Blogs in the Classroom: Helpful or Hindering
There are many opportunities for teachers to use blogs in the classroom. Blogs are essentially longer posts people can make to describe ideas, events, or objectives. However, blogs are more versatile than a typical written essay.
Teachers can assign students to write a blog as a follow-up to a project. For example, I am a science teacher and I can have my students write a blog post to reflect on and summarize any lab they completed in class. My students can reflect on each lab they complete. Then, the blog app will keep a record of all the labs students complete. This is helpful for students to remember what labs they completed. Writing a blog reflecting on labs also allows students to read and compare their experience with other classmates.
Teachers can also have students write a blog to
teach classmates a skill. As a STEM teacher, my students complete hands-on
projects. I have a unit where my students have to use the Engineering Design
Process to develop a project. When students are finished their project, they
can create a blog post describing how they achieved their task. Sometimes these
projects require a how-to post. Students can create a how-to blog to teach
their classmates how to achieve what they achieved.
Blogging in class allows students to do the
following things:
1.
Reflect
on what they are writing and thinking as they write and think it
2.
Carry on
writing about a topic over a sustained period of time
3.
Engage
readers and audience in a sustained conversation that leads to further thinking
and writing
4. Synthesize disparate learning experiences and understand their collective relationship and relevance.[1]
Blog posts impact both teachers and students. Blog posts are readable by anyone who has access to them. Students can post their writing and their classmates can read them. This way, students can learn from their classmates as soon as they read the post. Students and teachers can also reply to blog posts. This allows the students who wrote the blog to receive immediate feedback. It also promotes social interaction within the classroom.
There are few risks in using blogs in the classroom. One risk involves the transparency of blogging. Teachers can set the blogs to be readable within the classroom. This is beneficial, allowing students to read each other’s posts. However, since students can read the posts as soon as they are sent the teacher cannot fully monitor everything posted. The teacher can review blog posts and take action after the post is sent, but if a student posts something inappropriate the teacher cannot prevent this.
Another problem is more of a hindrance than a
risk. If a teacher uses a blog in the classroom, then students will need log
ins. In my experience, my students forget their logins on a regular basis.
Therefore, the teacher will need to have a login sheet readily available and be
ready for the class pace to slow to allow students to receive and log in to
their blogs. This can become a difficulty at the start of the year.
References
Hong, W. (2008). Exploring educational use of blogs
in U.S. education . US-China Education Review, 34-38.
Hong, W. (2008). Exploring educational use of blogs
in U.S. education . US-China Education Review, 34-38.
Nice Science application for blog usage! Thanks for sharing that idea!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I like the idea of students recording their lab reflections on blogs. That would make it easier for both the students and the teacher to track all the labs they have done.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the password drama. My hesitancy with introducing any new application is that in the first month or two, I spend a lot of time helping my students sort out their login details.