1. DLU Workshop Module: Kidblog
Objective: Participants will explore the ways in which Kidblog can be used by students to express a point of view on a subject and support it with evidence in a safe and supervised online environment.
Find helpful resources at:
bcpsODL.pbworks.com

2. Why Blogging?
Blogs in Plain English:

3. Read and Reflect What resonated most with you?
12 Reasons to Blog with your Students: your-students.html
What resonated most with you?

4. Each Student’s Portfolio and Blog Posts
Reading Class
Math Class
Mrs. Weaver
Your Kidblog Account
Kidblog’s Structure
Reading Class
Teacher
Johnny
Megan
Kyle
Your Class Blog Site
Kyle
Post 9/23/13
Each Student’s Portfolio and Blog Posts
Each class blog site can have up to 200 students
Teachers can have unlimited class blogs
Students can be members of many different class blogs and all their posts can be accessed in their own portfolio

5. User Guide page 5

6. Student View

7. Code:
******
Instructor- put your workshop blog code here….
Create a fake “student” account for the purposes of this workshop.

9. Show the dashboard from a teacher’s perspective
(User Guide page 9)

10. Follow the BCPS Kidblog Migration Directions to set up your account
Participants must follow the Kidblog Migration Directions.
When you are creating an account, you are setting up your “file cabinet”

11. Student Profile
User Guide page 10

12. Create Your First Class
User Guide page 3

13. Essential Settings General
Change class name, description, and URL if needed
Choose a class Avatar
Themes/Sidebar
Choose a graphic theme for the class blog site
Choose to hide certain widgets from the sidebar
Users
View/Add/Edit user information
Privacy
Set who sees student created blog posts
Set who can comment on student posts
Suggested: Require post approval at first, but eventually turn it off
Categories
Create categories to organize your posts (by topic, unit, content area, etc.)
Connections
Connect with other Kidblog classes to view and comment on their posts (if they allow)
User Guide page 7

14. User Guide page 7

15. User Guide page 6
Students’ individual post permissions can be changed (limited by the global options you made available to them).
“Pinning” a post will keep it at the top of the blog list (teachers only).

16. Blog Etiquette
Your class blog should always have a pinned post with a welcome and “code of conduct” to remind students what is expected of them.
Create a post outlining your class blog etiquette.

17. Adding Users Option 1- One at a Time
The student display name should be their first name and the first letter of their last name
Their password should be their BCPS external password
User Guide page 8

18. Adding Users Option 2- Bulk Upload
Get students’ BCPS external passwords from your tech liaison.
Create one Excel spreadsheet for each class with the students’ display names in the first column (first name and first letter of last name) and their BCPS external passwords in the second column
Save each spreadsheet as a “CSV (Comma Delimited) (*.csv)” file
Follow the directions on Kidblog to upload and bulk-create the users for each class
User Gude page 8

19. Option 3- Student Set-up
Adding Users
Option 3- Student Set-up
Access your Join-Codes and enable the student join-code.
Direct students to go to kidblog.org and choose “Enter your Class Code”
After entering the code you provide, they are prompted to create their account (and should use their first name, first letter of their last name, and BCPS external password).
******
User Guide page 8

20. Student Access to Kidblog
Students need the URL or a shortcut
to their class blog site (
Once at the class blog site, click “Log In” in the upper right of the screen, choose the correct name from a drop-down menu, and enter the
password.
Page 2
User Guide page 4

21. For Further Reading Available on the bcpsODL workshop wiki:
Paper Blog Lesson
Two sample parent introduction letters:
Kidblog_Parent_Intro_Letter.doc 
blogging-letter-to-parents.doc
How to Write a Quality Comment
Comment Starters
Blogging Rubric
Blog Terms Crossword

22. How does Kidblog address P21 skills?
Identify one concrete way that you plan to use Kidblog in your instructional practice.

23. Thank you!
Please complete the workshop survey (which will be ed to you) in the next 24 hours
If you are enrolled in DLU, you have 10 days to complete your reflection and mail to
me any time with questions!