Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom
When technology is used
appropriately, it can be a powerful tool that is engaging and can make any
lesson or concept much more meaningful and a student’s learning can be much
more in-depth. Dr.
Thornburg (2008) discusses how technology breaks down barriers to communication
with people all over the world. Moving
forward I would love to have a classroom blog, and be able to participate in
what Thornburg (2008) calls the Communication Age.
Having the classroom blog is a new open door policy as well
as being transparent all year long. Students
can share what they are learning and then return to comment. This also gives parents regular opportunities
to participate in the learning through commenting.
Blogging also
provides other educational opportunities. Students will have an authentic audience for their writing and that has
an impact on the quality and motivation of their writing (posts). Students can continue to revisit and reflect
upon lessons through the posts on the blog. The learning doesn't stop; commenting
on the classroom blog keeps the learning alive and ongoing. Students will learn how to safely navigate
around the Internet and how to present digital information that is appropriate
for the classroom. Our classroom
blog will give students opportunities to participate and contribute to an
online community that is worldwide breaking down the four walls of the
classroom.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc.
(2008). Technology and Society. Baltimore, MD: Dr. David Thornburg
Laureate Education, Inc.
(2008). Technology's Influence. Baltimore, MD: Dr. David Thronburg, Hall
Davidson.
I think that creating a classroom blog will be a great opportunity for your students to engage and connect with individuals within your learning community. As described by Richardson it is a good idea to start small so that both you and the students will get used to navigating and publishing material on the Web for educational purposes. Once the students get used to navigating blogs and writing academically, a next step may be to make a connection with another classroom for the students to engage with to discuss their perspectives and viewpoints on a variety of different topics. Limiting the access to the students blogs to your classroom may provide you with more time to better prepare the students for writing academically, understanding the possible threats of posting content online, and to feel more comfortable using blogs before delving into a much larger audience.
ReplyDeleteOne of the challenges you may confront when beginning the classroom blog is establishing a way to monitor the students work. If you are working within your own classroom at first, or even another classroom, although there is less to worry about in regards to predators, there may still be inappropriate material being written, such as bullying or other forms of discrimination. With large classrooms it may be difficult to monitor and proofread everything. Additionally, using blogs in the classroom will likely take away a lot of time for you to do other teacher related duties. Therefore, it may be resourceful to establish collaborative groups when writing to an audience that can serve as support for critical thinking and reflection, as well as a safety net and resource for all students within the group.
Another challenge may be getting the students familiar with RSS. Although this is simple to download and use, the students may overlook the benefit of using their RSS Reader on a daily basis. If the students can choose the things that interest them the most, this will help them feel motivated to using their RSS Reader regularly. This may be something to implement when the students get older, and would be very resourceful once the students have some experience researching topics for a project. However, a RSS Reader could be very resourceful for young students as well, if the students have their own blogs and are working in groups, or if they enjoy reading another classmates posts.
Of course all of these things will take time and practice and there are numerous ways that Weblogs could be employed in the classroom. I think that you must consider all of the skills you wish to instill within your students and then consider how or even if Weblogs are the tool to use to practice and demonstrate these skills. I think that a classroom blog will be a great way to get the students started and familiar with learning from one another when using technology in the classroom. Additionally, using the classroom blog as a class portal would be a much more engaging way to communicate information about your class, which includes homework assignments, rather than handing out paper copies of the information which can easily be lost or become artistic creations.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Hi Val,
ReplyDeleteI love the thought that blogging keeps learning ongoing and active. This is the true essence of teaching and learning! Students can discuss, critique, research, and keep topics alive for longer periods of time, rather than simply moving on to sometime new because of standards based teaching. How are you planning on getting both parents and students educated with blogs? Also, will you be using your blog for out-of-class use only or do you foresee use of it during class as well? I am curious simply because I can see using a blog as a center during class for students to collaborate, construct, critique and so much more!
Another thought I had was the assessment aspect of using a blog. If students are going to be using blogs, how will we assess their work? Will rubrics be provided? I think this is where communication and consistency will be key so students know the expectation from the start. What are your thoughts?