Student Blogging Opportunities & ePortfolios

First, I must say I LOVE summertime!!!! I've been having so much fun that I haven't even had a chance to sit down and catch my breath yet! 

Today was our first beach trip of the summer!!!

I was at an amazing technology conference the last three days and I learned some GREAT things that I am so excited to take back to my classroom in the fall!!! I'm also excited to share them with you!

One thing was student blogging...

I did a post a while back about student blogging { here }.

I didn't realize that you're able to use sites like 

and

and 

to create a blog for each individual student that is managed by the teacher... 


I love this idea because they are FREE, and you can choose how secure (or not) you want them. 


I have been having difficulty trying to figure out how to create an ePortfolio for each of my kids (most programs cost $$$ and are really complicated and lots of management), but this could be the perfect solution!!! One place to store, reflect on, and keep student work that they've created throughout the year! And how great would it be for them to look back on this at the end of the year and see how far they've come. Plus, it could follow them to the next grade level (kind of like the big old chunky hard-to-lug-around file folder portfolios we are using now)!!!


Annnnddddd, I was introduced to Quad Blogging. Have you heard of this?!?!?!

You sign your class up, and you're paired up with three other classes around the country and world who also blog to connect and comment. This creates a REAL audience of peers, with different perspectives! I love this idea for my students!!! 


Does anyone use any of these sites for student blogging?!?! If so, I'd LOVE to hear about your experiences, successes, or glitches!!! Any ideas about student portfolios...???


And last but not least, a dear friend over at the Daily Corgi shared this wonderful "Write a Post, Save a Dog" campaign going on through Pedigree: 


Last year, blogger-to-blogger networking generated nearly 3,000 pounds of donated Pedigree dog food for a shelter devastated by Hurricane Irene. Do you blog too? You can get involved even if you're not at BlogPaws (conference)!  For every blog post about the campaign between now and June 30th, Pedigree will donate a 17 pound bag of food to a shelter.  One bag per blog ... so get BUSY my fellow bloggers, let's get those bowls and bellies full!

If you're interested, all you have to do is post the picture & explanation above and link up { here }. Thanks for helping out!!!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!!!! 

:-)