Blogs

=**What is a Blog?**= Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.

[picture of RSS logo]

**What are RSS Feeds?**
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS feeds "package' information so that a person can sucscribe to the feed and receive that information. Many blogs automatically generate RSS feeds. In order to read RSS feeds, one must have an RSS Feed Reader or an RSS Feed Aggegator.

Why use RSS?
Since RSS data is small and fast-loading, it can easily be used with services like cell phones or PDA's.
 * RSS was designed to show selected data.** Without RSS, users will have to check your site daily for new updates. This may be too time-consuming for many users. With an RSS feed (RSS is often called a News feed or RSS feed) they can check your site faster using an RSS aggregator (a site or program that gathers and sorts out RSS feeds).

[|RSS Tutorial] by Mark Nottingham, mnot@pobox.com at [|Creative Commons License] [|W3Schools tutorial on RSS]

**Examples of Blogs**

 * Kindergarten Blog [|Kindergarten Classroom Blog]
 * WebLogg-Ed http://www.weblogg-ed.com/
 * TechLearning.com http://www.techlearning.com/
 * Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education http://paulhami.edublogs.org/
 * Cool Cat Teacher Blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/
 * Edublog Insights http://anne.teachesme.com/
 * Ed Tech Solutions - Teaching Every Student http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/
 * AT Technet http://blog.vcu.edu/ttac/
 * American Heritage blogpage http://www.americanheritage.com/blog/
 * Karen Janowski's Teaching Every Student Blog [|Teaching Every Student]
 * Short's & Gonzales' Writers http://www.mrsshortswriters.blogspot.com/
 * Talk About It - Lakeville North High School http://www.lakevillenorth.blogspot.com/
 * **Virtual Authors** - Highland Park Jr. High School http://www.hpjh.blogspot.com/

**Finding Blogs**

 * Google Blog Search http://blogsearch.google.com/
 * Technorati http://www.technorati.com/

**Potential Uses of Blogs in the Classroom**

 * Journals
 * Class Portal or Management Space
 * E-Portfolio
 * Collaborative Concept Development
 * Extended Individual or Collaborative Writing

**Tools to Create Blogs**

 * Tumblr [|http://www.tumblr.com]
 * Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com/
 * Blogger [|http://www.blogger.com]
 * Typepad http://www.typepad.com/
 * Edublogs http://www.edublogs.org/
 * TeachAde (My Space for Teachers) http://www.teachade.com/

**RSS Aggregators and Readers**

 * Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com/
 * My Yahoo! [|http://www.yahoo.com]

Accesibility

 * Odiogo [|http://www.odiogo.com]