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[] Timna Dean (timnadean@gmail.com) & Lisa McCuish (misslibby1@hotmail.com)
 * Participants **

A blog is defined as a website where users can post items which include text, images and links to websites and media relevant to its topic. The web page is displayed with the newest post at the top of the page. Blog platforms can be a hosted service or a download and install to host on your own server platform (Huette, 2006).
 * Summary **

WordPress.com is a free open source blogging platform which can be either hosted by the company or installed and hosted on your own server. WordPress.org is the installable version, which requires more knowledge of technology to use, regardless of its purpose. While either format could be applied to the educational market, this summary will look at the hosted service WordPress version, wordpress.com for its simplistic, user-friendly platform which suits most newcomers to blogging (Gardner & Birley, 2011) and “like any good blogging software, WordPress is post-centered, meaning the primary content being published is in post form” (Jones & Farrington, 2011).

WordPress.com was established in November 2005 by Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little and is considered to be the most popular blogging system in use (CMS Usage Statistics, 2011).

Blogging with a tool like WordPress is beneficial in the education sector as it enables users to:
 * reflect and publish authentic learning experiences, thoughts and opinions (Freeman & Brett, 2012);
 * enriching face-to-face or online education (Churchill, 2011);
 * overcomes traditional communication and collaboration problems (Boulos, Maramba & Wheeler, 2006);
 * improve dissemination of knowledge; (Bouwma-Gearhart & Bess, 2012)
 * enhance pre-reading and post-class reflections; (Al-Fadda & Al-Yahya, 2010)
 * assessment reflections;
 * improve student interaction; (Cuhadra & Kuru, 2010)
 * enable self-directed learning opportunities;
 * survey students in informal and formal settings; (Grosseck & Holotescu, 2008; Ebner, Lienhardt, Rohs & Meyer, 2011)
 * build a repository for learners' final published work (eg. portfolio) (Pusey & Meiselwitz, 2009)
 * promote critical and analytical thinking (Huette, 2006);
 * promote creative and intuitive thinking (Huette, 2006);
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">provide readers with increased access and exposure to quality information (Huette, 2006);


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Benefits and Limitations of WordPress **

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Two major benefits for implementing WordPress into any educational setting is that it is free to install and easy to use. All of the technical maintenance issues are taken care of therefore with even limited technological knowledge students and educators can begin blogging without the need to consider upgrades, backups or spam (wordpress.com/ 2012). Regular blogging helps students to become skillful writers as they quickly realize their writing is displayed to an audience and that there is an opportunity for readers to offer feedback. WordPress offers numerous education benefits including creating authentic reasons for students to read and write, developing written language skills and motivating many students to write more (wordpress.com 2012) Providing students with purposeful and meaningful writing experiences is not only highly motivational but also encourages many students to become more enthusiastic about the writing process. The settings on WordPress allows to creator to make adjustments including allowing teachers to view all comments before they are posted as well as preventing the general public from accessing your site. WordPress.com does come with some limitations depending on your purpose of its use. Some limitations include only being able to choose from the listed templates or pay an upgrade fee as well as the inability to advertise or allow sponsored posts to generate income (15 Benefits and Limitations of WordPress.com Blogs 2007) both of which have little impact to a general classroom blog. As with any form of internet usage it is vital teachers make all users aware of the terms and conditions of WordPress or risk being kicked off (15 Benefits and Limitations of WordPress.com Blogs 2007). =====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Students** In a varietal of learning and teaching environments, those who use Wordpress can be both high school (7-12) or university/college students’ and their teachers/instructors. The blogging platform lends itself to any age group who is capable of registering for an account, legally able to hold an account (13 years and older or parental permission is sought) and who are instructed for educational purpose to maintain an account. A teacher can create up to 100 user accounts and support their students in accessing the Wordpress platform. Examples for the use of a blog platform such as Wordpress.com in an educational environment are explored in the initial introduction.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">WordPress initiates many to many communication and reflections making it a suitable tool for various types of collaborative communication. The use of WordPress within a classroom setting is only limited to your imagination. Thanh Nguyen (2006) illustrates four basic functions for using blogs in the classroom:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Topic/Unit **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Classroom Management: Teachers can post information regarding weekly and daily timetables to keep students informed as well as using it as a communication tool for parents <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">collaboration. WordPress creates and open communication between teachers, parents and students as they discuss classroom events and activities, seek clarification and offer feedback for others.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Discussions: Blogs can be used to initiate a wide variety of discussion topics. Blogs encourage all students to share their thoughts, questions and experiences. Discussion topics can include seeking advice about curriculum area, asking questions regarding homework to events taking place within the educational setting.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Learning Portfolios:Blogs are an effective way to monitor student progress as all their posts are displayed in reverse chronological order (Dr. Barbara Schroeder 2012). This allows learners, teachers and parents to see progress over time. Teachers can read and post comments to individual pieces of writing and set various learning goals that specifically meet the needs of each student (Dr. Barbara Schroeder 2012). Using WordPress allows students to take their work home and makes their work instantly available.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">WordPress can be integrated throughout the school curriculum. Students can use WordPress to work on group and individual projects. Blogging encourages students to become active participants in writing as they ask questions, offer opinions and develop their thinking.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Accessibility with blogs is twofold: (1) the access for students to create, find and read blogs in an online environment and; (2) to design a blog that is accessible to range of readers, including those with disabilities. Teachers may write a blog, students may write a blog and both may be read by people with disabilities.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Accessibility **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The wireless infrastructure of the school, college or university meets the needs of most students while in their place of education, however, for those at home, the internet connect is a primary concern to educator who wish to provide blog writing as an at home activity. The growth of the web 2.0 environment enables teachers to move learning and teaching beyond the confines of the traditional classroom in both time and space (Gawelek, Spataro & Komarny, 2011).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users of WordPress require to register in order to receive an account. Users who own or have access to a mobile device, are able to install a free app that allows users to post blogs form mobile device (refer to [] for the full range of mobile apps). WordPress allows access from any computer with internet connection. This allows students twenty four hour access to their learning and encourages communications with peers and invites students to share their ideas whenever they come to light.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As stated by Vision Australia, “with the impending growth of Web 2.0 technologies, the need to embed accessibility into design is vital if the web is to grow into a truly inclusive medium” (Vision Australia, 2012). Bloggers and teachers who wish to ensure their blogs are accessible to all readers, are able to train with Blog Accessibility Mastermind ([]) to learn how to design their blog for readers inclusively.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Screen Shot - WordPress.com Dashboard **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Al-Fadda, H. & Al-Yahya, M. (2010). Using web blogs as a tool to encourage pre-class reading, post-class reflections and collaboration in higher education. US-China Education Review, 7(7). 100-106
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">References: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Boulos, M. N., Maramba, I. & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Medical Education,6(41), 1-8. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-6-41

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bouwma-Gearhart, J.L. & Bess, J.L. (2012). The Transformative Potential of Blogs for Research in Higher Education. The Journal of Higher Education, 83(2), 249-275. DOI: 10.1353/jhe.2012.0008

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">CMS Usage Statistics, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from []
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Churchill, D. (2011). Web 2.0 in education: a study of the explorative use of blogs with a postgraduate class. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 48(2), 149–158. DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2011.564009

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cuhadra, C. & Kuru, A. (2010). Improving interaction through blogs in a constructivist learning environment. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 11(1), 134-161.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ebner, M., Lienhardt, C., Rohs, M. & Meyer, I. (2011). Microblogs in Higher Education – A chance to facilitate informal and process-oriented learning? Computers & Education, 55. 92–100. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2009.12.006

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Freeman, W. & Brett, C. (2012). Prompting authentic blogging practice in an online graduate course. Computers & Education, 59, 1032–1041. DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.019

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gardner, S. & Birley, S. (2011). Starting a WordPress Blog. In: S. Gardner & S. Bailey, (Eds). Blogging <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">//for Dummies//. New Jersey : Wiley Publishing

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Grosseck, G. & Holotescu,C. (2008). Can we use twitter for educational activities?. The 4th International Scientific Conference. eLearning and Software for Education, Bacharest, April 17-18, 2008.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Huette, S. (2006). Blogs in education. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jones, K M. L. & Farrington, P. A (2011).Using WordPress as a Library Content Management System, Library Technology Reports 47(3), p.8-15. Retrieved 25 November, 2012, from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MacDonald, S. (2010). Using wordpress for the first time the perspective of a novice. English in Aotearoa. April (70), 17-19.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nguyen, T. (2006). Blogs In Education. Retrieved December 8, 2012, from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pusey, P. & Meiselwitz, G. (2009). Heuristics for Implementation of Wiki Technology in Higher Education Learning. In: A.A. Ozok and P. Zaphiris (Eds.), Online Communities, LNCS 5621. 507–514. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Schroeder., Dr. Barbara (2012). Blowing Up the Gradebook. http://edtechtoday.wordpress.com

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">West, Darrell M. (April 24 2012) How Blogs, Social Media and Video Games Imporve Education

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Vision Australia (2012). Ten tips to create an accessible website. http://www.visionaustralia.org/living-with-low-vision/learning-to-live-independently/using-technology-and-computers/blog---accessibility-and-assistive-technology-blog/blog/accessibility-blog/2012/06/13/ten-tips-to-create-an-accessible-website. Retrieved December 2, 2012.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">WordPress.com. (2012). //About Us.// Retrieved November 16, 2012, from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">15 Benefits and Limitations of WordPress.com Blogs (2007). Retrieved from http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2007/08/15-benefits-and-limitations-of-wordpresscom-blogs/