Have you ever felt completely inspired and rejuvenated after visiting another school? Stepping out of the bubble of your own environment can be so powerful to get new ideas and perspectives.
How often do you get to actually visit other schools? Perhaps not nearly as often as you’d like.
Fortunately, you can take a virtual peek at class blogs and savor the benefits of school visits.
Many educators enjoy using a blog to have an online space that complements their physical space. Class blogs are very popular and yield many benefits for students, teachers, and the school community.
Because we know many of our readers love seeing examples, we’ve put together an updated showcase of 13 great class blogs powered by Edublogs, CampusPress, or WordPress.
If you’re wondering why WordPress, scroll to the end of the post to find out what WordPress is all about and why it’s the perfect platform for class blogs.
13 Great Class Blogs
These class blogs are just a tiny fraction of the high-quality spaces out there. We strongly encourage you to leave a comment on this post with your contributions!
You can also see more examples on our list of class blogs which has been updated twice a year since 2008.
This post showcases blogs from a range of different age groups, subject areas, and locations to demonstrate what’s possible. It’s roughly ordered by age.
1) Learning Stories
Year level: PreK-K1 (age 3-5 multi-age setting)
Location: Nanjing International School, China
Teacher: Shemo Gani
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Shemo Gani started this wonderful blog in September 2015 when she had a kindergarten class of 5-6 year olds. She was kind enough to share some of her insights,
After sending out class newsletters for years, I wanted to find a better way to showcase the learning stories of the children. I also wanted to collect the stories in a way that I can access them more freely, even after a few years.
The blog has helped me strengthen my own practice in many ways. I have learned the value of listening, documenting and following student interests and learning.
My parents are my biggest advocates. They always share how valuable the blog is to them, how it helps them connect with their children on a different level. They enjoy following our stories and often encourage and share action as a result.
One of the fantastic things about this regularly updated blog is that it’s rich with a whole range of content: photos, quotes, videos, curriculum outcomes, and more.
The blog also links in with the class Twitter account.
2) Rousseau’s ELP 1
Year level: Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten
Location: Ontario, Canada
Teachers: Paula Crockett and Aviva Dunsiger
Blogging platform: WordPress
Paula Crockett and Aviva Dunsiger are an innovative pair of Canadian teachers who use a class blog to connect with families.
This blog is a real hive of activity and their Daily Shoot idea is a marvelous way to keep families up to date. This concept has replaced a traditional class newsletter.
Aviva is also a well-known blogger herself. Her professional posts often expand and reflect on the content of the class blog posts.
3) Team 2 Eagles
Year level: Grade 2
Location: Ontario, Canada
Teacher: Becky Versteeg
Blogging platform: CampusPress
Becky Versteeg is a Grade Two teacher from Ontario, Canada. Her class blog is an online hub which showcases student work and events, while keeping families up to date with everything that is happening in class.
You’ll also find links to all her student blogs on the right sidebar. This is such an impressive set up for a class of 6 and 7 year olds!
You can read more about how Becky blogs with her young students in these posts:
- Blogging With Young Students: Becky Versteeg’s Students
- Back To School, Back To Blogging, And Back To The Team 2 Eagles
4) Join the Adventure (French Immersion)
Year level: Grade 3
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Teachers: Mme Harrison and Mlle Nicholson
Blogging platform: Edublogs
One subject area that has been totally transformed by technology is language learning. What a joy to be able to hear, see, and connect with other language learners or speakers.
Grade Three French Immersion Teachers, Mme Harrison and Mlle Nicholson use their class blog to introduce the students to French resources, as well as sharing student learning.
One particularly interesting idea they use is a ‘Thought Box’ page where students and parents are invited to share thoughts that won’t be published.
5) Westwood with Iford School Blogs
Year level: K-6
Location: Wiltshire, England
Head Teacher: Ian Rockey
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Ian Rockey is head teacher at a UK primary school that is small in size but big on connecting the community in innovative ways.
Links to each of Westwood’s four class blogs can be found on a central landing page. This example demonstrates the benefit of connecting individual class blogs across the school.
One outstanding feature of this school’s online presence is their own radio station which is organized and run by the children. Check out their incredible work!
The school is also active on Twitter — @wwischool
6) Mrs. Rupp’s Class
Year level: Grade 4
Location: The American School of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Teacher: Leslee Rupp
Blogging platform: Edublogs
This is a fantastic class blog that Leslee Rupp updates regularly. Leslee told us a bit more about how her blog works,
I use it as my primary home-school communication tool, posting weekly homework and announcements.
In addition, because I encourage my students, as Scholars, to “consider different points of view” and “use multiple sources,” I try to provide enriching extensions for them to explore further or tools to help scaffold learning. I’ve also tried to make the blog a bit interactive by embedding videos and related Google Forms or Padlets to highlight student responses and reflections.
The blog is intentionally photo-rich, as well. Students love to see themselves on the blog, which I hope helps them share learning experiences with their families.
As an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) candidate school, we seek to develop a learner profile, which, among other things, includes students who are inquirers, thinkers, knowledgeable, risk-takers, principled, and reflective. My hope is that the blog will nurture those traits in my students.
Looking ahead to next year, I would like to include more student work samples and reflections and assessment tools to encourage self-assessment and growth. I would also like to update some of the resources under the drop-down menus to more-accurately reflect our developing inquiry program.
This class blog is well worth a look!
7) Mrs. Moore’s Class
Year level: Grade 5
Location: Arizona, USA
Teacher: Amber Moore
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Amber Moore teaches 5th grade math and science at a STEAM school.
The blog has a great mix of images and recounts to keep their community up to date with all their wonderful learning.
This class also enjoys global collaboration and has participated in the Student Blogging Challenge.
Mrs. Moore’s class also uses Instagram to share their daily activities (@mooreclass).
8) ePencil
Year level: Grade 6
Location: Massachusetts, USA
Teacher: Kevin Hodgson
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Kevin Hodgson (aka Dogtrax) is a long time blogger who maintains both a professional blog and a class blog for his sixth grade writing workshop students.
The Electronic Pencil class blog is a place where Kevin provides guidelines and examples for student assignments. Student creations are also showcased on the blog
On his professional blog, Kevin often publishes more detailed posts about lessons, while exploring various other topics.
Kevin shares many creative ideas and his blogs are well worth a look.
9) Early History of the United States
Year level: Grade 8
Location: California, USA
Teacher: Barry Hayes
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Barry Hayes has been using Edublogs for the last four years exclusively for classroom assignments.
He told us about the purpose of his blog,
Blogging allows my students to venture beyond the textbook, to explore the richness and vast expanse of the world through the window of their computers, using Edublogs to showcase all they have and hope to learn in the future. We travel time together as adventurers of the digital medium.
The students have their own blogs to share their thoughts, discoveries, research, and experience within the subject of American history. You can find the links to the student blogs at the bottom of the class blog.
10) WooTube
Year level: High school
Location: Sydney, Australia
Teacher: Eddie Woo
Blogging platform: WordPress
Have you ever thought about recording your lessons and publishing them, not just for your own class, but for anyone who wants to watch and learn? Eddie Woo is a Sydney maths teacher who has done just that.
Eddie’s award winning work has earned him a huge following with students from across the world. Eddie uses a WordPress site as an online hub for a blog, his YouTube channel, learning resources, and more.
This is a great example of how blogs have evolved to be dynamic homes for any online creations.
11) Jurupa Hills High School Photography
Year level: High school
Location: California, USA
Teacher: Rebecca Cauchon
Blogging platform: Edublogs
A blog is the perfect complement to a photography class. After all, what’s the point of working on all those images if no one sees them?
Teacher, Rebecca Cauchon showcases her students’ truly amazing creations on the Jurupa Hills High School Photography blog. This is done through posts on the class blog and individual student blogs (see the links on the sidebar on the right-hand side).
This blog really is a visual delight!
12) NCH Chemistry
Year level: High School
Location: Mississippi, USA
Teacher: Tammy Skinner
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Tammy Skinner teaches chemistry and physics at Northpoint Christian School.
She has a very active and popular class blog that houses class notes, videos, test reviews, links, and more.
Tammy Skinner shared the following insights about her blog:
My students and I have been using our Edublogs class website since 2008. It all begin with a huge challenge my students were facing – students gone on mission trips, students out with the flu, students in tournaments, or students who missed the concepts in class and just needed to hear the lesson again.
Our Edublogs class website is a virtual classroom of sorts, with tons of resources for my students. I use it for posting videos of daily lectures, reviews, and help sessions. It’s also a place where my students can access the weekly syllabus, assignments, rubrics, project information, interactive websites, tutorials, etc. So many wonderful teachers and organizations have put incredible resources for learning chemistry and physics online, and my students are able to easily access them though our class website.
Another very important way I use our class website is to keep in touch with my students, and also for them to keep in touch with each other, outside of class. They share lab results, collaborate on projects, etc., through comments. They also use the comments to ask me (or their classmates) questions they forgot or might have been hesitant to ask in class.
These resources are useful not just for her own class but for other teachers and students at schools around the country and around the world.
13) Connected Teaching And Learning
Year level: Senior High School (age 16-19)
Location: Oslo, Norway
Teacher: Ann Michaelsen
Blogging platform: Edublogs
Norway educator, Ann Michaelsen operates this blog in a very unique style. Connected Teaching And Learning is Ann’s professional blog where she publishes regular reflections on what she is reading and learning. Beyond that, it is also a classroom hub for lesson plans and materials, as well as a home for many student blogs (links are on the right sidebar).
Ann shares a great overview of the benefits of blogging for her high school students in this post from 2016.
Ann’s approach makes us wonder if it would be beneficial for more educators to set up one blogging hub for the many aspects of their professional lives. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.
About Edublogs, CampusPress, and WordPress
Confused about the platforms these blogs are built with? Let’s break it down.
You’ve probably heard of WordPress? It’s the most popular content management system out there. In fact, around a third of websites worldwide are built with WordPress.
Some educators build their blogs straight from WordPress.com or WordPress.org.
Edublogs is a popular option for those who are interested in using a WordPress platform but want the technical side of things taken care of including hosting and backups. Edublogs also offers a blogging platform that’s purely for education with the added elements of support and safety.
CampusPress is a WordPress platform for a whole school, university, district, or other educational institution. It offers the same great features that come with Edublogs, plus more, including individual branding.
So why is a WordPress platform like Edublogs the way to go?
- The fact that it’s export-friendly is a big reason. You want to be able to take your work, or your students’ work, with you.
- Of course, safety is a huge decider for many schools too and we have that covered.
- Many teachers really appreciate being able to have personalized support to help them through their blogging journey.
- Students and educators love being able to customize their online space. Themes, plugins, and other extensions allow you to do just that.
- It’s a great idea to consider the future of your blogging platform too. With WordPress powering so much of the web now, who knows where your students’ blogging skills could take them in the future!
Read more about the benefits of WordPress for student blogging in this post.
Want To Start Blogging But Not Sure How?
Check out our Blogging 101 page. It includes a 15-minute tutorial video and all the help guides you’ll need to get going!
Add To Our Showcase
Do you know any great class blogs?
Perhaps you have a class blog of your own?
Please leave us a comment with the details so our community can take a look!
Here’s a blog written by students at the Boston Community Leadership Academy in Boston, MA
bclareviews.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for sharing this article! It is very useful for students.
I really enjoyed reading this article and found it very helpful.
this article is well thought out and well put together
hey it’s nice article
We use Kidblog. My kids have been blogging all year. I think next year, I will leave more time for free writing. However, they seemed to enjoy the prompts that were suggested and the majority of them loved writing! Check us out!
Room 5 Scholars
https://kidblog.org/class/room-5-18-19/posts
Feel free to leave comments.:)
Hi!
I started a class blog last fall with my third grade students having a goal in mind of participating in the spring Blogging Challenge. I use my class blog for displaying student work, technology integration, publishing writing, teaching digital citizenship, and evaluating students in their writing. I will be presenting a classroom blogging session at a conference next week, which will include standards connections and blog setup for educators. One of my favorite things to do is go back to the beginning of year blog posts written by my students and show them how much they have grown over the course of the school year! My class especially enjoyed checking out other class blogs and interacting with students across the globe in the March Blogging Challenge. Thank you for providing such a great platform for me to use in my school and classroom!
wermager.edublogs.org
Hi Chelsie,
I love the work you’re doing on your blog! If you haven’t already you might like to check out Mrs. Yollis’ class blog as she is also in 3rd grade and her students have their own blogs with Edublogs.
I used to love doing the same thing as you with comparing students work. You can often see such a dramatic difference!
So glad you’re enjoying the challenge too. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to showcase or perhaps some of your third graders would like to write a ‘how-to’ for challenge participants sometime, like Lauren did a few weeks back. Something to think about!
Kathleen
Nice article,Thanks for posting this type of information in this article.
hello I want to create a blog but I encounter difficulties is what you can help me. aymane
Hi there,
Feel free to email our support team at [email protected]
Let them know what the problem is and they’ll be more than happy to get you sorted!
I placed a link to this excellent post in my new article for KQED In the Classroom, “Ten Tips for a Successful Class Blog.” https://ww2.kqed.org/education/2018/03/06/ten-tips-for-a-successful-class-blog/
Hi Robert, thank you so much for letting us know! 🙂
I would love to add that Eddie Woo has just been named (last night) as Australia’s Local Hero for 2018! What a legend 🙂
Woo hoo! What an inspiration. Thanks for sharing, Holly. 🙂
I keep a blog about Arts Integration, mostly music. I update regularly, and have great original content including pictures, video, free lesson plans, and more.
I’m about to embark on my most ambitious project yet, the Arts as a Path to Global Citizenship, which I will be conducting as an Action Research Project, gathering data and evidence of its impact along the way. As part of my graduate program, I plan on using my blog to update progress along the way.
If you’re interested in music, the arts, or just innovative teaching practice I encourage you to take a look!
http://asoundmind.edublogs.org/
Hi Frank,
Thanks so much for sharing your blog. So much great info there. I’ll be sure to share your work on the Edublogs Twitter account too so others can take a look. Are you on Twitter?
I need to be! I’ll let you know my handle as soon as I create one
Great! If you decide to join Twitter, be sure to follow me @kathleen_morris and I’ll be happy to help if you like 🙂
Alright! I’ve joined and am using Twitter to live tweet the progress of my new 10 week elective / action research project. I’ll add you and take a look if the idea of “The Arts as a Path to Global Citizenship” interests you!
@asoundmindedu
Hi Frank, nice work! I just tweeted out to see if any of my PLN would like to connect with you. Let me know if you need help navigating Twitter any time. 🙂
I have a blog but I will never be able to write this much i’m just a small blog that will not get like this one love it
Keep going, Sean! It doesn’t matter how much you write. 🙂
Thank you so much for the kind words and mention in this post! I can’t wait to check out the other blogs here.
Aviva
Thanks, Aviva. We love your work! 🙂