The emergence of Blogger changed the dynamics of web publishing. Blogger, a word coined by Pyra Labs, is a service that provides Web-based tools used by individuals to publish directly onto the Internet. Weblogs have become accepted in library, information science, and corporate settings such as Disney. The large number of educational blogging sites on the Internet attest to the growing popularity of this medium among educators.
The Blogger explosion has been extraordinary. It is estimated that there are now over 10 million blogs. This is an impressive number given that Blogger was only designed in 1999. The sheer number of blogs being published each day demonstrates that individuals have been quick to pick up on the idea of having an online journal, work book, or directory. However, a blog can be used in so many different ways. Tapping blogging capabilities is like tapping a vast, subterranean well.
The availability of free blogs provides the perfect tool to encourage students to publish their work on the Web, and to persuade students to compile online anthologies on specific subjects. Unlike web pages, which demand design skills and web space to upload to, blogger provides an incredibly easy, free way to establish and maintain a mini web site.
Edublog is a web publishing program that is supported by WordPress. WordPress is a state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. It offers the powerful publishing platform the Victorian Education Channel need to provide a truly interactive, safe global network. Edublog has features which Google Blogger does not provide but perhaps most importantly, it caters specifically for educational sites.
Global Teacher is a clone of Edublog. It will look exactly like Edublog, talks like Edublog, but is not Edublog. It is a secure blogging system that has been designed especially for the Victorian Education Channel and SLAV. Global Student is a clone of Learner Blog and is an online space for students to learn and use new technologies. The design of Global Teacher and Global Student has focused on providing support and guidelines which will protect students as they work online.
