Photo Credit: Fernando Valenzuela via Compfight
In reflecting back over nearly a full semester of blogging, what will you remember most about being part of the blogosphere?
What was the most rewarding aspect of blogging?
What was your greatest challenge during this blogging experience?
In your opinion, which post was your best-written? Did it receive the most comments or did another post bring in a larger number of comments?
As I prepare for next year’s sixth-grade class of bloggers, do you have any recommendations about topics, assignments, or how incoming students can be the best bloggers possible?
Thanks so much for blogging with me this year! It’s been a learning experience for me, too, and one I wouldn’t trade for anything. Keep writing…keep reading…keep being awesome for all of the days you spread joy on Planet Earth. To all those heading to Trailside, keep in touch by stopping by this blog now and again. If you’re staying here at ERMS, come visit! 🙂
Leave a comment!
Happy Summer!!
Mrs. Rombach 🙂
I would like to stay on blogging this summer
Will do, Paul! I’ll add you to the alumni blogroll. 🙂
Hi Mrs.Rombach!
I have not yet seen the comment or message Mr.Jewell has sent me. I was wondering what that was though!
Stay Happy and Have a Great Summer! 🙂
Quynh-Thi http://eatsweet.edublogs.org/
I would like to be one of the Alumni Bloggers, and stay on this page. I would like to keep on blogging even after school ends.
I think that blogging is very cool and easy. But there are also some struggles. For example typing whats on your mind. A plus is that you can share your beliefs and opinions to millions of people in the world. But be careful don’t tell where you live.
I think that the most memorable part of having a blog is being able to publish your ways of thinking and share them with other people. I think that the most challenging part of blogging was keeping up with the assignments. But, if we are going to have a blog we have to use it for something, right? I think that rising Sixth graders should know that blogging is going to be hard at first but if you stay focused you will catch on quick. The most fun part of blogging for me is the creating of the blog and getting to put things in your own words. I also think that my best post was probably on what leadership really means. To view this post vist http://LeAnnaBananna.edublogs.org.
P.S.: I am going to Stone Hill next year but I will do my best to keep in touch 🙂
Hi Mrs. Rombach, I think the most rewarding thing about bloging is that it lifts you grade up a lot.
and next year I think you should give the kids a little bit more freedom so you can write more about what you want. -Connor Allman
Hi Mrs. Rombach! The one thing I will remember most about being a part of this blogosphere is the journey. By that I mean starting all the way from making the blog. My blog had a simple background, no widgets, and only one visitor. My first post had no color, normal font, one size, and there were no pictures or videos. Then in only a couple of weeks I had all of those things, and I even had much more visitors. Even now my blog is still getting better, and I will always remember that! The most rewarding part of blogging has to be meeting and connecting with people from all the way across the globe. It was amazing to have active conversations back and forth between people I didn’t know, and to read all of their great posts and learning from them. Honestly the entire part of blogging was challenging, but if I had to choose one thing it had to be writing a post that people would want to read. It had to be a post that got people excited, and got people wanting to return to my blog and read more. My best written post hasn’t been written yet, because the posts just get better and better, but one post I really enjoy would be my one on Saving the Earth! It did receive the most comments (7)! For the new sixth graders that will be joining you class, all I can say is that they should enjoy what they’re writing about. I know the assignments can be boring, but adding a unique post of your own definitely makes your blog more interesting.
I’m one of those people heading over to Trailside, but I would like to be one of the Alumni Bloggers, and stay on this page. I’m so sad to leave Eagle Ridge and all my new friends, but I’ll visit your blog often! 🙂 H.A.G.S. (Have A Great Summer).
Vedika-
I would say the same things about my class blog. As I’ve progressed through this journey with all of you, I’ve learned so much more about blogging. Much of what I learned, I found on veteran bloggers’ sites. Plus, if I can’t figure something out, I google the question. This takes seconds and always leads me to the answer I was hoping to find. I’m glad you’ll continue to blog, and I wish you all the best as you transform from an Eagle to a Timber Wolf. We’ll miss you! Next year, I’ll give more options with every blogging assignment–per all of the feedback. With luck, we’ll have computers in the classroom, which will permit us daily access at school. It’s definitely been a learning experience for all of us, but a good one for sure. 🙂 Maybe you’ll join us for the fall version of the Student Blogging Challenge. 🙂
Happy Summer,
Mrs. Rombach
Hi Mrs.Rombach!
Just a second ago, I got my blog avatar to work! Before I went on the same website you told me and it never worked, I don’t get why it worked this time though. But, thank you for all the help!
Stay Happy 🙂
Quynh-Thi http://eatsweet.edublogs.org/
Hi Quynh-Thi-
I bet you did something a little different this most recent time. You’ve added so many features to your blog now, I’m guessing you simply missed a step during your original attempt. Now, as a more experienced blogger, you’re probably zipping through steps you stumbled through previously. 🙂 Hope you’re having a lovely weekend. I’ve just finished grading two blocks of blog posts, and now I’m starting on your block’s posts. I sure hope they’re all there, as this is my final day to grade blogs.
Cheers,
Mrs. Rombach
I think the most rewarding part about blogging was the tickets and just knowing that we could write and let our personalities shine through and all these people can look at it. The most challenging part about blogging I would say was learning how to use edublogs but I have the hang of it now. I think my favorite post was #12. I really got to express myself and I had fun writing about my summer plan. For some tips next year I think that maybe you should ask the students what they are interested in and what they like to write about. Overall I kinda liked blogging started liking it the more we did it. It was a much better homework assignment then doing some boring worksheets.
Hi Annie,
I teach middle school in Florida, and we enjoyed reading your class blog this year. Edublogs has set up a new system that allows bloggers to easily find the most popular posts, and Reflecting on Blogging by Mrs. Rombach was one of them! That’s how I found your comment.
I am wondering how Mrs. Rombach used tickets in blogging. Would you be able to explain that part of blogging to me?
Our class blog is called Hey, Kids! and you can find us at http://donofrio.edublogs.org.
We are out for the summer, but some of my students are still blogging during vacation. On one of our last days of school, we Skyped with Mrs. Emerick’s class, whom we met through blogging. I think your class blogs with her as well. One of my students, Maria, also has exchanged comments with Mrs. Rombach. I think Mrs. Rombach was Maria’s mentor for the Student Blogging Challenge. So, our classes have been on the periphery of each other’s blogs for a little while. Hopefully next year we can make a stronger connection.
I hope you have a great summer and that you keep blogging! Thank you for the thoughtful comment you left on this post.
Happy Summer!
~Mrs. Donofrio
I think the most rewarding part of blogging is either the tickets or just knowing that it’s a good way to express yourself. One of the most challenging things is just to remember to do it. I think for next year you should ask the students what they want to blog about and what there interests are and maybe if they are the top dog then they can pick a topic! – maddy c
I think that the most rewarding part is that people actually visit and comment! My greatest challenge was to figure out how to get widgets on my sidebar. I don’t think I have a best post, but my favorite one to write had to be about visiting overseas. I really liked how we had a variety of choices for blog post #12. I think that it would be great if you did that next year! I LOVED blogging and I will miss Eagle Ridge so much when I go to Trailside!
The one thing I will remember the most is being able to connect with my peers all over the world. The most rewarding part was knowing that the things I wrote were visible to anybody anywhere, an getting tickets for doing the blogging assignments. 🙂 Challenges were limited, but the most challenging part was making sure my posts were well-edited. This was the only challenge I had.
My most well-written post was my Earth SOS in which I wrote a letter to the adults. It put me in a conversation with adults over a topic that I was really interested in. That is what you should tell the new students, to write with their voice on things that interest them.
-Prerak T.
I think the most rewarding thing about blogging is that it lifts your grade so much! One of my biggest challenges during blogging was getting them in on time. Also next year you should let kids write about what they want but also have little things they have to put into their blog post, that way they get to write about what they want and get to try new things like links!
I liked blogging after I got the hang of it. In the beginning the blogging dropped my grade a lot because I didn’t get how to do that. I think next year you should a easy to use blog. I also think that you should make the grades a little higher
– Paul T 🙂
Something that I really loved about blogging is getting a chance to get out there. You got to do all sorts of things like you could make your own personal blog posts. I loved how Mrs. Rombach made us do weekly blog posts it kinda made you have to get out there and once you got a taste of how fun it was you just did not want to stop. A suggestion that I would have for next year is that I think that you should have the students all agree on a topic that they want to write about. Or you could even do what you did with our latest post and give us a range of options to choose from. -Alex Duncan
Hi Mrs.Rombach!
I will definitely keep blogging and visit your blog again! I also think the most rewarding thing blogging has brought me, would to be meeting others all over the world and how they would be able to blog with us! I love to post fun things like Top 10 things that make me smile, because it was really fun. 🙂 My most successful blog post would have to be the one about Mr.J’s class with 17 comments!
Stay Happy and Have a Great Summer! 🙂
Quynh-Thi http://eatsweet.edublogs.org/
Wow, Quynh-Thi, 17 comments. Now that’s impressive! It’s been wonderful to witness your transformation into an active, engaged blogger. You definitely have made the most of this experience, and I suspect your blog will continue to attract plenty of visitors. You understand already how very important it is to make blogging a two-way conversation. I love approving all of the positive, encouraging comments you leave for your classmates (and I know you’re doing that all over the world, too). Keep spreading the sunshine. 🙂
Mrs. Rombach
http://mrsrombachreads.edublogs.org
I thought my favorite blog post was the one about who inspires you most. i loved that post because I loves sharing about the most amazing person in the world who is my little sister. I love her so much and I am so glad I got to tell the whole world about the wonderful, strong, and beautiful young lady. <3
Anna-
I think anyone who read your post was touched by how you celebrated your little sister. Having diabetes is not easy, but you and your sister are awesome examples of how joy should always rise far above any setbacks an illness delivers. Thanks for sharing!
Mrs. Rombach
The best part of blogging was getting to communicate with people outside of the school.
My greatest challenge was publishing the assignment on time because I always forget. Whoops.
I think my best written post was my finish my story post. No my 10 Things that make me happy list has more comments.
tamanasthoughts,edublogs.org
Tamana-
As you progress onward and upward in your academics, you’ll find it’s always a challenge to balance school work and outside activities. It gets a little easier once you hit college, but then the workload triples. 🙂 I agree with you…connecting with others from around the globe is a wonderful, real-world experience. 🙂 I loved reading ALL of the Top 10 lists…I found out so many interesting facts about all of my students. 🙂
Happy Summer!
Mrs. Rombach
My response to the questions.
1. I will remember looking at the number of visitors from each country that is logged into the visitor widget.
2. I think the best part of blogging is meeting many different people across the globe.
3. The biggest challenge of blogging for me would be finding time to write posts. Weekends are normally the time that I get most of my posts written during.
4. I believe that my latest post (Blog post #12) was the best post I’ve written. It didn’t have the most comments but it had at least one comment.
5. I think the new sixth grade bloggers could be the best bloggers possible by commenting as much as they can. I know a lot of fifth graders who go to Hillside so maybe they’ll be one of the new sixth graders.
(P.S. Did you know that today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day?)
Sincerely,
David M.
My blog link: http://mysteriesofhistory.edublogs.org/
David-
I did know it was the anniversary of D-Day. I actually traveled to Normandy, France, in high school and was able to look over the steep cliffs that the American soldiers had to climb. There are rows and rows of identical white crosses marking thousands of graves. It was a very moving experience.
Thank you, David, for being such an avid blogger. Your posts are always so interesting to read, and incredibly well-written. I so appreciate your attention to detail and your desire to deliver the best work possible. You shine here in the blogosphere, just as you do in class. 🙂
Mrs. Rombach
In My opinion the most rewarding part of blogging was the sense of accomplishment. My greatest challenge was to find a computer to blog from. In my opinion, The One and Only… Is my best because I took about 1-1.5 hours and took my time. I would recommend doing a post about sports for boys and if could be any animal I would be a…
http://sportsanity.edublogs.org/
Garrett-
I’m glad you enjoyed blogging. Based on your feedback and that of your classmates, I’ll definitely offer more prompts next year (like blog post #12) and I’ll probably have students write each blog post in class first.
Thank you for spending that extra time to turn out your very best blog post. I can’t wait to read your post. As I like to say, there’s a huge difference between done and well done. Well done takes time, attention to detail, and a desire to deliver the best product possible. I’m off to read Block 3/6’s final posts. 🙂
Mrs. Rombach
One of the many things I love about blogging was getting visitors from around the world! One of my visitors came from India! I loved having all of the different widgets and ways to customize your blog. Every persons blog on edublogs is unique because of the many things that the website provides. My favorite blog post that I have written has to be my most recent post about what I am going to do and where I am going to visit when I go to France and London next summer! If you would like to visit my blog and check out what I have been cooking, click here! 🙂 http://therighttint.edublogs.org/
Also, I would love to keep my blog so I can post through out seventh grade. 😉
Olivia-
Welcome to the alumni blog roll! I’ll add your link today during SAMs. 🙂 Congratulations on turning out so many wonderful blog posts. Next September, check out the fall Student Blogging Challenge. Whether or not your seventh grade teacher hosts student blogs, you can participate through your Edublogs link here on the class blog. I’ll be participating with the challenge in the fall. One of my favorite aspects of the challenge was seeing my students’ work featured in the flipbook. 🙂 Have a wonderful summer, Olivia!
This year was my first time blogging and I had a really enjoyed blogging. Furthermore, the thing I will remember most about blogging is learning to use the blog and adding widgets! Blogging made me become a stronger writer and taught me to show my voice through my writing, that was the most rewarding part of blogging. My greatest challenge through blogging was taking my time, some of my posts were not as good because I didn’t spend as much time on the posts. Additionally, my best blog post was the “Best Summer Day,” I think I did good on that post because I used really descriptive language. I believe that the rising 6th graders can be the best bloggers by taking their time and using really descriptive language. I enjoyed blogging this year and I hope the rising 6th graders will like blogging as much as I did.
To visit my blog, this is the url, http://allaboutskating.edublogs.org/
Michelle-
You’re right about blogging strengthening all of our writing skills. I thoroughly enjoyed watching your blogs expand far beyond a required assignment. You are a gifted writer, and this space allows you to shine in your own personal fashion. Keep up the wonderful writing and enjoy every minute of summer.
The best ,most awarding part of blogging was learning how to write better than before. To me i feel like my writing became stronger.
The greatest challenge was getting all my blog posts turned in on the due date.
My recommendation for the future sixth graders is to do your blog post!
http://fluffyandpuffyunicorns.edublogs.org
Deyani-
I agree…blogging does make us stronger, better writers. It helps to have people reading your writing. You want to excel in the eyes of potential guests. Keep reading and writing! Enjoy your summer, Deyani!
I think the most rewarding part of blogging is either the tickets or just getting to have teacher feedback on your writing. The most challenging part is probably just remembering to do the post because I love the actual writing part. I liked the happy poems or the optional leadership post. I’ll make sure to visit you next year! 🙂 -Casey A
Casey-
I think next year I’ll have my students write their blogs on Google docs first so I can have more opportunities to provide feedback before the posts are published. Have a wonderful summer and keep reading and writing. 🙂 Please do stop by and visit next year!
I think the best part of blogging was knowing that at least one person out of this state will read what I have written.
The hardest thing about blogging is finding topic that someone would like to read.
Thanks for the awesome year, happy summer!
-Katie
katiespointofview.edublogs.org
Katie-
Happy Summer to you! You’ll be surprised to see that people will continue to land on your blog and leave comments all summer long. 🙂 Take care, young lady.
I will remember all of the other blogs I have seen around the world! I loved to talk to people all around the world. The best most rewarding part about blogging was being able to share my writing work with people around the world, also people are able to comment on my work and help me with my writing. My greatest challenge was keeping up with posting our assignments on time, I didnt have much time to get it on time but I mostly got them up. My favorite post was the last one my was entitled Growing up Right Before our Eyes! I love to think about my future so it was an easy one. It also got me to think about my future more than I have ever thought about it. I think maybe not as many post as we did this week, it was kind of stressful. Maybe have one post every 2 weeks.
Thank you for a wonderful year! I will miss this awesome 6th grade class. Have a great summer.
http://eatmybubbles.edublogs.org/
Abby-
Thanks for sharing all of those good ideas. This survey tells me that I’ll have more options for each blog post assignment…something everyone seemed to enjoy about the final blog post. 🙂 I so enjoyed reading your final blog post of the school year. Your passion and commitment to swimming is amazing. Keep writing…the blog is yours to share out whatever you want, including all about your swim competitions or the books you’ve read or the dinner you cooked for your parents. 🙂 Happy Summer!
I think that the thing I will remember most about blogging will be that it’s important to be safe in the blogosphere (word credits to Mrs. Rombach 🙂 ). Its very crucial that you don’t give out any personal information to anyone on the internet. The thing that was most rewarding was learning all about other parts of the world and all the events happening. Such as the California wildfires. Learning about all of these current events is important. The biggest challenge to me in blogging was to figure out all of the technology widgets and things of those sorts. I googled a lot of things…as has everyone I bet. My best post (even though it didn’t get a lot of comments) I think was my “Who Inspires Me The Most” post because it is very meaningful to me. I think that next year, you could do more free blog posts. Like could give a topic and then the students have to write a poem, short story, or just normal post about it.
Thank you so much Mrs. Rombach for giving your own time to our blogs. I know that you must have a busy life with 5 kids but I just wanted you to know that its really amazing how much you do for us. My parents were talking with me about my blog and they definitely agree. Thanks so much!
Writer At The Heart,
Alice
Find me at http://writingfrommyheart.edublogs.org
Alice-
I like how you problem-solved to figure out how to add some of the blog features that you saw elsewhere. That’s what I do. I cruise around other teacher and student blogs and borrow the great ideas I see elsewhere. That can-do attitude will serve you well all of your life. 🙂 Keep on writing. Maybe there are magazine articles, screenplays, or New York Times bestsellers in your future. 🙂
1. Looking on other people’s blogs to get inspiration
2. Connecting with people all over the world
3. How long it took to write the blog post
4. My most successful blog post was the optical illusions one because it attracted many visitors and by the end of the day I had 3 COMMENTS on it! At this moment, there is 5 comments so far and the most out of all of my posts.
5. I have 1 recommendation for topics and how next year bloggers can be the best possible. I personally think that mostly all topics should be related to STEAM…or STEM. To add some fun to it, let there be a free choice because the bloggers would write passionately about their topic and they would have fun.
P.S.-
Mrs. Rombach~
I would LOVE to become an Alumni blogger. Would there be any chance I could be one?
Krishan
http://steamingthroughlife.edublogs.org/
Krishan-
Thanks for all of your ideas, and of course I’ll add you to my list of alumni bloggers. 🙂 Next September, you might check in and participate in the Student Blogging Challenge! 🙂
The thing I will mostly remember is specifically the posting. It was pretty fun to post whatever we wanted. We did have the assignments to do, which was pretty pressuring. Still, that was why we made the blogs right? To post things and have fun! Get some work done. What I think was pretty fun and rewarding was getting to personalize our blogs and getting to make it what we enjoy. Like me, I did vacations. They’re amazing! A big challenge for me was trying to figure out how to use the blog in the first place. Some widgets and other things were pretty hard to figure out. Even if you did have the instructions. I thought my best blog post was “Help save the poor!” I want to say that I really loved personalizing my blog. I just think that you could demonstrate more on how to use all the techniques for our blogs more. That’s what I had trouble with.
This isn’t related but I’m going to Trailside. I really am going to comment a lot on your blog when I’m gone! 🙂 http://floatingoncloud9.edublogs.org
Alexa-
I agree! I think that if we have one-to-one devices, as is planned for next year, we’ll have plenty of time in class to write and troubleshoot. This was most definitely a learning experience for me, too, so I’ll take everyone’s comments into consideration when I plan out next year’s writing assignments. 🙂
This year was my first time ever even having a blog. I really enjoyed having one because I liked connecting with others through my blog. A highlight of my blogging experience would have to be being in the student blogging challenge panflit. Some things I really enjoyed about blogging were getting all of the views (over 300) and sharing my writing with others. I didn’t used to feel as confident about my writing but after blogging, the nice comments and all the views made me feel more confident in my writing and it made me dig deeper to make my writing better.
Delaney
http://fantasticflips.edublogs.org
Note to Mrs. Rombach: I would also like to be an alumni blogger!
I didn’t like blogging as much as other people, but there is stuff I really enjoyed. My favorite part was getting tickets after doing the blog. My biggest challenge was not keeping up with the weekly blog assignments and that was my fault. Besides that I had a great I had a great blog post it was “If I was an Animal.” It didn’t have a lot of comments but I believe it was my best. I recommend to future bloggers to your weekly blog assignments. Trust me I learned that the hard way. :p
1. Interacting
2. Doing the posts
3. The biggest challenge was wanting to post things.
4. Best written: “A new future”
5. recommendations: Do a top 10 of everything they hate.
The best part of the blogs was seeing who was visiting and where they were from. Furthermore, I recommend for next year that anyone who has a blog gets a Cluster Map so you can who visits your blog and where they are from. Blogging was very fun when you are posting about things you are interested in. One of the posts that I am most proud of is about and titled Amazing Baseball Endings. If you would like to read it go to this site below. http://sportsarelife.edublogs.org/
1.)Meeting some great people.
2.)Having a voice and meeting new people.
2.)Avoiding spelling and grammar errors.
3.)I have been told on more than one occasion that my blog post, Time Traveling To What I Hope Is There, was my best blog post yet. I am very proud of it.
4.)When you leave a comment on someone else’s blog, don’t leave it. Go back to see if they responded. Continue this, and you may find yourself a blogging buddy.
5.)I am so blessed to have had you as my English teacher. Thank you for being so amazing. I am remaining at ERMS. I will most certainly pay you a visit, as well as checking out your blog.
Kira –
Your number 4 is absolutely true…which probably explains why you and several of your classmates developed friendships with people across the country. Please do come back and visit me next year. It’s been a blessing to be your teacher. 🙂
1. The most rewarding part is that you get to meet new friends from different places.
2. The most challenging part was to get your blog set up and adding new things , for example the virtual pets.
3. My best post is the leadership poem. And the only comments I get is from Mrs. Rombach 🙂
4. my recommendation is keep it how you did it this year as it was very detailed instructions and continue blogging. 🙂 From Charmi
http://letstalkaboutbooks.edublogs.org/
Just to help, I think you should ask the kids what they are interested in and what they what to blog about. Maybe if they are interested they will blog more passionately and become better writers. -Casey A
I got a chance to use the internet in school that is what I remember most. You get to go online and have your own site That was nice.Using links Was hard for me.The world through the eyes of my cat was my favorite one.What would you do if you were president that is a assignment you should do if you ask me.
I will remember all the people I met, not face-to-face, but trough blogs.
The best part of blogging was the excitement I had when another person commented on my blog.
My greatest challenge was trying to make posts fit certain needs.
I think my best written post was my latest one,
“LAISSEZ-NOUS VOYAGEONS! DEIXE-NOS VIAJAR! LET’S TRAVEL!” It recieved a couple of comments, but the post with the most comments was “TEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY”.
Next year, you should have a blogging assignment with things to do with feelings. What makes you happy was a good example of this. That way, there will be various answers, and not that many that are similar.
This was a great year in blogging, and I think that the rising 6th graders will like it too.
~Pranav
I think that setting up my blog, and doing the first few posts was fun. But then…..well….I guess blogging became a little boring/went downhill/old. I am not quite sure what you can do to improve it. I liked doing the 10 things that make me happy post. Doing other certain writing assignments was kind of boring though. Blogging was mostly fun. I would do it again next year if I could.