Blog Post 3

“Chorlton Park Year Two Blog” needs work, in my opinion. The design is very bland. It has a plain white background, a simple header, and barely any media elements. Most of the text is short and to the point, which works to some extent; however, it makes the blog look quite empty. Also, I think that the home page should explain more of the blog’s purpose and not showcasing the work of the Year Two students. People visiting the blog do not realize what this blog was designed to do until you click on the link called “Parents.” This link explains the blog and its main goal, but this page is mainly posts from parents to the teacher about the blog. It also never states the teacher who created this blog. On the home page, the teacher shows the same few students’ homework and the same assignments. It would be more effective to upload different students each month and to choose multiple homework assignments from various times in the year.

“Huzzah!” is a good blog that works. The design elements are very unique and not cluttered. The links are available in the sidebar and the teacher includes student blogs. I really like the reading gadget on the left hand side of the blog. The bookshelf design is eye-catching, but not too distracting. This blog has interesting stories that are about the students, along with some pictures. The audience is both the students and their parents, but it is quite obvious to tell who each story is intended for. The ones that start with “you” and a phrase that pertains to children are obviously for the students, while the ones that are just informational text are for the parents. It is creative because it speaks to the parents, but in a more entertaining way than just bland text. I can really tell the voice of the teacher in the writings, instead of just a professional sounding blog. There is also a slideshow of the students’ artwork, which is a more exciting way to showcase the classroom’s work than just posting pictures. This blog also includes some writings by the students about what they have been working on in the classroom and at school. This is a great way for the students to be involved in the blog and show the parents that their children are helping their teacher. Overall, this blog does not have anything wrong that stands out.