Using Blogs in the Classroom

Well first let me say that after reading David Warlick's article A Day in the Life of Web 2.0, my head was spinning! I had to go back and re-read a couple sections a couple of times just to try to sort it all out in my brain! It really is amazing to see how one use of technology can branch into so many more additional uses, and how teachers and students can connect to each other and connect subjects and curricular areas.

One of the most basic uses for a blog in the classroom is organization and dissemination of information such as due dates for assignments, the class syllabus, calendar of events, etc. I liked the mention of Monday reports that the teachers in the article are described as using. This gives everyone, like special education teachers, other general education teachers, the principal, board members, and parents, access to what is going on in each class for the whole week. It's a much more efficient method of communication versus email. The article shows how the various readers of the blog can use the information found in them for such things as cross-curricular lesson (teachers), preparing resources for teachers (librarian), writing a school newsletter (principal) and showcasing the school to the community (board member). I think these are great ideas, but somewhat impractical for most people given that unless it is administrator-mandated, only a handful of teachers in a given district or school will use a blog. But , it's ok to dream big, right?

In the article Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere', authors Ferdig and Trammell discuss the importance of social interaction in teaching and learning and blogs certainly address this need. Students today are totally plugged in to all the new technologies from MP3 players to on-line gaming and teachers need to keep up. The authors discuss the importance of students' using technology for "authentic opprotunities for publication of knowledge" and a blog is an appropriate format for students to both reflect on their own thoughts and understanding and comment on others' thoughts and understanding on a particular topic. The authors state that through the use of a blog, students can become experts on the subject matter being studied simply by more exposure to information on a given topic. When students are asked to find information or review websites about the Mexican-American War, for example, they are following a 3-step process described by the authors: scouring, filtering and posting. This process leads to an expanding knowledge base of the topic.

Teachers are always looking for ways to keep students interested and motivated and the authors believe that blogging is one way to do to that because of the novelty of blogs and perhaps more importantly, because students (sometimes) get the opportunity to blog about topics that are important to them. I like the piece in the article that addresses student participation. We can all think of the students who never raise their hand in class; these shy students now have a safe place to participate. Less shy students can benefit, too, by interacting with the community of learners.

Certain types of lessons or strategies still have to be done the olf fashioned way. Science labs must be conducted with hands-on work from students; art teachers still need to have students create pieces of pottery or sketches and paintings; physical education teachers will continue to have students learn to dribble a basketball with a real basketball, not a virtual one. While Blogs can provide a platform for discussion and reflection on these types of activities, they can't replace the experience.

I see myself using Blogs in my Spanish classroom for reflection purposes when we discuss cultural topics. Students tend to have wide variety of responses to issues such as learning a new language, why one shoud/n't ever travel to a Spanish-speaking country (or travel at all!), etc. Since classroom discussion on these topics often have to be cut short, a Blog would be a great platform for students to continue the discussion outside of class. There could also be a place for language practice and learning to occur with the use of Blog. Links to internet-based resources could be placed on the Blog for student practice. Students could post questions and answers when working on homework or projects.

I'm struggling a bit with the bonus question, mostly because I'm still trying to find ways to incorporate the Blog with conventional strategies, let alone with instructional strategies that aren't easily supported witht his technology. I'm going to think a bit on this point and add more later.