Blogging in the Classroom

I think there many positive aspects to blogging in the classroom.  Blogging is a great tool for communication.  Teachers may use this to communicate with families and students.  Blogging could even start to replace weekly newsletters.  In both my student teaching placements, my cooperating teachers had a wiki or a class page.  My teachers updated their blogs once a week and sometimes more.  This was a great way for parents and students to stay informed with what was going on in the classroom.   I think students who use blogs gain a lot of knowledge.  They can use their networking skills to research different topics and how to use new programs.  Another positive aspect with blogging is that students can use blogs to post their writings and other students can comment on their writing, leaving them great feedback.  Students could be able to write whatever they were feeling and they wouldn't be afraid to ask questions.  Teachers could use this as a tracking tool, to check students understanding. Just like we are doing in this class, I think students would really love to have an educational blog to voice their thoughts.  Especially because students love to use computers and iPads.  Overall, I think blogging is a great way to stay updated, in-touch and informed within the classroom.

There are a few negative aspects to blogging in the classroom.  A negative example is limited access in the school.  Some schools do not have the funds to have this kind of technology in their classrooms.  Some schools may only have a few available resources and not enough for the whole class to use.  Blogs might take a while to get set up for each of the students, but once they are set, I think it will work out fine. Sometimes, you can run into problems with dated technology, they may not work the way intended.  Also, some students may not have access at home which makes blogging almost impossible. A big negative to blogging is that teachers must make sure that they follow the guidelines that the district assigns and some families may not approve of online blogging for their child.  I think as long as you discuss with parents and your district, you could come up with a compromise and be able to use blogging as an educational tool in your classroom.

Blogs are such a great tool.  They are a fun and easy way to keep all the students updated with technology.  Students can learn from each other and it is a great source to use for writing and quick feedback.  When using blogs, the teacher just make sure she knows exactly what she wants her students to learn from blogging in the classroom.  She must keep it fun and make sure to not push the students into doing tedious work-she wouldn't want to push the students away from this wonderful learning tool.

I will definitely have a classroom blog, next year.  It will be a great way for me to keep my students and their families updated with what we are doing in the classroom and keep the communication level high!  I will help my students set up their on blogs and use them as a writing communication tool.  I will have students use their blog as a daily journal to record their reading and writing.  I might set up a Reader's Workshop though their blogs and they must complete their task, for that day, online on their blog.  Then, the other members in their group must respond and comment on the blogs.  This is a great way fro students to have fun while reading and writing and working collaboratively with their group.  Also, it gives me instant feedback with what student has completed their assignment and gives students quick feedback from their groups.