What's Your Story?
Blogs afford you to opportunity to easily create and easily update a web site that allows an author or authors to publish instantly to the Internet. Blogs are normally personal journals of the author's life with analysis, synthesis, connections to various content. A blog serves as a collection of reflections and conversations that are updated frequently and are normally all about me. A great way to get going in blogs is to look around and follow others that are currently blogging about the same things you are interested in and then get going on your own.
Do You Blog?
As I have mentioned before, I have tried and failed to blog numerous times. My first blog was created as a part of this program and if I am being honest, I did not do a very good job. I think part of the reason was I did not have an honest passion for blogging about the material and I did not have an audience outside of my cohort peers. In short, I was not invested in the process. I have created, but never posted on a blog I created called "One Girls's Dolce Vita". It was my attempt to create a space to post recipes, ideas, and stories related to a sweet life. My brick wall for this blog has been my slight addiction to Pinterest which allows a one button approach to organizes and bookmarking anything you find online that interests you in organized boards. I would like to go back to this blog idea at some point, but right now it is not in the cards. No matter how I personally stand on the blogging front, a major notion you or I must remember if/when we blog is to keep it not too long and make it something that people will read and then be excited to read more. I know I would also benefit from promising to make a post at least every week on a certain day. It would be a great way to keep me honest.
Should Your Students?
Until my reading from Richardson on Blogs, I had a difficult time seeing blogs in the classroom other than a way to post homework or capture a "yearbook" of activities. I know see the affordances of blogs to be easily accessible and facilitate the 7 characteristics of meaningful learning: active, collaborative, custructivist, commenting, intentional (real world context), authentic, and cooperative. While I see the benefits, I still worry about the ability of my 5th graders to successfully use them. Before I blog with my students I will first apply the method using Blackboard's discussion board option to help them understand how to be good users of the tool. I know that Blogs in classrooms normally fail because the purpose or goal is not clear or important. I am my own obstacle when it comes to blogging because I can not develop a meaningful purpose for my classroom.
I am still not sure if I will incorporate this tool into my instruction. However, if I use blogs in my classroom for my students I think I would most likely use edublogs because they are designed for students and allow for a more secure experience.
How are you going to enculturate students in the world of blogs in your own classroom?
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