Thing 4 – Blogging Begins with Reading
My first reaction to the concept of blogging was that of a skeptic. I was introduced to blogs, not as an educational tool, but rather as individual rantings or vents. I didn’t understand why anybody would care what some stranger thought. It’s similar to watching the news, who cares what the neighbor of the suspect has to say? As I said, this was my initial experience to blogs.
Recently, I have been introduced to blogging as a teaching aid. Again, I had my reservations, but the kinks are being ironed out by those who have ventured into this new world first. The advantages are numerous.
Blogging is informal. I think this makes more people feel comfortable joining in on the conversation. You do not have to be a “good” writer to blog or post a comment. Grammar and sentence structure are not evaluated. A teenager can comment on an adult’s idea and that comment is taken on its merits, not discarded due to the author’s age or inexperience. Anyone can have a voice on any topic, even missing ducks.
There is also an anonymity that goes along with blogging that creates comfort. This could facilitate learning in a way that the classroom setting could never have accomplished. Those who are shy now have a venue for their ideas. Those who have experienced bullying but still want to share their ideas can safely join the conversation.
Another advantage of blogging as a part of teaching and learning is that the time constraints of a 50 minute classroom disappear. Questions and answers can be posted outside of school hours. Comments about a lesson can be shared with the class and teacher after everyone has gone home. Do the kids realize that they can now learn 24/7?
Filed under: Web2.0 Class and
I agree that the informal writings can help many students participate where they may not take that chance in a class setting. I wonder about the teacher-student relationship and how that is affected by blogging. Especially with romance languages, there is a constant reminder of who is your audience (vous vs. tu). This could devalue the cultural aspect if your student all of a sudden sees you as one of their classmates.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens if and when we have our students blog in a math class; the casual writing of the blogger meets the structured, formal writing of the mathematician! Maybe the students will realize the necessity of learning correct vocabulary so they can explain, clearly, course content they are studying. The words “this” , “that and “it” are already outlawed in my classroom due to ambiguity; they may need to be outlawed on a blog, also.
I have the same reaction as you to the ranting and raving that goes on. It is like the comments of people participating in a reality show. Who wants to hear all of that nonsense? I think as we implement blogs in out math classes that it will be important to have a rubric and/or guidelines of what is acceptable in that forum. In other words, keep your social life on Facebook. I also agreed with the previous comment that writing mathematically presents a unique challenge. If our students can learn to communicate mathematics effectively, their learning will be greatly enhanced.
Totally agree…in dealing with 6th grade students, they all too often won’t ask a question in class, but they will come by later in the day when fewer folks are around and ask it. As cheesy as it sounds, it does give a voice to those that don’t “feel” they have a voice. Informal and anonymous….what better avenue for those that tend to take a back seat to their learning because they felt timid or embarassed.