Benefits of Blogging
- One of the more obvious advantages is the integration of technology in the classroom. Blogging is a simple, yet effective tool to achieve this.
- One of our jobs as educators is to develop the social skills of our students. Blogging is a great tool for enhancing social skills, as long as it is implemented carefully and appropriately.
- Blogging can be used as a tool for encouraging higher level thinking in the classroom. In my own experience, I have seen students debating higher level issues about Science and our society. Some seem more eager to share their ideas with their classmates virtually, where they perceive less “on-the-spot” pressure. The comments they add to each others’ posts really push the students to consider other thoughts and ideas when developing their own interpretations.
- The teacher can facilitate collaboration among students through the class blog.
- Class blogs can be a great place for teachers to provide their students with constructive feedback. Students can also potentially enhance their ability to evaluate the writing of others and become more self-reflective in the process. In this type of environment, students can learn from each other and from the teacher.
Important Considerations
While there are numerous advantages to blogging in the classroom, there are also some necessary considerations.
- Student privacy is always an issue when working in an online environment. Some of the free blog sites have ads and third party affiliates, so it is important to carefully consider the blog platform that you use. Fortunately, there are many secure blog sites for students.
- It is important to create (or locate) a student code of conduct before blogging in the classroom environment. Discuss with your students how to be safe in an online environment and how to use the technology appropriately. I am always sure to emphasize a zero tolerance for cyber bullying. Students should be made aware of exactly what cyber bullying is and how to avoid it.
- Students may put more careful consideration into their blog posts if you develop a rubric or scale to aid in their understanding of exactly what is expected. Students are used to using technology for recreation and they may need to have clearly defined expectations to utilize it more appropriately in an academic context. It is also imperative to teach your students how to use the blog before assigning blog posts.
Site Suggestions
There are numerous blog sites available for free use. Some of my preferred sites are listed below:
Collaborize Classroom: This is the website I use for my class blog. You create a classroom page on the website and then provide your students with the link to your class page. Students are able to visit the link and register for your class. Once you accept them, you can assign them to different groups and assign different blog posts for different classes. You can create your own blog topics or browse through the topics of other classrooms.
http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/
Kidblog: This is another easy and safe blog site for students to use. It is simple to set up and log into Kidblog. There are no ads to worry about and it is very easy to navigate.
http://kidblog.org/home/
Glogster: Glogster is penned as a “graphic” blog site. This is a site where students can really use their creativity. This type of blog site is appropriate for class projects or theme based activities. I have utilized this site as a class presentation alternative to Power Point or Prezi.
http://www.glogster.com/
I am really enjoying the experience of blogging with my students. I would love to hear how you incorporate blogging into your classroom or if you have any blog sites that you would recommend.
*Photographs courtesy of Flickr.com
Photo 1 is from the Blogging Librarian Isaac Kwok taken on November 21, 2006.
Photo 2 is from Eastern Arizona College on April 25, 2008.