Blogs in the k-12 classroom could be a useful tool if managed properly. Writing is often thought of as a painful task that many students avoid. Blogging uses a format similar to the social networking and texting environment teenagers live in making the sharing of ideas seem less daunting. In the article "That's online writing, not boring school writing" author Shelbie Witte tells about her 8th grade language arts students who were spending hours each night writing to each other on Xanga, while putting forth very little effort to write for school. It appears that students view sharing ideas online differently than sharing them on paper.
I found the benefits of online discussions useful in my GTL classes this summer. I learned a lot by reading assignments and answering the questions that went with them, but I obtained higher order thinking when required to read my classmates' posts and comment. As noted in "Five Don'ts of Classroom Blogging", "students perform better when they know their peers will be reviewing their work as opposed to merely having to face the judgment of their teacher" (p26).
My main concern in the k-12 environment would be managing blogging. Clear guidelines and expectations would have to be set, and strict monitoring would have to occur. I am unsure if this would be more time consuming than traditional paper grading.
Like many other forms of technology that have entered our classrooms, blogs could be a useful tool in education. I think teachers and media specialists need to stay current with the tools available to provide a variety of educational stratagies. However, this is not an easy task. Often times, students seem more comfortable with technology than adults.
I could not agree more about the importance of blog management. A poorly regulated blog only creates confusion and frustration.
ReplyDeleteYour avatar picture is really neat. I might have to check out how to do that.
Erin
I agree with what you said about kids prefering to use technology to write rather than pencil and paper. I do think they should be fluent in both. But today, I almost never use pencil and paper. In highschool, that was the only option and then of course having to type the final copy...wow. Times are changing. We do have to change with it. Your comments about staying current is so true. I think it is easier for the students, but educators will improve if they set expectations for themselves just as they do for their students. The idea of learning together is appealing to kids. They get to be the experts now and then! While it may be more time-consuming to set up and monitor blogs, it may prove more valuable in the long run, for, as you said, the level of thinking required is more complex and there is more immediate feedback.
ReplyDeleteWith all the text-ing and variety of electronic communication devices used today, it is something children are more familiar with than we ever were and the future will most likely bring even more technology than we can imagine. This techno-world of the future is the world educator's must prepare children for if they are to succeed. However, I do agree with Alyssa that very young children may not be ready for the responsibility. I also think that children under 10 may have more difficulty comprehending the concept concretely enough for it to have value so rather than k-12, I believe we should narrow our scope just a bit and consider it more effective as a teaching tool in grades 4-12.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi,
ReplyDeleteCool Avatar picture! I have always wanted to live on a farm. If you ever have time to post a picture of what it looks like where you live, I would love to see it.
Great point about blog management. If I would have to do this today in a school enviroment I would feel a bit overwhelmed and worried about student privacy and bullying. But like other people have commented, we just have to keep up with the technology and once you sit down and do it a few times it 'usually' goes fine. (Unless you have a big deadline etc :-))
I agree that it is great for the students to be the expert sometimes.
Thanks,
Catherine/Natural Woman
Wonderful thoughts Heidi! Nice job of incorporating your learning from the articles and critically thinking about how a blog might help students be more engaged and actually have higher standards for themselves if their peers are reading their work. I also like how you consider the downsides of blogging such as the time commitment and having to be mindful of expectations and assessment. It is always a balancing act. Thank you for your thoughts.
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