Journal # 7: Blogging

Blog/Blogging: Short for Web Log, a blog is an online journal. Blogging is act of writing or updating one's blog. This type of journal can be posted on the internet for others to see.


Examples of elementary blogs:

http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/649749:Topic:32329

This was a blog thread all about incorporating blogs into the classroom. I find it interesting that teachers in all different subjects are incorporating this type of technology in their classes. Some teachers are using it just to improve students typing skills while others are having meaningful discussions on current events, history, physical activity and even art. I have learned that this technology has worked in bringing up student participation in many different ways. Teachers have found that their students learned to think for themselves instead of just copying and pasting information. Because other students can read what they are writing, kids are more likely to produce quality work in these situations. Teachers have also found that there is a healthy competitiveness in this type of assignment, compared to an essay that is handed in. The goal of education is to get our students to think for themselves and be a contributing member to society and blogging seems to point our students in the right direction.


How do you asses/correct blogs:

http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/649749:Topic:104027

This was a blog mostly about English as second language teachers trying to figure out what is the best way to grade blogs for their students. There were many conflicting views on this subject but most of the teachers agreed that it was not a good idea to correct student’s blogs after they have been posted. For most teachers the goal of this assignment is to get students familiar with writing in another language. The students might get discourage if they see that the teacher has corrected their blog when other class members can see it. One suggestion that was made is to require students to write their blog posts in a word document first and then paste it to their blogs. This way students will have spell check and grammar checks at their finger tips. Another suggestion that teachers made was to have the students fix their own mistakes after you have given them feedback. This way they don't feel like they have failed but rather take pride in making their work better. I'm not sure that I would grade my student’s blogs on spelling or grammar but rather then content and the effort they put into writing their post. I think that the fact that other students can read their posts is push enough to do their best work.