It is FUN! Fun!….. I hear your sceptical exclamation!! However, it is
wonderful when students think they are having so much fun, they forget that they
are actually learning. A favourite comment on one of my blog posts is: It’s
great when kids get so caught up in things they forget they’re even learning…
by jodhiay
authentic audience – no longer working for a teacher who checks
and evalutes work but a potential global audience.
Suits all learning styles – special ed (this student
attends special school 3days per weeek, our school 2 days per week, gifted ed, visual students,
multi-literacies plus ‘normal‘
students.
Increased motivation for writing – all students are happy to
write and complete aspects of the post topic. Many will add to it in their
own time.
Increased motivation for reading – my students will happily spend a lot of
time browsing through fellow student posts and their global counterparts. Many
have linked their friends onto their blogroll for quick access. Many make
comments, albeit often in their own sms language.
Improved confidence levels – a lot of this comes through comments and
global dots on their cluster maps. Students can share their strengths
and upload areas of interest or units of work eg personal digital
photography, their pets, hobbies etc Staff are given an often rare insight into
what some students are good at. We find talents that were otherwise unknown and
it allows us to work on those strengths. It allows staff to often gain insight
to how students are feeling and thinking.
Pride in their work – My experience is that students want their blogs to
look good in both terms of presentation and content. (Sample of a year 10 boy’s work)
Blogs allow text, multimedia, widgets, audio and images – all items that
digital natives want to use
Increased proofreading and validation skills
Improved awareness of possible dangers that may confront them in the real
world, whilst in a sheltered classroom environment
Ability to share – part of the conceptual revolution that we are entering.
They can share with each other, staff, their parents, the community, and the
globe.
Mutual learning between students and staff and students.
Parents with internet access can view their child’s work and writings – an
important element in the parent partnership with the classroom. Grandparents
from England have made comments on student posts. Parents have ‘adopted’
students who do not have internet access and ensured they have
comments.
Blogs may be used for digital portfolios and all the benefits this
entails
Work is permanently stored, easily accessed and valuable comparisons can be
made over time for assessment and evaluation purposes
Students are digital natives - blogging is a natural element of
this.
Gives students a chance to
show responsibility and trustworthiness and engenders
independence.
Prepares students for digital citizenship as they learn cybersafety and
netiquette
Fosters peer to peer mentoring. Students are happy to share, learn from and
teach their peers (and this, often not their usual social groups)
Allows student led professional development and one more……
Students set the topics for posts – leads to deeper thinking
"Examine your students' background knowledge on a new topic of study by asking them to write about it. Pass out index cards and instruct students to fill only one side with their related thoughts and experiences. Provide a minute to write followed by a minute to discuss their ideas with a nearby partner. Collect the cards and set them aside until the end of the unit. Then, ask students to revisit their original notes and, on the backs of their cards, describe how their thinking has expanded or changed on this issue. The initial card writing gives you an insight into background knowledge, while the final card writing offers students insight into their thinking and learning."
