What Makes a Good Blog? by Claire Brogdon https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4 Made with a lightning strike of genius en-us 2017-03-21 20:16:32 UTC 2020-07-14 02:06:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Morgan Lewis https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/639436994 https://earhart.goddardusd.com/99767_4
Not-so-good: most of the educational apps need to be paid for.

http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/
Good: there is a parents corner that allows the parents to get involved. They can volunteer, see the standards that are being taught, and view any information that might interest the parents. 

https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/science-websites.html
Good: a series of educational links are provided that are student friendly, and safe. ]]> 2020-06-25 01:46:45 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/639436994 Lisa Mahaffey http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/ My initial perception of this blog was wow. From the colors, and design to the many information tabs it was put together beautifully. It was very easy to navigate, and the fonts were nice and easy to read. I am sure he acquired the forms needed for the pictures of the students, there were several however no names were listed for the pictures. He had learning activities available for all subjects, pictures of the classroom, class schedule and much more. There was a page for the parents, if you had a question regarding this class, I am positive you could find it on his blog. I would give him a solid 5. http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/ While Mrs. Wheelers blog is very colorful it is not very easy to navigate. The set up it is hard to follow and there is a lot of scrolling up and down. The design and fonts are nice it was just all over the place. I am not sure why, but she advertised for amazon a good bit to, maybe just letting other teachers know where to get things at a lower price. There were no pictures of the students and if there was a place for parents, I did not see it. I think this was just more of a teacher to teacher blog rather than for a classroom. I would give her a 3. https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/2020/05/20/wednesday-may-20-2020/#more-783 Mrs. Wilson design was nice, she used the lighter colors, so nothing really popped out at you when you looked at the page. It was easy to navigate and though she allowed the students to use flip grid and had places for comments she followed all the rules and dedicated a page to explain the rules. She had instruction pages and links for the students that explained how to navigate certain sights they needed to use. I feel like she gave great instructions throughout her blog. I didn’t see a parent/guardian’s page, but I did see where she said if the parents replied to the students to refer to them as the student’s mom or dad no names. I would give her a 4. lmahaffey40 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/639462794 2020-06-25 02:26:11 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/639462794 Adisha Wesley https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640157082 https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
My initial perception of this blog was that it did not involve too many colors, which I think is good. I say this because by adding too much color, it can sometimes be overwhelming and chaotic for the viewers. I notice that the teacher has a chat button for parents and students to reach out to the teacher. I did notice that the educational apps that the teacher has listed mostly consist of apps that have to be purchased and this can be hard for families how are not able to pay for them.
https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/collmus.html
I noticed that this blog was very simple and easy to navigate through but did not have many useful resources for students. I would have included some recommendations of useful websites and apps that free of charge and user friendly for students to access outside of school.
http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/
The first that stood out to me was the pictures of the students, which made think if the teacher has consent forms on file for these students that give the teacher permission to include the students' photos. I do like how the teacher includes free online educational games and the easy navigation of the schools internet policy in addition to providing his school email and a contact form that parents are able to reach him.]]> 2020-06-25 15:59:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640157082 Sadie Whitney sadiewhitney2 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640391096 https://earhart.goddardusd.com/55829_4
The first thing I noticed in this blog was the banners and the buttons to information about the class. There isn't a lot of color on the page, mostly white, black, and greys. The font on information about the teacher is difficult to see and therefore read. The blog is easy to manage and work. Most of the educational apps provide information about cost money which is not ideal for many families.
https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
This blog is a collection of third-grade teachers at a school. Their page is colorful and attractive but not overwhelming and messy. Collectively there is a lot of learning links to websites for every subject. There is not a lot of information about the teachers. Each teacher has their own page, but the only difference between them is the class schedule and specials schedule. There is no information for students or about students. Overall the site is simple and easy to navigate. 
https://mccallprimary.typepad.com/melissa_powers/
My initial thought when viewing this site is that it appears outdated and not modern. There are conflicting colors on the site, which makes it look messy to me. There is a lot of information about the school district and class schedule. The site is mostly directed for the parent or guardians of the student. There is a link to resource links and skills practice that goes to a page that is not found. This site has the least amount of resources out of the others that I have looked at. Overall it seems messy and outdated, and it could use more resources for students and parents.
]]> 2020-06-25 20:12:52 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640391096 Jocelyn Sebastian https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640562946 http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/
I loved this blog! It is very colorful and organized. The teacher included photos and activities for various holidays and lessons for anyone to access. There were no photos or personal information of her students. There was a newsletter sign up sheet though it is not specified for parents. I believe this is a teacher blog and not a classroom blog. This can mean that the information posted is directed towards other teacher instead of her current students and their parents.
https://mrsblundoprek.weebly.com/
This weebly page provided lots of link and resources of songs and websites that anyone like parents and other educators can access. She did not share any pictures of her students on her website. The page is very easy to navigate, it's simple and to the point which can be very good for some parents. There is no page dedicated to parents but there is a comments section and a contact page where parents can reach out to Mrs. Blundo.  I would recommend she post some lessons she is working on with her students so that parents are able to view what exactly their child is doing in the classroom.
https://mccallprimary.typepad.com/melissa_powers/
At a first glance her page seems simple and relatively easy to navigate. As I navigated through her links, her lunch menu and lunch schedule links could not be found. Her PTA link led to a blank page. It appears that her last announcement was posted in 2013. I would recommend that Mrs. Powers update all her links to ensure they are working and lead to what the parents may be looking for. I'd also advice Mrs. Powers to provide a sign up sheet for parents to volunteer or be able to view the class schedule since she is encouraging parents to do so.

]]> 2020-06-26 00:34:52 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640562946 Shania Vick svick41 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640675838 https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
There were lots of things I liked about this blog, and things I thought were not very good. I did notice the black and white buttons, and the lack of color. I also noticed the apps the teacher provided were not free and had to be paid for and that could be putting some students at a disadvantage.  

https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/learning-links.html
This one was a cool idea to me. I like that is was third grade as a whole and provided lots of information off the bat without being overwhelming. I also liked all the colors of the website. I also liked that the teachers provided the standards on their blog page for the parents to see.  I like how the website is easy to navigate and simple. I enjoyed this blog.
https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/
First thing I noticed in this blog was how each post was some sort of update, but also she was talking to the kids. This may be the way they mainly communicate and I find that so handy! The website seems to be more for the kids which I do not hate. I think it is a cute website for a classroom, and most likely a helpful tool to have.

]]> 2020-06-26 03:26:44 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640675838 Skyler Lydick skylerlydick https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640764028 1. https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
I love how organized and easy to understand this particular blog page is. Along with that, I love how it is a page for the whole of third grade, but it has links to important information for the parents and each of the specific teachers if you need them. The only problem I can think of is that when you go to an individual teacher's page, there is not any information about that teacher or what they are teaching their students.

2. https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
I love the amount of information that is linked on the homepage of this blog and how detailed/designed it is, but it is also a little packed at the same time. Also, I love how a large amount of helpful apps are listed. However, they are not all free, and while they are cheap, not every student has access to devices they can use them on outside the classroom nor do they have the money to pay for things.

3. https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/
I love how organized this blog is. I also love how it is geared more towards the students and their learning in and out of the classroom. The posts are pretty often and talk about what they are doing in class at the moment. These posts also serve as reminders for the students on what they should be doing. However, they could add a way for the parents to be able to contact the teachers if need be.]]> 2020-06-26 06:10:37 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640764028 Ashleigh Tinney ashleightinney https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640975725 1. http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/
I loved the organization of this blog and the theme. The theme was candy and it was very colorful, yet clean. It looked very nice that there was a color theme followed throughout the blog. The sidebar is very helpful with links a lot of different activities and information. I will incorporate the same sidebar into my blog. It makes it simple for viewers to find exactly what they are looking for from the home page. The teacher did not use any images of the students, student names, or any personal information of the students. This keeps them safe and respects their privacy. If I were the classroom teacher, I would change the blog to have sections dedicated to student work that the students can click to view their assignments and information they would need. This blog is directed for other teachers and gives them ideas to incorporate into their classroom. 

2. https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
I like that the blog is almost all images with links. This creates a very engaging and pleasing design. I love that she has a clean theme. My favorite aspect that I will definitely include in my blog are the buttons. She made buttons with links and it is so much more pleasing than just using words. I also love the web poll she made for students to submit an answer to what they are most excited about in second grade. It is very helpful that she has a button labeled "just for kids," and another labeled "just for parents." She did not include any images, names, or personal information about her students to respect their privacy and keep them safe. A design element I would change is adding more color. There is also a gif on the homepage that has a huge watermark, which I would probably not use. 

3. https://mccallprimary.typepad.com/melissa_powers/
I liked the clean theme to this blog. It was very clear to see exactly where to locate information. The sidebar was my favorite part and I will incorporate some ideas from it into my classroom, like that she included links for the elementary school they attend. She keeps students safe and respects their privacy by not including any of their personal information onto the blog. If I were to change this blog for my classroom, I would make it more interesting and engaging. I would add more colors and exciting images. I would also add more categories for instructional information to make it easier to locate. ]]> 2020-06-26 12:15:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/640975725 Alise Mercier amerca1571 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641124905 1. http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/

My initial thought of this blog when I first uploaded the website, was that it is very colorful and inviting. There are many sites that you can click on to help navigate where to go on this page. All of the main tabs are at the top of the page to tell where to go. Most of his games and activities are free and online, and are all together in one area, so the kids do not have to go around the website searching everywhere for them. By clicking at the bottom he shows the students how to get to/create a Microsoft 365 Account so that the lunch # is needed to do the login. I guess this is the security level put in place so that only the students at his school can do this. The one bad thing I think that this website needs to have is that the teacher should place his email or contact information on the front of his homepage incase a parents is having a hard time finding it and needs to email the teacher some concerns quickly. I would rate this blog a 4 out of 5. 

2.https://earhart.goddardusd.com/100103_4

When first opening this website, it did not exactly catch my eye, in that there was not much color at all with many things being black and white. In my opinion it seemed very plain and rather boring. After scrolling down, it was very easy to find all the information I needed by subject area, except the Science said coming soon. There seemed to be many educational apps but most of them were not free, and had a cost associated with them which can be hard on families that cannot afford them. In her photo area I did not see any pictures of the kids, and another thing said coming soon which means she is not finished with all the areas of this website. I did like the area for parents and students to comment any of their thoughts or concerns. I would rate this website a 3 out of 5. 

3.https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/

This website is very appealing to the eye in that it is simple, clean, colorful and easy to navigate to find the information needed for the third-grade class you are looking for. Once you find the tabs at the top you hover over them and then you can see where to scroll down to show you the choices of things available under that tab.  There are many different fonts /pictures on this website to catch your eye, and I like that it is a website for the entire third grade for a school.  The problem is I could not tell for what school.  The school name was not on this website that I could find.   There was high security on this website in that at no point did a student have to input any personal information or have to login into anything.  I would rate this website 4 out 5. 

]]> 2020-06-26 15:05:00 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641124905 Brandi Sherman bsherma3 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641148696 1. http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/
I loved the way that this blog looks. It is fun, inviting, colorful and kid friendly! Just on the main page there are plenty of other websites for fun activities to be directed to. My favorite part of this teacher's blog is the "about Mr. Smith" tab because of his creativity with the pokemon card. He does a great job at representing his goals for his classroom as well as providing enough information for the parents to be aware of what is going on. Something that I did not see is the teacher's contact information and something I would change is keeping the kids faces off of the blog. Overall, a great classroom blog!
2. http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/search/label/Winter%20Olympics
Upon opening this blog, I was slightly thrown off because while scrolling I saw plenty of projects that the teacher inspires the kids to create during the summer! Her header banner is fun and colorful and she provides plenty of inspiration on lessons she has created. There are many tabs on the left side of the page which directs you to everything she teaches as well as picture examples of what she allows the students to complete. The thing I noticed the most is that all of her pictures include the children doing the activities, but no faces shown on the blog. This is a student safe area. There is also pictures of students completed work which inspires them and builds their confidence! One thing that I would suggest is condensing some of the subjects because there is so much happening on this blog. ]]> 2020-06-26 15:32:51 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641148696 Vanessa Salazar vanessasalazar14 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641171080 1. Blog One: https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com

I love how this website had the links to the other 3rd grade teachers individual pages. It was super easy to navigate. All of the pages were exactly how you expected them based on the label. The design was clean looking and not too distracting. This blog had looks that helped both students and parents. However, I did not like that on the actual blog page itself, there was a big inconsistency in the font styles which made it seem a bit tacky and less professional. None of the teacher seem to spent much time in their pages to personalize things. They only had contact info, schedule and amazon wishlist. 

2. Blog 2: http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com

What I liked about this was easy to access to contact information, easy flow. It is a web adaptable which means it is a mobile and web version. It allows parents to subscribe to weekly newsletters and it has many links available. However, the formatting is a little weird. The pictures are like too big per post. The header is incredibly busy and kinda takes away the focus. It does not hide the privacy of the followers. The links are organized in one big list and that can be intimidating. Maybe if they had different pages and split or categorized the links in those to make it cleaner and not to overwhelming for one. 

Blog 3: https://www.prekinders.com

This blog was an easy navigation. They had multiple ways provided for the contact information. I think this is my favorite so far, because it is pleasing flow and looks so professional. Gives lots of resources to the parents, children and even other educators. You can even subscribe to this blog. The bad thing about it is that some resources one might have to pay for them. The contact information is only by social media and email, so if you wanted to make a call it could be a difficult for that. ]]> 2020-06-26 15:58:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641171080 Alex Viola https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641205546 Blog One: https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
I really liked the way that everything on this blog was categorized and looked professional. There are buttons to access different areas of the site, which makes it very user-friendly and easy to use. If I was going to make a change to this blog, I would remove the first picture/ gif because there is a watermark covering the middle section of it. I would also add more free apps (especially Math, Spelling, and Social Studies), because most of the ones listed cost money which students may not be able to purchase.

Blog Two: http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/
I liked that this blog includes a lot of pictures of activities and different tools for class lessons. There are a lot of linked resources that other teachers can use for planning. However, my first impression when looking at this site is that there are way too many colors going on which makes it difficult to look at. I would include some color, but not have it overwhelming where every part of this blog is colored as this teacher has it. I also might consider adding a student section as this website seems to be fully tailored to other teachers and professionals.

Blog Three: https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
I like that this blog has multiple pages, which makes access simple for parents as well as teachers and students. I also thought it was awesome that there were so many websites linked for students to access for each subject. The only thing I would change about this blog is that the teacher's individual pages only include schedules and their email, so I would add more information such as an "About Me" section.]]> 2020-06-26 16:39:36 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641205546 Tori Bottini toribottiniahs https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641846405 Blog One:
https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
I liked the appearance of this blog because the teacher had an ongoing theme that made the site look professional. She provided many informational links for students and parents to be able to access the information on the site with ease. The teacher also made sure to not include any student information. One thing I would change is to remove the image of the gif with the watermark on it. This was distracting to the eye, and should be replaced. When the teacher included apps, she should have included apps that are free. Overall, I would find this blog to be useful in the classroom with a few minor changes. 

Blog Two: 
https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
I liked that this website was specifically for all teachers of third grade. This makes it easy for parents and students to access information if their students switch classes. Also, the layout of this website is easy to navigate and looks professional. The teachers have made it easy to connect with parents, providing detailed information about their classrooms, and giving the teacher contact information. If I could give one piece of advice, I would say to add more color and make the page more inviting. As it sits, it does not follow an overall theme throughout. Overall, this is a great website for the parents, students, and teachers to all connect. 

Blog 3: 
https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/
The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that the site has pictures of students as the banner. Although it is only the back of a students head, this could still be a violation of the privacy. Also, I found the site to be way too long. It was not as easy to scan the information as other sites. A change could be made to the way they provide the schedule by making a tab dedicated to that. However, I did like that the teachers provided motivation for the students every day, and it was easy to find information on the site when it was separated by the day of the week. Overall, this makes for a great grade site. ]]> 2020-06-27 21:12:04 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/641846405 Arianna Craddock acraddock576 https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/642295345 Blog one:
http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com/
I really enjoyed this blog. The tips were very helpful, and this teacher had a lot of great advice for new teachers. However, I was mildly displeased with the color choices for this particular blog. To me, the rainbow and candy colored theme was too much and made it distracting to look at. This teacher did a great job of blocking out students' faces if there were any photos with them in it, although most photos were strategically taken so that students' faces were not present. I would like to incorporate the different activities and tips that this teacher did into my own blog. It was very helpful and eventually, I would like to be seasoned enough to be able to give helpful advice like this. This teacher promotes student learning by creating and sharing different fun and interactive activities across the educational community, and she establishes school/home communication by encouraging parents to reach out and providing contact information. Overall, I would rate this blog a 4 because it was very helpful!

Blog two:
https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
I loved the layout and colors of the blog. The design was simple and easy to navigate, and the blog wasn't busy at all. I didn't feel overwhelmed when reading the content. The teacher did not share any student specific information, and open commenting was not allowed. I loved how specific this blog was, and would want to incorporate that into my own blog. There was a button that contained all of the information a parent may need, as well as different buttons with links to outside websites that can help students at home. The only change I would make to this blog is to make it more personal, and include an 'about me' section that introduced the teacher to parents and readers. Overall, I would give this blog a 5 because it was very well laid out and provided tons of information for parents.

Blog three:
https://mooreclassmath.edublogs.org/
This blog has an easy-to-navigate layout, with buttons that take the reader exactly to where they want to go. The colors were pretty basic, they didn't really stand out. However, within a minute or two of looking through the website, I immediately found a page that had a class page and student names. The student names were shortened to not include last names, but I was able to continue finding student photos throughout the blog. I did not see an option for  open comments. I would like to incorporate the different activities that my students do into my own blog one day, especially the STEM activities like this teacher focused on. This teacher encouraged students and parents to reach out to her, and explained different activities and experiments that students did while in class. Overall, I would give this blog a 3 just because of the photos and names displayed on the website. I would strongly advise this teacher to replace this images on her website, or at least blur out students faces. I would also encourage her to take off student names. ]]> 2020-06-28 18:05:39 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/642295345 Vanesa Mahlstadt mahlstadtv https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/648037620 Blog One:
http://mrsmith-online.weebly.com/
When viewing this blog, I really enjoyed the complete set up. I love that we can see the class pets. Putting a "cool stuff" tab is very thoughtful for the students, parents and teachers viewing this. I also enjoyed the teacher resources tab. Though the site shows some good information, what stuck out to me the most was the use of students photos and videos. What came to mind was the Internet Safety Policy. I feel that it is not safe to have students faces on your page, especially if you are going to have the school's name and address present. 

Blog Two:
https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3
This blog is set up beautifully and i really appreciate the organization of it. The page is easy to follow and provides multiple links for the students and parents to find what they are looking for. The layout is very professional looking and speaks to the teachers well thought out coordination. I also ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way there is a tab that asks the students how they like to learn. If there were a few things that I had to work on, I would try and fix the watermark on the GIF. That is a minor inconvenience though. I also wish that there were more photos, I'd like to see the setup of the classroom as well. 

Blog Three:
https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com/
I like the layout of this website, it is easy to follow. There are tabs directly to the right that provide links to resources that are beneficial to parents and students. The layout is very professional looking. I also love that this includes all of the teachers. The layout and organization remains the same throughout. This shows that the teachers are all on the same page and everything is well-thought out. If I were to change something, I would make the website more personal. I would keep a similar theme, but not make each teacher page look exactly the same. Maybe adding colors, photos or animations would be whats missing. ]]> 2020-07-06 05:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/648037620 Rachel Robider rrobider https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/653765374 Blog One:
http://mrswheelerfirst.blogspot.com

Mrs. Wheeler's first grade class blog. As soon as the page pooped up, it caught my eye. The whole page is super colorful and organized. I thought the vibrant colors were an excellent way to show case a 1st grade classroom's blog. This blog is not only filled with color but it also has so much wonderful information. To start with, I love the idea of how you can subscribe to the blogs page, I have never seen that before. Next, the amount of "Label" that she has is absolutely crazy. There are so many awesome lessons and ideas that anyone can use. I also noticed how this is a constantly updated blog so there is a healthy habits poster set that includes the new protocols with everything going on in the world. This is great because it is teaching children and also keeping them inform of healthy habits. Overall, I thought this blog was awesome. There was so much that it covered and gave off such great information.

Blog Two:
 https://teasleythirdgrade.weebly.com

After seeing the first blog, this one was kind of disappointing. I love the title, I personally thought that was super creative. I like how there are quick links and parents are able to easily contact the teacher if need to be. I also thought that having a amazon wish list for the class on the blog is a great idea. The downside to this blog is that it is not very colorful nor does it catch the eye. Also it does not have all the information on one page, you have to click through to find what you are looking for.

Blog Three:
https://earhart.goddardusd.com/49583_3

The last blog I chose was Mrs. Haney's second grade class. This blog had some creativity to it with the way each tab is designed along with the whole lay out of the page. This blog is still not as bright as the first blog I went to but this one seems to have some useful knowledge and ways of creating the blog.]]> 2020-07-14 01:44:28 UTC https://padlet.com/cbrogdon/mbdb7fodrvc4/wish/653765374