Kidblog

App/Tool Overview

Kidblog.org is a website that was created in order to give students a safe place to express themselves and publish their work online. Students create content and then are able to publish it to make connections with fellow students and educators and share what they have done. In terms of the specific content they are creating, Kidblog enables them to use a variety of forms. Students are able to create content with words, images, videos, and more, allowing them to work with the medium with which they are the most comfortable or fond of. There are myriad ways to express creativity through Kidblog with their wide variety of customizable features; students are able to have the final say on all elements of their post, including font, color schemes, header images, tags, audiences, and other such areas. Once the creation process is underway, Kidblog also provides ample evaluation and assistance services, allowing for editing, revisions, peer review, and website driven suggestions to enable the students to continually hone their craft and creative process.

School Library Applications

Kidblog would be a beneficial tool to have available in school libraries because it promotes creative thinking, gives students a sense of autonomy, and encourages collaboration.

This tool promotes creative thinking because it allows students to step outside the traditional box of essay writing and enables them to make different creative choices to express their thoughts. While students still have the option to explain themselves through words, they also have the ability to create content through posting images, creating works of art, and providing videos that also convey what they are intending to share. They are not confined to working in just one medium, but instead are told that the possibilities are endless, so they are able to choose freely from whatever expression speaks to them the most. Being able to think and work creatively enables students to create content that they are passionate about and motivated to work on.

The next benefit from Kidblog, giving students a sense of autonomy, can be seen through the vast number of choices students have when creating their blogs. Students are able to control every aspect of their blogs, from the type of content they are creating, the color scheme found in the backdrop, the font they are using, the audience with whom they are sharing their work, and more. Every choice being made is left solely to the student, allowing them to think and act freely. This ability to make choices completely uninhibited builds students’ confidence and allows them to act independently in a safe space.

The last major benefit to using Kidblog in a school library is that it promotes collaboration. Being able to work successfully with one’s peers is a valuable skill for both educational and professional careers. Kidblog allows students to peer review each other’s work, letting them practice interacting with one another in a constructive and respectful way. It also allows them to publish their work while exploring others’ work, letting them feel like part of a community.

Classroom Teacher Implications

Kidblog is a very helpful tool for classroom teachers as it aids them in engagement and assessment.

As stated above, Kidblog allows students to flex their creative muscles and synthesize information in many different ways, an element that is important when trying to engage students students. Allowing students to have creative freedom helps to motivate them to create high quality work that they are passionate about. It also aids students in synthesizing and retaining information because they are actively engaged in what they are learning about and are creating content centered on the material, rather than passively sitting and listening to a lecture.

Kidblog can also aid teachers in assessing their students’ work because they will be able to witness a variety of their students’ skills through the creation of their blogs. One of the skills they will be able to assess is their students’ ability to synthesize the material and present it in a clear, concise, and engaging way. Another skill they will be able to evaluate is the students’ ability to utilize technology, as Kidblog must be accessed through a computer or mobile device. A third skill they will be able to assess is the students’ ability to work independently. Each student will be responsible for managing her own blog, so teachers will be able to evaluate how successfully each student is doing so.

Further Information

To access Kidblog, please use the following link : https://kidblog.org/home/ . Users are given the option of trying a free thirty day trial before being asked to pay for a subscription.