Last year, one of my teammates introduced me to http://kidblog.org/home/ which was very easy to implement and free for all. We used it to respond to literature, guest speakers, and field trip experiences. This year I would like to get more involved with blogging by having the student responding more to each other, as well as reading other blogs. Additionally, I think it would be great to have the students become part of the process in setting up the blog so that they feel more ownership over it.
In his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson makes several suggestions about setting up a blog in the school setting. He really has me asking myself "WERE MY STUDENTS REALLY BLOGGING?" Perhaps not. Instead they were simply creating a journal, NOT a blog. Here's a list of ways blogs are used that, according to Richardson (2010), are "not blogging."
1. Posting assignments
2. Journaling
3. Listing links with general annotation
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
It can definitely be challenging to get students to interact with each other on a blogging platform. I agree that having them set the blogs up themselves will help, as it will not only emphasize their ownership of their blogs, but will also help them to become more familiar with the site and settings.
ReplyDeleteI post each student's blog as a hyperlink to the main course website, which also helps them to find everyone's work in the same centralized location. I thought you might find that useful too.
Probably the most challenging aspect of the whole thing is getting the kids to want to read each other's work on their own, without making it an assignment or forcing them to. Due to time constraints and a general sense of anxiety/insecurity, my high schoolers have a hard time with this... but I have found that if we consistently work on rapport inside the classroom, it helps a lot.
I do disagree with Richardson a bit in the sense that journaling absolutely can be "blogging". I get that an authentic audience for that journaling is optimal, but it should be up to the author how comfortable he/she is and/or what the purpose of the blog is. I don't think any one person can set the "rules" for blogging, even in an educational setting.
Dana,
ReplyDeleteWith Kidblog.org we had one class blog rather than individual student blogs. This year I will have each student create their own blog and then put their link on my class webpage as you suggested. That would make it easier for them to access each others' writing.
I agree with you about journaling and respect that you disagree with Richardson on his opinion about what is and is not true blogging. I think journaling it is really blogging.
Additionally, your comment about creating an authentic writing experience is so true. When students know that others' will view their writing they tend to put forth more effort and generate better work.
Lastly, I agree with your statement: "I don't think any one person can set the "rules" for blogging." How can we use technology to create different things without bending the "rules" a bit?
-Jessie