We are just starting to get our administrators and teachers up and running in our blogging workshops. A few questions about what makes a good blog and blog post have come up in some email conversations with a few pre-bloggers. David Warlick made a timely post on this matter and offers the following suggestions.

When reading a blog, ask:

1. What did the author read in order to write this blog? What did he or she already know and where did that knowledge come from?
2. What are the other points of view? What are the other sides of the story?
3. What did the author want readers to know, understand, believe, or do?
4. What was left unsaid?What are the remaining questions and issues?

When writing a blog, ask:

1. What did you read in order to write this blog? What do you know and where did that knowledge come from?
2. What are all points of view on the issue?
3. What do you want your readers to know, understand, believe, or do?
4. What will not be said? What are some of the remaining questions about the issue?

In the comments to this post Kathy Schrock add a link to a rubric for evaluating blogs. Mechelle De Craene suggested San Diego State University’s Blog Rubric and Jim Sullivan’s Blog Rubric.

Please take a look at these resources and consider them as you create your blogs and read others. As we begin to create our informal learning networks we act as both student and teacher. As we dive into this information rich (some would say overloaded) environment please read with a critical eye for relevance, reliability and credibility.

As educators please keep in the back of your mind that our students enter this world almost everyday in some from or another. Do they have the skills to manage all this information? Do have the skills necessary to read with a critical eye? Do we?