I have decided that I will go ahead and discuss a couple of ideas that I have for blogging this week. I don't know a lot about blogging. I have never really followed anyone's blog before. I read the short articles regarding blogging and decided that there are some factors to consider before jumping right in to having students post publicly on a blog (especially younger students). First of all, the words are public for all to see. Second of all, students would need to have screen names and passwords, a possible logistical nightmare. However, these are not insurmountable obstacles.
The first idea that I have could be used with a variety of age levels, although it would need some tweeking depending on the age level of the students. Many teachers have their students keep a reading log. Instead of a reading log, students could keep a reading blog. This way other students in the class could see what their peers were reading, read their classmates' responses to the books, and comment themselves about their own reading. This would give students a motivating purpose for both writing and reading. Students as young as kindergarten could participate by keeping a class reading log. Parents could be invited to view the blog and comment on the class's reading.
Blogging could also be a closing activity for the school day. The teacher or a student could lead a whole class write summarizing the activities of the day and potentially highlighting upcoming events. This could be viewed by parents, community members, and other teachers and school leaders for information. It could possibly do away with the weekly or monthly newsletter depending on the population of students that you are working with and their parents' access to the internet.
This class "newsletter" of sorts could build a partnership with another school in another area. Another class could follow a similar method and could follow each and comment on the learning that is happening in the classroom.
These are probably not THE most creative ideas, but they are things that I can see myself actually doing regularly as they are manageable and beneficial.
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Great ideas! I agree that it doesn't always have to be the most "creative" ideas to be good ones! I also see your ideas as manageable and beneficial. I would think that is definitely the way you would want to start when applying something new like this in the classroom. Thanks for sharing those ideas!
ReplyDeleteAwesome ideas! I really like the idea of the closing blogging time. I have found that alot of time the last 30 minutes are either a waste of time or a crunch for time. This would be a great way to have the children unwind and reflect.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be fun to combine the closing day and the newsletter into one where the child could make their own like daily/weekly newsletter for their parents reflecting their day and what is happening in the classroom or school.
Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas -- when you think about blogging - what is it? A web log or reflection area. Your ideas clearly reflect what blogging and the space that it takes is all about --- sharing, reflecting and reacting. How can we keep students engaged in these types of activities? Maybe a blog can help!
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