I have to admit that before this module, I felt pretty confident about blogging and its purpose. I used blogs to get ideas to use in my classroom, to feel connected to other educators, or to keep up on new happenings in my friends’ lives. After reading the information for module 6, I realized that I had a very powerful tool available to me.
We are always trying to get kids to write, but they often don’t get excited about it. Why? We ask… well students want their work to be read, and not just by the teacher. In the article To Blog or Not to Blog That is NOT the Question, Kathy Cassidy says, “ Why would children want to write in a notebook for their teacher to read, when they can write on a blog for the world to read?” When we allow students to blog stories that they have written, then their task becomes authentic. Children are excited to see who has read their story, and whether or not they have left a comment.
Students also need to use their critical thinking skills as they read and respond to another student’s blog. According to the article HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking, reading and writing are very connected when done on the internet. Information is gathered, analyzed, evaluated and synthesized. After that, it is communicated in a variety of ways.
Teachers are also able to quickly assess a student’s understanding based upon their blog entry. Students are able to gather different viewpoints, as well as looking at an issue in a different way. In my opinion, blogging in school is a win-win situation when correctly implemented and monitored.
Happy Blogging!
I think that kids would absolutely love the idea of conversing with a student in a different school, town, state, or even country about a given book or writing assignment. They would love to get feedback from somebody other than just their teacher!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog and checking out your gadgets and links! I agree with you when you said, "Students are able to gather different viewpoints, as well as looking at an issue in a different way. In my opinion, blogging in school is a win-win situation when correctly implemented and monitored. " Kids these days are generally born into environments that full of technology, why wouldn't we teach them through these methods?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog and the article about students writing on blogs instead of in their journals. My students have journals for the, "work on writing," center we do in the classroom during Daily 5 and it made me think twice. My students would be so motivated and inspired if they were able to go online and type their journals instead of write daily with pen and paper. It would also be more convenient for myself because instead of collecting notebooks each weekend to read and take home, the writing would be available online. Students can also read others' posts and communicate with each other. Thank you for sharing that article!
ReplyDeleteNice blog!
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the value of blogging. It is such a natural medium for us to teach critical thinking.