Creating a killer ESL Blog!

You will have 3 weeks to work on this project. During the first week you will be working in 3 teams. Each team will have to research on the information from the following links and and answer to the questions listed below. At the end of the week each team will have 10 minutes to present their information to the rest of the class - you can print out and use handouts, hotocopies, you can create a poster or use flipcharts or develop a powerpoint presentation to cover your topic.

Week 1

Team 1

You are the experts in "blogs" and "blooging" . You will have to find out and then explain to your classmates:

1. What is "a blog"?

2. How did it all start - a short history of blogging.

3. What kind of blogs are there?

4. Why do people and organisations blog?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b037033dd1149e816d52

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/

http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/05/what_exactly_is_a_blog_anyway.html

http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/11/29/20-types-of-blog-posts-battling-bloggers-block/

Team 2

You are the experts in creating a blog! You will have to teach the rest of the class how to create a blog. You will also come up with a list of useful tips to create a "killer ESL blog": How  to post? What to post? How to post? You can use examples of blogs you liked or you think are the best blogs available online.

http://www.blogger.com/home

http://www.slideshare.net/yizmo/10-ways-to-a-killer-blog

http://www.conversionrater.com/index.php/2006/10/27/fifteen-ways-to-a-killer-blog-with-the-scobles/

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/14/blogging-for-beginners-2/

http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/23/blogging-tips-hundreds-of-resources-for-finding-content-for-your-blog/

Team 3

You are the experts in enhancing a blog! You will have to demonstrate to the rest of the students how to:

1. Share a Youtube video on your blog

2. Upload a powerpoint presentation to Slideshare and the share it on your blog page

3. Make podcasting with blogger

http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/Make_Podcast_Blogger.html

http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/videohostingsites/ss/embedmovie.htm

http://google.about.com/od/googleblogging/ss/embedyoutubesbs.htm

http://www.slideshare.net/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/10/04/introducing-slideshare-power-point-youtube/

http://www.indezine.com/blog/2006/10/slideshare-sharing-slides-and.html

Week 2

During this week you will have to read and evaluate some of the most popular blogs of 2006-2007. You will each have to come up with your own top 10 blogs and then decide as a class which blogs should be nominated for the BEST BLOGS of 2007. The blogs should be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Is the blog well organized and easy to navigate?

2. Does the blog feature relevant pictures, videos,podcasts, links or powerpoint presentations?

3. Does the blog display links to other outside reliable sourses?

4. Is the blog authentic - does it reflect its' author's personal point of view regarding its main theme? 

5. Is the information displayed on the blog useful?

This is a list of blogs you should read and evaluate:

Educational Blogs:

http://learn-english-blog.blogspot.com/

http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/categories/17

http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

http://esl-advices.blogspot.com/

http://www.rong-chang.com/blogs/

Entertainment Blogs:

http://www.couturecandy.com/celebs/index.html

http://www.thecelebrityblog.com/

http://www.uglybettyblog.com/

http://www.glamour.com/fashionbeauty/blogs/fashion/http://www.uglybettyblog.com/

http://topsites.blogflux.com/entertainment/

Technology related  Blogs

http://www.forbes.com/2003/03/13/cx_ah_techblogslide_2.html?thisSpeed=335544320000

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/technology/blogs_101.html

http://2006.weblogawards.org/2006/12/best_technology_blog.php

Week 3

During the third week you will have to create your own ESL blogs! Each blog should:

1. Display 3 posts:

1. 1) Hello, this is me! (an introduction message about yourself - where you are from, why you came to USA, what special hobbies, interests or "talents" you have, etc)
2. 2) My home country: (write about your home country and some intresting facts related to your culture)
3. 3) My experience in USA (write about your experience in USA, did you have a culture shock, did you make any special friends in USA, have you travelled in USA, etc)

2. Have at least one Youtube video shared on the front page. The video should be related to your posts and it should be accompanied by a short description: how is it related to your blog and why did you choose it to appear on your blog.

3. Have at least one of the powerpoint presentations you created this semester shared through http://www.slideshare.net/

At the end of the week you will read and evaluate each other's blogs and vote for the BEST ESL Blog!