Using Blogs in the Classroom

As educators we may be behind the times when it comes to the fast paced movement of the internet and all its' tools, especially when our students have grown up on it. Whether is be elementary, middle school, high school or college blogs can create a different spin on education.

Blogs can be used in the classroom for any genre and for just about any age group. Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Webtools for the Classroom describes that blogs can be used to promote critical and analytical thinking, be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive and associational thinking, combines solitary reflection and social interaction and increases access and exposure to quality information.

There are many ways that blogs can be used in the classroom and for your own personal teaching and learning. After looking at a few resources the three ways I think blogging could be most helpful to my own teaching and learning are described below.

1. Creating your very own journal blog
Many teachers have already created their own blogs on the internet, reflecting on their own classroom experiences. They have used them as a way to explore their own teaching, help others who may have similar classroom problems or ideas and as a way to get help from others who can post their own opinions. They can learn about others' teaching styles and stay up to date on current classroom practices. It becomes an interactive news feed between educators and becomes their very own tool for education themselves. You can read about one teachers approach to education in England and give feedback from the U.S. It is a fast, easy way to learn about education globally!

Here are a few examples of teacher blogs:
http://web20intheclassroom.blogspot.com/
http://sarahpuglisi.blogspot.com/ 1st Grade teacher creating meaning, inventing, looking for creativity, and other nonsense.
http://www.dawnsbrain.com/ The adventures of a high school art and drama teacher.


2. Have your students create their own weblog
Students love to have interaction and by having students create their own blogs they can add one more tool to their already vast knowledge of the internet and computers. It can be a place for them to communicate with other students and you. They can also express their own opinions and get feedback from the teacher and students. By having their very own blog they can be as creative as they want, take pride in something they created and showcase their best work. It can give them a chance to work on their writing skills and can be a place to comlpete assignments. It can even be a place for you as the teacher to get feedback from your students on activities done in class!

Here are a few examples of student blogs:
http://christinaswork.learnerblogs.org/
http://milly2.learnerblogs.org/
http://patrick3.learnerblogs.org/


3. Have a classroom blog
This would be a great way to involve all the students in an interactive and digital way. I think it would work best if you had a smaller group of students. Group projects could be facilitated this way, even completely done online. Students could share ideas and give feedback. This is an easy way for the class to communicate to one another outside the classroom. Students having trouble could post questions and get help from either the students or the teacher. It can also just be a fun way to showcase the students work and keep the parents up to date on what is taking place in the classroom!

Here are a few examples of classroom blogs:
http://mrlembke.blogspot.com/
http://mrsperrysblog.blogspot.com/
http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/

Resources:
http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers
http://weblogg-ed.com/
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed. p. 20, 38-40). California: Corwin Press.