Blogging is an important tool for a
teacher to use to increase the learning and engagement of students. Blogging allows for students to have quick,
easy access to information and other peoples’ responses, perspectives,
and opinions to material they have read (Richardson, 2010).
According to Will Richardson, blogs:
-are a constructivist tool for
learning
-expand the walls of the classroom
-archive the learning of teachers
and students
-are a democratic tool that
supports different learning styles
-can enhance the development of
expertise in a particular subject
-can teach new literacies that
students will need in our information society (Richardson, 2010)
I have been thinking about ways
to utilize blogging in my own fourth grade classroom. I think that my blog could be a great way to
share information with students, colleagues, and students about curriculum,
schedules, field trips, rubrics, homework assignments, etc. (Richardson,
2010). However, it is more important to
me to use blogging as a learning tool.
Thus, I have decided that I want to give my students the opportunity to
blog themselves.
I will begin by introducing them
to blogs that will be of personal interest to them. After the students have read several blog
posts and started to understand the blogging medium and how it was intended, I
will post thought-provoking essential questions and ask them to respond to at
least one per week. They will also be
required to respond to the post of another classmate during the week. When answering these essential questions, the
students will be required to support their ideas and opinions with text-based
evidence when appropriate. The blog will
also be used to post published written assignments and other complete student
projects.
Knowing my students’ current
level of experience with technology, blogging will take time to incorporate
into the classroom. It will also be
necessary to teach some basics about blog safety. I will also make sure to get permission from
parents and my administrator before beginning this venture.
Blogging will present many
opportunities for my students. They will
learn how to write with purpose and for a global audience. Blogging will also support the newly
implemented Common Core State Standards and the ISTE Standards.
I have included a link to the
Getting Smart Blog. It contains some
great information about writing in the Common Core. I think that blogging can support these types
of complex writing. The more experience
the students have with this type of writing in their early educational years
the more they will be prepared for higher education.
References:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs,
wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Kori,
ReplyDeleteI agree that blogging can be a useful tool for learning and writing in the digital age, and I agree that it will take time to incorporate it into the classroom. How are you planning to handle the challenge of students who do not have internet access outside of the classroom. I have a large group this year who do not have the ability to be on line out side of school and I will have to find a way to incorporate time during the school day for them to be able to participate in a blog. This this unfair to the students who need to post outside of the school day? How can you help students to understand that there is a sound reason for this. Moreover, will you post in one subject or will you begin posting in a more general fashion? I am eager yet reluctant to introduce blogging, I want to be more comfortable with the medium before I bring it to my students. How do you feel about this?
Kathyn
Kathlyn,
DeleteI think I only have 2 students without Internet access at home this year. For these kiddos, I will give them time during class to work on their posts. I have a morning break built into my schedule every day. My students are always eager to get on a student computer or iPad during this time. I think it is unfair for those that have to post outside of the classroom. I think the students without Internet will still have to handwrite a response to a question or comment that I provide them with.
I plan to post in several subject areas in order to engage more students in the discussions. I think that this will be a good way to differentiate for the students. I have 8 TAG students in my class. I think they will need choices to post about to keep them motivated with this work.
I am excited to try blogging with my class, but I am not feeling familiar enough with it yet. It is going to take me more time to become prepared. I really need to think through the lessons I want to teach, my goals, and essential questions that will be asked before I can start. I am also in the process of getting parent permission for each student.
I am curious and eager to know how our Walden colleagues will get this underway.
Kori Bass
Hi Kori,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that blogging can be a great tool for our students. I can see that it will take a while to get them up to par on the whole idea of blogging. I know with my third grade students, it can be really hard for them to do anything new on the computer. So far this year I have worked on how to log in to the computer (using their own username and password) and how to use Microsoft Word. The problem that I face is that at our school we have limited access to computers. I have a few computers in my room, but with 23 students, it is hard to get them all on. We have computer labs, but with 33 classrooms and only 2 labs, it can be difficult to get computer lab time!
I also agree with your concerns about access to the internet at home. I have several students that do not have access to the internet. Now that the Common Core is being implemented and the test will be on the computer, our district is requiring students to use a program called TypingPal at home on a nightly basis to improve their typing skills. Whenever I ask my principal/vice principal what the students who don't have internet should do, they have two answers: 1. They can go to the town library 2. They should do it in class. I can eliminate option number one right away because my students who don't have the internet at home do not have the opportunity to take a nightly trip to the library. That leaves me with option number two. So, again it falls on me to make sure that these students get all their needs met in class, including technology. I wish you luck as you begin to implement this in your classroom.
~Heather
Heather,
DeleteI understand how difficult it can be to get access to computers when sharing with many other classes and grade levels. I feel fortunate to have access to a class set of Chrome books this year. Our school PTA paid for them. We are just getting them up and running now. We still have to share them, but they are available to 3-5 grade students. Chrome books are a reasonably priced alternative to laptops and iPads. I believe we paid about $250 per Chrome book and that is with all of the software and licensing. The students imprint on them and then everything they do is saved to the cloud. There are many apps to choose from and features that are perfect for student use. I did not know these were available until now.
I also understand how hard it is to find time for technology in the daily schedule for students who don't have access at home. This can be a challenge. Students need to learn to type and it must be early on in their education. I struggle with using technology with students who don't know how to type because everything takes so much longer to do. A lesson that should take 30 minutes ends up being an hour because the students are hunting and pecking the keys. I don't have any solutions for this except for practice, practice, practice!
Good Luck to you as well!
Kori Bass
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI, too, will be using blogs to work with my students on writing at some point. I thought that your ideas were excellent. As I researched sites that might add flavor to my classroom, I found two that I thought I would share with you.
http://youngwritersproject.org is a site that allows students to express themselves through poetic form. Students are able to write their own poems and enter them into contests. http://spillinginkthebook.com is another blog site that students can use to practice writing short stories.
I also like your idea for posting thought provoking questions. I may borrow that idea for my JAG class, because we worked on quotes and what they each meant to the students. I think that I can use blogging to get them to express their thoughts even more, so thank you for sharing.