Elementary @ Ontario Blogs

“Era” may be a bit grandiose to mark the duration of the Ontario Blogs project but it has played such a significant part in my life that it seems fitting to me.

I’ve been trying to write this post all summer but have kept putting it off in case I got a sudden brainwave as to how to keep the project going. Ontario Blogs started in 2006 under the auspices of the now defunct Education Network of Ontario. When that organization ceased to exist, the board of directors very generously used legacy funding to keep the project alive for the 2007-2008 school year. That funding has now come to an end. I am sorry to report that I have been unable to find a sponsor to keep the project going for the 2008-2009 school year.

Rather than leave the project on a sad note, I’d rather highlight some of our successes.

• In the 2006-2007 school year we had 2860 registered Ontario bloggers - teachers and students from elementary, secondary and FSL classes, as well as Faculty of Ed. students from UOIT.
• In the 2007-2008 school year the number of registered Ontario users jumped by almost 1000 to 3, 851.
• The phenomenal success of the project was due to individual teachers and board consultants. Teachers registered their classes one at a time and then spread the word to their colleagues - truly a grassroots movement.
• The Ontario Literacy Secretariat featured Ontario Blogs in their teacher in-service sessions throughout the province.
• Ontario Blogs got a “thumbs-up” from noted edubloggers Wes Fryer, Stephen Downes and Lorna Costantini.
• Ontario Blogs has been approached by educators from Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories with invitations for interprovincial collaborations.
• Author Monica Marie Jones found her way to the project and joined in the discussion of her story “Okay to be Me” from “Chicken Soup for the Girls Soul”.

Emails are coming in on a daily basis from both returning and new teachers inquiring about the registration process for Ontario Blogs. Without a sponsor the project cannot continue. The existing Ontario Blogs sites will remain as archives to be used as teachers see fit. My recommendation is that teachers wishing to continue blogging have a look at Edublogs, www.edublogs.org. Run on the same platform (Wordpress) as Ontario Blogs, this free blogging site allows teachers to create and manage students blogs. If you wish to connect with other Ontario classrooms send an email to dhammond@ontarioblogs.com and I will set up a classroom links page here.

It has been a pleasure to work with you and your students over the past couple of years. I wish you and your students all the best in your future endeavours!

Take care

Diane

Diane Hammond
Curriculum Consultant
Ontario Blogs Coordinator