Blogging
Educators can create a basic blog like mine by using any of the free blogging publishing tools. The two blogger publishing tools I am most familiar with are Blogger (powered by google) and WordPress. I have found that Blogger seems to be the easier of the two however WordPress offers some cool features like pages.
I would recommend that student created pages be hosted on either Blogger or Wikispace because of their relative ease of use. These publishing sites can be used to create an online portfolio of student work and gives teachers anther form of assessment. It also allows the student to share his or her work and give it validity.
Blogging Basics: Creating Student Journals on the Web
A great tool that I recommend for offline blogging is BlogDesk. It is full of useful features and makes blogging even simpler. It is a free download and it comes highly recommended.
Digital Dropbox
While I was unable to find a free solution to digital dropbox, I have found an alternative. The alternative involves using email filters. Email filters are like virtual files for your emails. You can file assignment 1 or period 1 in a separate folder, away from assignment 2 or period 2. Most email providers give you the option to filter your email.
Grading
Grading is always fun or isn’t it? Since we are using technology to create our course, let’s use it to grade our students. Gradekeeper is a low cost software solution that replaces your trusty Delaney book.
A free solution to Gradekeeper is Google docs spreadsheet function or Microsoft Excel. The only drawback to these methods is, having to create a template and formulas for your spreadsheet.
Other Sites & Resources to create your own Online Class
Box.net – File host, up to 1GB
I currently use box.net to host various PDF and word documents online
Chatmaker.net - Allows you to create free chat rooms instantly
This gives you the opportunity to interact with students in real time. Depending on the number of students in our class I would recommend session with ten students or less.
Flickr.com – Online photo management and sharing application
Allows users to create slideshows which can then be posted on your blog.
Google Docs – Free Online word processor suite
Google docs allows you to create and post documents online. It also allows you to export your file to a variety of formats including text, PDF, and DOC. It also allows you to create presentations and spreadsheets. This document was created and posted using Google docs.