Blogs in the classroom

Link to video on blogs in the classroom

The use of blogs in the classroom environment appears to be becoming more of a common occurrence.  Having participated in creating and developing an ongoing educational blog for reflection and assignment posting I have personally experienced some of the benefits of using this tool.  Firstly, it is easier to type than to write, especially for today's youth.  Therefore, using this tool can encourage students who have poor handwriting skills, motor planning issues or issues with ligament laxity, the ability to continue to develop literacy and language skills at a more similar pace as their peers.  It is important to not allow students with handwriting issues to fall behind simply because they cannot put their words on paper, the more important issue is the language and literacy, this will give more time to develop correct handwriting skills, take the emphasis off what can't be done and allow the student the time to develop those skills at a pace more suited to their requirements.  Blogs can be used for a wide range of literacy and language tasks, such as responding to a classroom topic, reflective journaling about progress within a group project or posting assignment pieces.  Importance must be placed on making the required blog postings and assignments as authentic as possible, to avoid students not engaging with the learning opportunity.  Blogging would not be a tool for every occasion as it's over use would have a damaging effect through students either ineffectively using or just  not participating.  Another benefit of using blogs is that it gives the 'wallflowers', the quiet students a voice.  By asking all students to respond by a blog posting to a topic or question, you are getting an answer from those students who may not wish to answer verbally in the class group.  Blogs provide the students with a personal web page that they have ownership of.  The students can populate the site with text, pictures, videos and other multimedia.  The positive of this is that students can create a learning space that has them written all over it.  Through personalising the pages, students take ownership of their work and can become aware of how it may impact others.  The ability  of the students to access the blogs of other students in the class provides the opportunity for collaborative learning to occur.  Students can read other blog entries which may contain opinions or views about a topic that they might not have considered, thus improving the learning opportunities.  Blogs can also create a filing cabinet for the students work, as potentially if the work had been written on paper it may have been discarded once completed and marked.  The bonus of this is enabling the student to easily reflect on previous learning at any point in time, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week..........provided they have access to a computer and Internet access, this potentially being a big barrier for some students.  Blogging also gives the students an audience.  The ability for students to view others posts and comment positively about their entries, could potentially help those students who have self esteem issues or those from minority groups to feel more accepted.  On the coin flip, the potential for negative comments or bullying to occur can create a major issue.  Blogs enable student to connect with people outside of their classroom.  This idea alone raises many issues.  On the plus, students have access to information they cannot get from books, such as information posted in blogs by students around the world.  So much information is accessible at the click of a button allowing students to resource more information as well as obtain information from more sources.  Student can also link with professional in different fields such as geology and astronomy.  Of high importance is teaching students who are contributing information online, about online etiquette.  Harassment and bullying would not only have a terrible effect on the victim but it may also affect continual use of the technology for others.  Naming and shaming of businesses or organisations online as well as plagiarism and copyright infringements may lead to legal issues.  Also, children can be exposed to inappropriate materials through links.  For these reasons, students must either understand issues relating to being an online user or have their online opportunities provided within a secure network such as the learning place.  Nothing can be 100% perfect, therefore as a teacher it is important to know where to access more information relating to safe and ethical online practices and find co-workers who can be resource people for problems.