Textbooks to Chromebooks 9- Edublogs

The ability to communicate one's thoughts and opinions is a vital 21st-century skill that students must develop. With the prevalence of social media, it only makes sense that educators tap into this by giving students an opportunity to find their voice. It is with these ideas in mind that I started having my 6th-grade students blog last year. I did not want students to just respond to a chapter that they read or to argue the causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire. I wanted them to blog about something that they cared about. So, with that freedom, students created a wide array of blogs on gymnastics, movie and book reviews, specific animals, gaming, baseball, football, basketball, fashion, YouTubers, music, and so many other topics. Some students even expressed their thoughts about school rules they thought were unfair. I did not open their blogs to the public as I was concerned about privacy, but it was open to their peers to read their blogs and leave comments. I monitored the comments for appropriateness. Students need to learn to disagree on opinions without being hurtful. Every Monday, the students would add a new post to their blog. They needed to have their post completed by the end of the week. When students submitted their post, it would come to me first to review prior to being published. I have to say I feel this was one of the most important tasks the students did last year. Here is a screen capture of the various options available. I chose to pay for the CampusPress option.