The next student and class blogging challenge starts on Sunday 4 October 2015.

Why do we need mentors in the blogging challenge?

When I first began the challenge back in 2008, there were only about 200 students taking part and I could visit each of them three times over the ten week period.

But in the last few challenges, there have been  over 1300 students and there was no way I could visit them regularly.  So in 2010 I started asking people in education to mentor a small group 20-30 students over the ten week period of October to December or March to May.

If you register to be a mentor, please keep checking back on this post as I will allocate the students to you and mention in your comment reply who you will be visiting.

Once students start registering next week, I will be allocating mentors immediately so please keep checking out the student participant’s page in the main header above to find out who you are mentoring.

Who can be a mentor?

  • classroom teacher or homeschool teacher
  • principal or senior staff or faculty members
  • trainee teachers
  • students who have taken part in at least two sets of previous challenges
  • educational coaches or trainers
  • regular blogger about educational matters

What do you do if you are a mentor?

  • Visit your allocated student blogs at least three times throughout the challenge
  • Leave comments on posts written by the students
  • Continue conversations in the comments
  • Remind them about visiting the main blogging challenge page each week
  • Contact me by email or a comment if having concerns or problems (contact is on right sidebar)

So you have read the above and have decided you have the time to visit the student blogs, now it is time to register.

In a comment below, mention the following:

  • A short bio of yourself including some interests
  • Link to your own blog, especially a class blog or your personal blog – allows me to check validity as an educator
  • Age group you would like to mentor and how many students

63 thoughts on “Mentors needed to help new bloggers

  1. Hi! I’m a 7-12 grade level teacher in a public school in PA. I’ve been blogging for a little while now. Here is the one blog that I’ve really been working on.

    Marikinavalley.com

    I love the idea of having mentors help kids learn blogging. I think this is something most schools lack and should consider adding to their curriculum!

    Thanks so much. Let me know how I can help.

    -Charissa

  2. Hello Miss W,
    I have done the weeks challenge and made a post about my favourite food. I am looking forward to next weeks challenge.
    elijahz13.edublogs.org
    Elijah

  3. Hello, another latecomer here but if you still need mentors I am willing to help out again.
    I am Mrs. Theriault at All Things Quebec
    https://allthingsquebec.wordpress.com
    I have over 60 10/11/12 year old bloggers.
    My preference is for ages 11 to 16 but willing to help out where needed.
    Also willing to help teachers new to blogging.
    Evelyn Theriault
    P.S. My own students will be doing your Spring blog challenge.

    1. Thanks Evelyn,
      I have allocated some 12 year old students to you. I can give you more if you want to pair up one of your students with one of those already in the challenge.

  4. Hi Sue
    I am a bit late too, but happy to have a group of students to mentor again. 9 – 12 year olds? That way I can connect them to my students.

    Thanks

    Celia

    1. Hi Celia,
      I have allocated some 9 year olds to you. If possible can you also look after the Chinese group above you in the list but at the moment very few have written posts and I am not sure if they have comments visible yet.

  5. Hello!
    I’m happy to help be a mentor to some students. I am a first-grade teacher in Malaysia, and future doctoral candidate for technology in education.

    I’m on Twitter–@mistermanker or @MankerMkis
    and my blog is at mkis-esblog-bmanker.blogspot.com.

    1. G’day Brad,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have a group of students in the 7 year old age range that would love a tutor. They are only just learning to blog and many have created their avatar but not yet written a post. If you have any concerns please get back to me. To find your students, go the the Student list above the header and yours are near the top of the list.

  6. Hi .. I’m a bit late to the party as I didn’t see the notification of this challenge starting. I really want to get my students involved so I hope we can catch up.

    I’m happy to be a mentor.

    I teach at an international school in Chengdu, China (home of the panda and Sichuan hot pot). I’ve been on the international circuit for 9 years now, having worked in Qatar and Kazakhstan too. I’m originally from London, but on a trip (a long one) to Australia, I re-trained as a teacher and met and married an Aussie.

    My school / class blog is http://merion.edublogs.org and my personal blog is https://meriontaynton.edublogs.org

    I look foward to joining this challenge.
    Merion Taynton 🙂

    1. G’day Merion,
      With nearly 2000 students already registered, it would probably be better for your students to make connections with other students their age from the student participation list above the header area. You could register your class blog as I notice all the student blogs are connected there.

      Is there any particular age group you would like to mentor? I need some more for the 13 year old students – perhaps you could pair one of your students with some on the list so they both get comments.

  7. Hi all mentors,
    I am away until 7 October and will be allocating mentors when I return from my holiday in South Australia. I have limited ability to get internet so would prefer to spend a day when I get home allocating mentors and sorting out students.

    Sorry for the inconvenience but the first post will be published by then, so hopefully your students will have a post for you to leave a comment on by the time they are allocated to you.

  8. Hi, if you still need more assistance with mentoring, I’d love to help out wherever needed. I’m an essentialist, so “less but better” is my motto: I could give much better support and feedback to a smaller group of, say, 5 students.

    A little about me: I’m 34 years old. Husband, father of two, ex-pharmacist and full-time blogger for past three years. My blog is located at:

    http://TheWPMillionaire.com

    … where I talk about copywriting, SEO, mindset and blogging best practices for entrepreneurs and small business owners. So this is right up my alley! Looking forward to it 😉

  9. I am a school librarian at TJ Connor Elementary in Scottsville, NY. I teach grades K-5. I enjoy running, hiking, and reading. I also enjoy technology, using it and teaching students to use it. I have two blogs- one for the school library: https://tjcmediacenter.wordpress.com and one for book reviews: unabridgedreaders.wordpress.com

    I would like to mentor the 10-12 age group and would be willing to mentor 30 students.

    1. G’day Karen,
      Thanks for offering to mentor some students. I have given you 30 students aged 12. They are from two classes http://briggstigers.edublogs.org/ – Mrs Hoke and Mr Jason Peglow – sorry I can’t find the URL of his class blog.

      I notice you also have some students in the challenge but I am having trouble reading posts and leaving comments as it asks me to log in. You might need to make some changes to settings or privacy.

      1. I do have students registered. But I also registered as a class. I wasn’t sure which way to do it since each student has a blog but it is through the class blog. We are using Kidblog, and I found it difficult to view individual student posts as a url. Kidblog support suggested I use the class url to view individual student posts. Would you please check this class url and see if you can view and comment. https://goo.gl/1Z0F1b There is only my introductory post to students as we will begin class tomorrow. Thank you.

  10. Several of my Year 6 class have signed up for the challenge and I am happy to be a mentor to help other students. I am happy to take on some of the 12 year olds who seem not to have a mentor as yet. I guess 10-15 students would suit me best, but up to 20 should be OK.
    I have taught upper primary in Sydney for several years and all my class are keen bloggers. Outside school I love to knit, crochet, embroider, sew, read, travel…if only there was more time for all of that.
    My class blog is at year6rc.edublogs.org
    Thanks for running the challenge again
    Pru Thomas

    1. Hi Christine,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have given you some 11 year old students – they are in bright red on the student list above the header.

      Please feel free to contact me with any queries via commenting or an email.

  11. Hi I am Nancy Penchev, I teach media and technology to 18 month olds to 5th grades. I would be glad to take up to 5 students. I am a blogger through edublogs. My focus is technology tools, http://www.nancypenchev.edublogs.org. I am also a presenter on technology, literacy, STEAM, and PD, http://www.nancypenchev.com. I have articles published in magazines and on ISTE.com. I look forward to hearing more about this opportunity.

    1. Hi Nancy,
      Thanks for offering to take a group of students to mentor in the challenge. I have given you a group of 8 students but three of them are in pink meaning I don’t have their correct blog URL. They will be deleted at the end of October if they don’t notify me of the corrections.

      Your students are in the 11 year old group in a yellowy colour. You will find them in the page above the header called Students October 2015.

  12. I would love to mentor students. I am currently teaching Year 6 and have been a teacher for a year. I live in Melbourne, Australia.

    I would love to mentor students around 10-12 in age.

    1. Hi Sarah,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. i have allocated some 11 year olds to you – they are in a green colour on the list Students October 2015 in the pages above the header.

      Contact me by email or through a comment on this post if you have any queries or can’t get into any blogs to leave comments.

  13. I am an aspiring library media specialist. I have been an elementary teacher for many years. I would like to mentor 20-30 students of any age. I enjoy reading and travel.

    mwohlafka.wordpress.com

    1. G’day May,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have given you a group of 13 year olds. Go to the student list above the header, scroll down to the 13 year olds and find your name and your group.

      Contact me by email or leave a comment if you have any queries about the challenge.

  14. What an exciting opportunity to mentor a group of students!

    I am a seventh grade language arts teacher in Ohio, and am using classroom blogging for the first time with my classes. I have been teaching for 23 years, and have always focused on making connections as a platform to learning. I love languages (I speak German), travel (was an exchange student in high school and college & a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund grant recipient in 2005), and anything outdoors. I am also the yearbook coordinator at my current school.

    I would be happy to mentor a group of 20 or so middle or high school students.

    https://acolleygjhs15.edublogs.org

    Thanks so much! Andrea Colley

    1. G’day Andrea,
      Thanks for offering to mentor some students. I have given you a group of 12 year olds to look after. Most are from the same class if you want to make connections with your students.
      Go to the student list above the header, scroll down to the 12 year olds and find your name and your group.

      1. Thank you! My students will be registering this week. I am just waiting for parent permission slips. Have a wonderful day!

  15. Hello again, Miss W. I would like to mentor 15-20 students in the blogging challenge this time. I will work with any age of students. Also, I noticed that students who have completed the challenge a couple of times can mentor. That sounds like my Emily. I’m going to ask her if she’d like to give mentoring a try too.

    1. Hi Bill,
      Thanks for offering to mentor again. I have given you some 14 year olds who come from a variety of countries. Would be great to have Emily as a mentor if she wishes.

  16. I just retired after 34 years in the classroom and I used Edublogs with my middle schoolers for many, many years. It’s the greatest! Now that I actually have spare time I am enjoying putting my house back together, and my garden (come on rain in California!) I would be happy to mentor any age group, my first 22 years was in elementary as a technology coach to kids and adults, and my last years were in middle school as a Technology Exploratory teacher, and a yearbook teacher. My website is still up (I’m deciding how to convert it to a retired teacher’s blog!) at You’ll see my last year’s posts and links to my students’ blogs.

  17. Hi! I would like the opportunity to mentor a group of students again this year. Last year I mentored a group of 8-9 year olds. I enjoy writing, running, and all things techy. My blog link is thissideofthird.edublogs.org. Thank you for your consideration.

    Cyndi Holbrook
    PK and Kindergarten Special Education
    North East Elementary School

    1. Hi Cyndi,
      Have given you the 7-9 year olds at the moment. Only one nine year old so if more register, maybe another mentor will become involved. Thanks for offering to mentor again.

    1. Hi Jeffrey,
      Can you look after a group of 14 year olds? Some are into computing and programming. Check in the student list above the header to scroll down to your name and your group.

  18. Hi,
    I am a Year 6 teacher at Wilderness school in Australia and I would like to be a mentor for the challenge. We have really extended our use of student blogs this term and I am now excited to to open it up for the girls to participate in the Edublog Student challenge.
    Being a mentor will allow me to get more of an insight into the challenge and see how I can support my students more effectively.
    I love finding new ways to challenge and engage my students and blogging has opened up many new ideas. Now the next step is to help them to communicate with other students around the world.
    I am also developing my skills and interest in coding and programming and would love to find some ways of integrating that into our blogging.
    you can visit our blog at
    http://year6wildy.edublogs.org/
    I would be interested in Year 6/7 students preferably and because it is my first time as a mentor maybe 10 students?
    Thanks,
    Heather Davis

    1. G’day Heather,
      Thanks for offering to mentor this challenge. I have allocated some 12 year olds for you to look after. Contact me by email or comment if you have any queries. Check the student list above the header and scroll down to 12 year olds to find your group.

      I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but you have it set that I need a password to log in. This makes it difficult to connect with others around the world.

      1. Hi,
        Thanks for your info re students to mentor. I have been away and only just returned. Our Year 6s really want to be part of the challenge. There are 49 of them. I hope it isn’t too late to register them. I will remove the password from our blog.
        Regards,
        Heather Davis

  19. I’d love to try my hands on giving feedback! I teach 6th grade in Chula Vista, California and this will be my second year participating in the Student Blogging Challenge. I’d like to mentor 10-12 year olds (or even younger ages if needed). This is my 17th year of teaching, and I’ve been using class blogs since 2010. I’m a mom to a boisterous 9-year-old boy. Along with my husband, we also have an adorable Field Spaniel canine! Chula Vista is close to San Diego, so our recreational activities outside of school are exactly what you’d suspect: the beach, hiking, and biking.

    Our school district is year-round, so we started our new year in July. You can visit all our happenings at http://www.mrshughesclass.info or follow me on Twitter @melissaghughes

    1. G’day Melissa,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. I have allocated some 12 year olds to you. Go to the participants page above the header, scroll down to the 12 year olds to find your name . If you have any queries get back in contact with me either be email – on the sidebar or in a comment.

  20. Hello! I am interested in being a mentor. I am a British EFL Teacher based in Beijing, China. I’m curious about introducing technology into the classroom, and support that curiosity through a Masters in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching. (An online, distance course with the University of Nottingham, England.)

    I’m halfway through the Masters, and hope to take the theory that I learnt last year and apply it and experiment, this academic year. I’ve mostly taught children (ages 7-15 years old) for the past 5 years, but now am teaching adults ( well 18/19 year olds). I’d like to introduce them to blogging, but it seems a bit daunting. So I think I may start with a Padlet wall and collect notes & reflections there. And then graduate to blogs perhaps next semester. If I have the opportunity to be a mentor, this will give me a valuable insight into how to set up a blog, and the different ways students use them to learn and reflect.

    I like reading, blogging, running and watching films, in my spare time. (Of which there isn’t much!).

    Oh, I blog about teaching and learning here: http://www.learnexperienceteach.com

    I don’t mind what age group I mentor, although, any group that may be studying EFL/ESL would great. Also, I’d prefer a small number of students, in the first instance, if possible.

    1. Hi Karina,
      Thanks for offering to mentor. We have many students from a variety of countries so will give you a group in the 15 year old range. Go to the participants page above the header, scroll down to the 15 year olds and you will have the first group . If you have any queries get back in contact with me either be email – on the sidebar or in a comment.

  21. I have been teaching for 32 years and blogging since 2009. In addition to a classroom blog, I also maintain the campus blog and our campus Facebook page. I would love the honor of being a mentor for a group of intermediate students. My students began the first blog on our campus in 2009. Today every single student has their own personal blog that serves as the beginning of their e-portfolio throughout their high school years. Each year I created new emails for all third grade students and create individual blogs for them. Each class has a specific theme with background and header. My blog is http://www.coconnections.wonecks.net

  22. Yes would be keen to do it this year.
    mrwebbauroa.blogspot.com
    Of course you can Tweet as well to remind me.

  23. Greetings. I’d be happy to be a mentor again this year. If possible I’d like to work with younger bloggers. My blog is http://dinahhunt.edublogs.org
    I’m a Media Specialist working with Teacher Education students. I especially enjoy exploring new tech tools and discovering ways to integrate the technology.
    I’ve not done much writing lately. Hoping to get inspired again.
    Thanks.
    Dinah Hunt

      1. I began checking the student blog links and noticed that a few require permissions. Could you recheck for me?
        Thanks
        Dinah
        P.S. Super excited to begin:)

  24. Hi Sue!
    I’m so excited to see that this year’s Student Blogging Challenge launches in October. Hooray! I would be happy to serve as a mentor to 20-30 elementary or middle grade students. I’m teaching 6th grade language arts again and also starting a blogging club at our middle school this year (and we’ll be participating in the challenge!). I’m a mom of five, ages 12-21, an outdoorsy girl who loves to read,, write, and drive winding backroads in her topdown Jeep. I worked in the publishing industry before raising my peeps. Delighted to mentor again! 🙂

    Two blogs:
    http://mrsrombachreads.edublogs.org (for me/blogging club)
    https://kidblog.org/class/RombachRockstars (for my 6th grade class)

    1. G’day Martha,
      Thanks for offering to mentor again. I have given you the first group of 12 year olds as they will probably fit with your sixth grade class.

  25. Looking forward to being a mentor again! Such a highlight! I will help whichever age group needs it… Many blogs, but typically this one.

    Kind regards,
    Tracy

  26. I am a grade 3-4 classroom teacher and Digital Technology teacher at my school. I am happy to mentor a group of students.
    When not dabbling with technology and supporting the creativity and thinking in my classroom, I like to be outside. Tending the vegetable garden and orchard, riding my bike, going for hikes and exploring around.

    http://tinam.global2.vic.edu.au/

    1. Thanks Tina, have given you the first group of 9 year olds. If there are any double ups in names, please get back to me so I can adjust on the spreadsheet.

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