Publishing Student Work

Blogger

By its very nature, Blogger allows for the public sharing of student writing. The chronological nature of a blog lends itself well to looking at the development of skills over time. It takes a bit of time and effort to build up a following, but the public interaction that comes from blog comments can be very motivating to students. That being said, there are situations that might call for more limitations on the visibility of student blogs. By changing the visibility settings, blogs will not show up in public searches. Similar controls can be placed on comments from limiting who can comment, comment moderation, and word verification.

From Educators

Our science class is full of debatable topics that can be approached from different angles. I have had students move their persuasive commentary about a controversial topic online to a Blogger post. Students are responsible for writing a post defending their position on topics such as human impact on the environment. They then have to find one classmate with a similar position and one with an alternate view and comment on each student’s post. As an extension, students can share their blog post with a professional in the field and get their views as well.

My school has started using Blogger as online portfolios for student work. Students create one blog that follows them throughout their whole time in middle school right up through high school. It’s been great to see their development over time. Students have helped come up with appropriate labels for each post so they can categorize and showcase their work.

Google Sites

Google Sites is a flexible option for publishing student work as you can embed a variety of Google tools including videos, maps, documents, and calendars. Compared to other Google tools, Sites can be a more involved project to build, manage, and use. The potential for learning and expansive reach is well worth the time invested.

The applications for a student site are endless, from curating a student’s best work as an online portfolio, to making the site itself the result of a larger project are just a few examples that Sites can facilitate.

From Educators

It did not take a district initiative around student portfolios for me to want to reboot back to school night. My back to school nights now feature engaging gallery walks where each student’s Google Site of their best work is on display on the workstations around our computer lab. Parents are assigned parts of the gallery to leave feedback on as they move around. Having this public display has lead to more interest in the professional presentation of their work.