at and evaluating applications and software that could be used in teaching

I have blogged for a number of years, not as often as some I know, but more often than some I know, and I have always used Blogger. I like blogger; you can adjust it and modify it so that it suits your personality. It is reasonably instinctive, and before long you have a professional looking blog coming along. The only thing in my view that’s wrong is that it may not be wholly suitable if using them in education.

Yes you can make them private, so only those people that you have invited can read your blogs, in this day and age of Internet Web safety, this does tick some of the boxes - but not all. When viewing your blog, all you need do is click 'Next Blog' and a random blog is selected. Now whenever I have done this I have come screen to face with an innocent an interesting Blog, however, is this acceptable in education where you are answerable to Lea's, governors and parents for your internet habits.
There may be an answer - I have come across a service called "EduBlogs" - blogging specifically designed with education and children in mind. These Blogs are secure, EduBlog claims that their blogs are

• Safe and Reliable – Blogs can be completely private or open to the public. Since we only host education related content, Edublogs are allowed by most school filters where other blogging platforms are not

• Student Friendly – It is as simple to add to and update a blog as it is to send an email. Teachers can easily create and manage as many student blogs as needed.

Rich With Features – A few of the most popular features include discussion tools, video embedding, Facebook and Twitter integration, and calendars.

• Customizable – With over 100 different themes which allow for control of colours, images, and layout.

• Research-Based – Engage students in their learning and enhance instruction through collaboration, student portfolios, and endless classroom uses.

There are three types of EduBlog, the free version, the Pro Version ($3.33/ Month), and Campus, designed to platform whole schools / colleges/universities for their blogging needs and the cost for this last one ranges from $750 - $5500 / year.
I have looked at the blogs and must admit there are certain features that are appealing, for example those students registered against a teacher are immediately linked to the teachers blogs, there is a control via the school / teachers site and thus control over the web addressing system. It is entirely private, I viewed a number from the Edublog site, and cannot tell which version they use, but they are professional looking and interesting.



Perhaps it’s time to change