Warlick's CoLearners
User Documentation
(see also the FAQ page)
This online documentation is intended to be a community effort. I have begun the document with basic instructions for operating Class Blogmeister as a teacher. I invite you, as teacher users of this tool, to contribute to the documentation, clarifying parts of the instruction that are unclear, and adding important instructions where they are missing.
You also have my permision to correct any spelling or grammar errors in this resource.
Blogging came into its own during the 2004 presidential campaign where all of the major candidates sported their own blogs, and every political pundit daily trashed their opponent candidate with blog articles.
But blogging is also showing up in schools, where teachers have known for a long time that students develop better communication skills when they are authentically communicating. A number of educators are helping their students developing their writing skills by having them publish their work as blogs, and then invite comments from people in the outside.
There are many freely available tools that facilitate blogging, but none seem to be especially suited for the classroom. That is the reason for BlogMeister. This online blogging tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.