Good morning all,
Hope those of you who have been on break have enjoyed some time with family and friends this holiday season … it’s Monday, January 4th here and time for us in these parts to get back to work! Sorry for not blogging more since school let out, things have been a little hectic here, thanks to Mother Nature! But, I digress…
Came across a really neat site this morning thanks to new Twitter user Syd D. (thanks Syd!) – it’s called Kidblog.org and it’s by far the easiest blogging platform I’ve ever seen!
Setting up a classroom blog literally took seconds – here’s my test a classroom blog as a student would see it:
Here’s the blogging interface – what could be simpler? No email addresses are needed to create student accounts. Nice!
Hey, that looks like WordPress … and sure enough, it is! Note the absence of categories and the standard WordPress UI (which is pretty easy but this really takes the cake.) Spell Check is included, naturally. Enter your title and post and press publish! Here’s an example post (again, logged in as a student):
It appears you can have any theme you want as long as it’s this one (pleasing blues and oranges); there’s no way to know if the folks behind Kidblog have plans to add that feature, but I certainly wouldn’t mind if they didn’t.
I love the user interface (I’m already a huge fan of WordPress, this simplification just makes it even better). We have several elementary classes blogging with WordPress Multiuser, and although it’s pretty easy, this is even EASIER, and there’s minimal setup. Just create the blog, add students and get to work! Comment moderation is built in (and ON by default) and student users can have different roles (Guest, Student, Group Leader) which I’m sure correspond to the standard role hierarchy in WordPress. The administrative interface is also greatly simplified, meaning less work for teachers!
Kidblog.org is definitely worth checking out if you are interested in a fast, easy, straightforward blogging platform. My only caution: we don’t know much about the people behind the service, and while there’s no reason to doubt them or their offering, it would really stink if they went away all of a sudden … which in this economy is certainly a risk. There’s no advertising, no “premium” Kidblog offering, and hence, no revenue model (that I can see at least), leading me to wonder about the service’s long-term viability, especially if it gets popular. All that aside, it’s definitely still worth checking out!
Hope this helps!
-kj-
UPDATE: thanks to a tweet from Anne Carnevale I’ve done a little more digging into Kidblog, and have verified (via contact with Kidblog support) that teachers CAN in fact require that all student content (posts and comments) be approved before appearing on the live blog. It’s on the Class Settings tab:
I *KNOW* I looked at that tab yesterday, and I remember seeing the section for comment control, and distinctly recall *NOT* seeing the post control section (and found that very odd) Apparently, that’s what I get for blogging at zero-dark-thirty every day! :/
Once this box is checked, student blog post creation page has a “Submit for Review” button rather than “Publish.” Submitted posts wait in the teacher’s queue to be approved on the “Review Posts” section of the dashboard:
…as expected!
So there you have it! Thanks, Anne, for the impetus to clear this up!
-kj-
Thanks for the tip, Kevin.
You’re welcome, Skip. Thanks for reading! :) -kj-
Wow, Kevin! This looks like an awesome site. I think it might work well for a project that I have in mind for my students. Thanks so much for sharing! Hopefully it’s not blocked at school!
Thanks Kevin. It certainly does look like the “Easiest” option for a class blog. Ideal for teachers who are just starting out with blogging or for teachers of younger classes.
I too am a fan of WordPress blogs and the fact that this is built on WP is another plus.
Weebly offers a similar sort of arrangement with class blogs and the students don’t require an email but it is more complicated with two different levels of passwords. On the other hand it offers more in design. It is probably the next step on from Kidblog in terms of complexity.
Thanks again for your posts and your blog.
Thanks for contacting them to check on the moderation feature. I’m curious if you ever hear back from them. I think the simplicity of Kidblog is what makes it so attractive, especially to teachers who are new to blogs, and/or tech hesitant. Some of my elem. teachers are using Class Blogmeister, which offers high levels of moderation, but is a bit clunky. I probably should take a look at Weebly.
Hi everyone! Thanks for the comments! See my updated post – Kidblog *DOES* allow teachers to make all student content subject to approval before posting! I confirmed this via email to support@kidblog.org and tested it myself. :) Thanks, Anne, for bringing up the issue! -kj-
Thanks for the find! I have banged my head against the wall on this issue for awhile. Very, very helpful.
Happy to help Kyle!
It appears to be very simple and clean–love it!
Kevin,
Thanks so much for reviewing this. I just heard about it on a podcast-2nd graders were using it in Maine.
Happy to be of help. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the good read, Kevin. Your review came up today on Plurk, so naturally I had to have a look. I have been looking for a replacement for ePals, and you have convinced me that this is the best alternative.
A question for you… have you come across a way to invite outside readers to comment upon student blogs? What’s the screening process for that? Do all comments go through the teachers’ queue as well? Thanks.
Hi Kim! Comments from anywhere get approved like all the others – by the teacher. Looks like a great product – let us know how it works out for you! -kj-
I was a classblogmeister user for the last three years. So glad to have this option! I love the html option that allows you to embed other elements. I’m now supporting 1st grade teachers in their quest to blog with their students. Since most are not “writers” at this point, we are going to embed Vocaroo recordings. Thanks so much!!!
You are welcome Noel! David Warlick’s Classblogmeister is a testament to his programming acumen and desire to help change education. With these new platforms, those that have taken the plunge with sites like his have new options to explore!
I’m taking a web resource class in the district and saw this article on google. Thanks for the suggestion! I’m looking for an easy site for third graders and found other sites to be confusing for some kids.
Thanks Noreen! Happy to help!
Hey. Does anyone know a site similar to 21classes for high school teqchers to use and a place to post class info, assignments etc? I love 21classes , but want a free site rather than paying them now. They were free and have changed their settings.
Hi Heather, did you mean a blogging site or something more powerful, like a content management system?
Personally, I think a well-configured WordPress blog will do just about anything a teacher could want … best providers I know of are WordPress.com and Edublogs.org … check them out … good luck to you!
-kj-
Kevin,
I stumbled across KidBlog a few weeks ago and have been enjoying using it wih my class. One glitch I have found is that once I publish a student’s comments (or posts), they can still go back and edit them. After they are done with their edit, they republish and it doesn’t go through the moderation step. So, they could add inappropriate content. I emailed the support team and they sounded like they would consider it for a future change. Hopefully they will. If you follow what I am saying and agree, please consider emailing the support team as well as it can’t hurt to have it said from more than one voice. (FYI- I sent you a ‘test’ reply to be sure these comments get moderated. It may be best not to publish this as I would hate children to stumble across it and get ideas. At this point I am not concerned about my 3rd graders doing anything, but I am sure there are kids that would. Thanks for reading and thanks for the great post!
Hi Kramden, thanks for commenting. I hear your concerns but doubt there will be a way for Kidblog to address them. What you are describing is core functionality of WordPress; Kidblog might be able to customize the code somewhat (they are obviously brilliant folks) but my money is on that being unlikely. Kids will always find a way to push the envelope and skirt controls by even the most vigilant teacher. In my experience, that is extremely rare … so rare, in fact, as to not be an outcome worth spending a great deal of time defending against. It’s more important, in my view, to educate kids on appropriate use, explain the ramifications of inappropriate use, and then let them to do the right thing. I think it was Kruschev who said, “trust…but verify.” There are so many web 2.0 tools out there that a kid hell-bent on posting “bad” stuff can’t be stopped. Can’t. Your only hope is to reach their heads and hearts, and, to keep as close an eye as you can on what gets posted. The popularity and power of web 2.0 tools in general and blogging in specific means this is our “new normal.” If we’re not comfortable with that, or are districts aren’t (as it the case in a lot of places), you have to do what you have to do. Good luck to you, sir!!!