Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I teach 9th grade World Geography and 12th grade Economics and Government. I think that a blog is a good tool for instructional content because it allows for students to interact with one another outside of the classroom. It also lets them display their work for people all over the Internet to see. It gives students a chance to give their opinions and think about them for a while before they post. This is unlike giving abrupt opinions in the classroom where they do not have time to gather their thoughts and edit them. It also gives them the chance to use technology that they are familiar with and makes the content that I teach them more relevant because it allows them to use a form of expression that is up to date and savvy. I would use a blog in my classroom to post rubrics for assignments so that students would always have access to them for their assignments. I would post assignments and reminders so that students would be able to stay up to date with class work even if they are absent. I would also allow students blog about particular lesson ad give opinions they may be afraid to give face to face and this would allow me to cater to their needs more. I think blogs in my classroom would allow students to come out of their shells and become more responsive and participate more than they would in class.
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5 comments:

  1. Nancy KahrimanisNovember 12, 2009 at 8:44 AM

    I really like that you are interested in providing a platform for students that might not feel comfortable expressing themselves in private. What would you do with the students that still do not feel comfortable doing so in the blog format? Would you consider anonymous postings, and would that impact your grading?

    I am sure with the topics in your curriculum, you will have lively and interesting responses!

    Thanks,
    Nancy

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  2. R.J. McCullenNovember 13, 2009 at 5:44 AM

    Beau,

    I like your ideas for using the blog as an online community. Some of the things you mentioned like posting assignments, rubrics, and reminders are excellent ways to create an online community. I also like the idea of having absent students grab their missing work from the blog. Your ideas meet the need that Alan November mentioned when he says "your blog can be an online dialogue/bulletin board for you, students, and parents." (November, 2008, pg 84)

    I do anticipate some challenges you may face, because I have been using a blog in a similar fashion.

    First, I see time commitment as a challenge. I had great ideas of posting everything we do onto the blog. But with all my other duties as a teacher, found that it was very difficult to also be updating a blog daily.

    How would you find the time to add this new responsibility to your plate?

    Second, what would you do for an absent student or any student for that matter, who does not have a computer or the internet at home? How would they get the posted files that you put online.

    I ask these questions because I too have battled these challenges with my blog.

    Thanks,

    Ryan


    November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
    Copyright 2008 by Sage Publications, Inc.

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  3. R.J. McCullenNovember 13, 2009 at 5:58 AM

    Beau,

    I just realized that I am supposed to comment on challenges but also recommend how you can over come them. So I'll do that now.

    For your issue of time management with updating a blog frequently, I have a helpful hint. What I have done, is used my free time prior to the school year starting to post the files ahead of time. I only included files that I did not care about students having early access to. But if you were to look at my blog, you would see that I have some files already up there that will not even be used until my next trimester. As long as it is acceptable for students to have the files early, I say put them up before you even start the school year.

    The second challenge I mentioned is having students with no technology available at home. What I do for those students is I tell them to see me if they cannot download things at home. I would say in a class of 30, I have no more than 5 students who approach me and let me know they do not have the option of getting these files at home. For those students, I print the files right there in my classroom so that they can complete the assignment or view the rubrics. One great thing about this I have found is you save paper as well. I have a 10 page packet for a research paper, and most students download it to their home computer. For each student who does that, I save my school 10 sheets of paper. That will add up over the years.

    I hope these were helpful hints that can save you time in the future.


    Ryan

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  4. Allison HNovember 14, 2009 at 7:24 AM

    Beau,

    The problem I can foresee is the students treating the blog as an instant messaging or facebook site. I think you would need to teach a lesson on appropriate and inappropriate writing and responses to each other.

    Allison

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  5. Beau GarrettNovember 15, 2009 at 5:21 PM

    Thanks for all of the helpful comments. This will greatly help me improve my use of blogs in my classroom. Your experience has helped me see problems that I would have never seen until it was too late.

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