Blogging

Blogging Page

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[|How to Use Blogs in the Classroom] //How to Use Blogs in the Classroom// clearly defines four main uses of blogs in the classroom, as well as providing some important advantages and concerns about the integration of blogs into educational curriculum. The four main uses include: 1. Classroom management- Since blogs are set up to be easily updated, they create an effective method to keep students informed. Blogs allow expectations to be clearly defined due to the organization factor. To add to clarity, students would be able to receive quick responses to any questions or concerns they may have. 2. Collaboration- Blogs are designed so that students and teachers can benefit from immediate feedback. This allows effective peer mentoring along with cooperative learning activities that can take place at virtually any time. One of the most attractive characteristics of this aspect is the idea of having that "instant audience." 3. Discussions- The greatest advantage discussion is that it allows students to react and reflect at their own pace. For instance, you could create varying groups to network and conference with each other based on level of knowledge. Blogs create a level of comfortability because the student has time to gather their thoughts and express them on their own terms. This differs from the pressures of classroom discussion. 4. Student Portfolios- Portfolios are a great way to not only organize, but also protect work digitally. Working with "at-risk" students, this provides a secure alternative to paperwork that can be misplaced easily. Progress assessments are also much more convenient using blogs. Teachers and students can continuously evaluate published work.

Advantages: Blogs can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an internet enabled computer. It creates a virtual classroom that extends beyond the school boundaries. They establish forums for collaboration and discussion and enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur. Disadvantages: Because blogs may be viewed publicly students need to understand issues such as privacy, security, and appropriate free expression. Students must be taught acceptable "blogging ethics."

[|Using Blogs in Your Classroom] //Using Blogs in Your Classroom// emphasizes the importance of incorporating emerging technologies into the classroom. In today's society, students are exposed to numerous social networking venues, including MySpace, Facebook, text messaging, instant messaging, etc. Teacher's can take advantage of this to enhance meaningful learning and teach students how to use these technologies responsibly. Technology has created its own unique language and it is important for our students to understand that languagelike it's second nature. Author David Huffaker describes this type of technological literacy as "digital fluency" or "a comfort level with technology that becomes as natural as any other learned language." Blogs are an easy and convenient part of this "digital fluency" that allows teachers and students to engage in meaningful group discussion, instructional tips for classroom management, web-based journaling, and organized portfolio development. I have had many instances in which my students struggle to find credible research links. Blogs provide the capability of collecting a variety of links that are easily accessible to the students. This article describes a list of ideas on how to use blogs in the classroom. This list includes, book reports and literature circles, creative writing, poetry, display and discussion of student art, class newsletters, science experiment notebooks, and the list goes on and on. Another key feature of using blogs is to keep parents "in the loop" of their child's education. However, students, teachers, and parents must all work in colloaboration to ensure the use of blogs responsibly.

[|Blogging with Social Studies] Blogging for social studies gives an informational description of the benefits that blogs can have from the perspective of an educator. Social studies classrooms can become networks of information by bringing teachers together from a variety of schools and backgrounds to consider, discuss, and debate a number of issues such as, "Teaching about Core Civic Values" or "Best Approaches to History Homework." Blogs provide an important and relevant life skill for students. Today, many politicians, journalists, celebrities, and other professionals use blogs on a daily basis. Students can view blogs created by people in the media and many discussion questions can be developed to spark inquiry. Like most articles on blogs, this article reitterates a reoccuring theme concerning the use of blogs. Each article agrees that blogs provide effective methods for students and parents to view homework assignments (much like an online syllabus), discuss important social issues, ask questions, and receive timely feedback from teachers and peers. The major advantage of this article is that it provides a list of websites dedicated to the ways that blogs have been incorporated into the classroom, along with detailed descriptions stating their purpose, and easy to follow directions to set up and use similar blogs in your classes.