8th Graders are Blogging!

As I read through some of the blog posts of the 8th grade students in Iowa I saw that most of them thought blogging would be beneficial for them. Many of the students expressed that blogging is a good way to communicate with people they don't know. Someone said they should blog in their class because it gives them a chance to share ideas with students that are outside of their own school. 

When I responded on one of the student's blogs, I mentioned that what's really neat about blogging is that it's instant and we can now connect with people all over the world quickly. When I was in elementary school my classmates and I had pen pals from a different state (don't remember which one now...). It took so long to hear back because we had to wait for our letters to be written, sent, and then delivered... the slowww way. Now, it's as simple as logging into the internet, reading a blog, posting a comment, and hitting publish. That person across the country or across the world can read your comment in the same day, even hour. 

I've really been thinking about using Kidblog with my 3rd and 5th graders. For those of you who blog with your students, can you comment on how it has been going? What has been working well? 

A Cool Blog

Something nice about blogging is that it can serve as a student portfolio so that all student work becomes digital and is neatly stored in one place. I like the way Mrs. Alaniz created a blog where she uploaded student work samples right onto the page. She also included some personal photos into her blog as well as photos from what is going on in her classroom. It's nice to look through someone's blog and see concrete images to reflect what they are talking about with regard to what they're doing in their classrooms. I love that student work can be added right in as examples. Check out her blog here!

Blogging and Multiple Literacies

I was surprised to see that Karen, a first grade teacher, was able to set up a blog with her young students. But then again, why should I be? Children as young as first grade, maybe even younger, may have a better grasp at some of these new technologies than most adults. The way of the world is changing as far as literacy goes, so why not begin blogging with students as young as first grade? Blogging gives students a sense of pride because others are reading and commenting on their writing. This is a great way to promote engagement and motivation in the youngest writers.Karen includes pictures of her students into her blog. This is a great way to show parents and others what you are doing in your classroom.

As far as global awareness, I thought that The Global Read Aloud was very cool. Students are able to blog and communicate with other kids from all different parts of the world. It's crazy to think that we are really just a click away from people in Europe, or Australia, or China! What a great way for students to stay connected and learn from kids they have never met! I've heard of teachers using Skype with their students to connect to other classrooms around the world. Also very cool!

In her article, Online Collaborative Inquiry: Classroom Blogging Ventures and Multiple Literacies, Judy states that blogging serves all purposes with regard to technology standards for students. When blogging, students are constantly reading other people's work (thoughts, ideas) and in turn, commenting on their blogs which enhances their own writing. They are also practicing writing for an audience when they create their own blogs or comment on others. There is a different feeling that comes with knowing that your writing is reaching others. I'm sure that when students first read a comment someone has posted on their blog, they will feel a sense of pride in their work, knowing that others are interested in what they have to say (or write). Blogging is a great way for students to communicate with their peers, teachers, and perhaps others out there who read and comment on their blogs. They can start to make connections by having this new sense of communication with others. Blogging gives students a voice: a voice that can reach anyone across the globe. This is a very powerful thing!

Blogs and Wikis

After reading these two chapters, I have a bit of a debate going on in my mind.... blogs vs. wikis. I can see great benefits to both, though for some reason, wikis make me a bit nervous when thinking about using them in the classroom. My main concern (apparently the same as many others out there) is that anyone can post anything at anytime. Anything. This raises a red flag for me.. Richardson did well explaining that there are ways to approach creating a wiki with students in safe ways. Sometimes only students themselves can edit. This rules out the possibility of random readers adding whatever they want. Louise Maine's wiki uses this approach. Wikis allow the option for a password/login system which I think is great. Much safer in my opinion. I may want to use wikis with my students eventually. I might not be quite there yet, though. I would rather start with using blogs. There are some cool examples of wikis included in this chapter. Some I thought were interesting were the Recipes Wiki and Traveling Wiki. I do love the idea that so many people can come together and share their thoughts/ideas on one page.

Incorporating Blogs into Instruction

I've started thinking about ways I might incorporate blogs into my instruction. I agree with Richardson that the first step to using a blog in your own teaching is to practice with blogging by creating your own first. Teachers should practice blogging before trying to teach kids how to blog. Last year at USJ I created a blog on digital citizenship for my technology for learning course. Click here if you want to take a look at it. It was a fun project!

This year I am teaching language arts with third and fifth graders. Recently we've been coming up with deep questions to ask of ourselves as we read our texts. For homework and during class, I've been having my students read their books and mark down questions they are asking of themselves as they read. These questions should reflect critical thinking. What a great idea it would be to create a class blog and have students respond for homework rather than doing everything paper/pencil. My fifth graders could publish their poems on our class blog, then read each other's poems and comment on them. Ideally, all students would have their own computers at home. This isn't always the case, but there are ways to work around that. Perhaps we could take time each week to go to the computer lab and blog.

Blog Safety

Blog safety is very important. Richardson suggests having students create pseudonyms so they don't use their real names on the blog. I took a course in undergrad where we blogged as part of our homework. We created usernames so our identities remained anonymous. This also opens up a new feeling of freedom. Students can write without fear of judgment.

With blogs, I like the feature that allows the teacher to revise any posting first before it is published. Teachers also have the power to accept or reject an outside source form posting on the blog. This is a very important feature when blogging within schools. I may not use blogger with students. Some good alternatives are Edublogs or Kid Blogs. They seem a bit more kid-friendly.

Am I not being open minded enough with the wikis? I'd love to hear if anyone has used them with their students. How did you use them? Did you find the experience beneficial? What did you like or dislike about wikis?

Sources:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Blogging on the Read/Write Web

In these first chapters, Richardson alludes to the idea that technology is really making waves in all aspects of life today, including education. He explains that the people who will know the most about these technologies are probably just being born. Teachers today face somewhat of a challenge given that many are not fully aware of the programs out there and how to best use them in their classrooms. Richardson states: "Whereas students are open to the ways of new technologies, schools by and large are not" (8). With regard to technology, schools at times lack appropriate resources and teachers who may have the materials do not always know how to best use them.

One of the ideas that Richardson mentions is the usage of blogs between students and teachers. I created a blog last year in my graduate technology class. I was able to experience first hand the power of sharing ideas through a medium in which everyone can participate. Richardson explains that one of the benefits of blogging is that it opens up the window for all students to participate and learn from each other. Quieter students might shy away from voicing ideas and opinions during class, but through usage of a blog, they will be  more apt to feel comfortable writing their thoughts down for others to read.

Richardson mentions other types of programs that I would like to explore and get to know better. He mentions social bookmarking sites such as Diigo.com and Delicious.com  that I had never even heard of. Even twitter.com is a bit abstract to me. I know people who use it, but I myself have had no experience navigating it.

Just by reading through these first two chapters I have seen what a powerful tool blogs can be. I was amazed to see that a class of students was able to communicate through blogs with the author of The Secret Life of Bees. This blog is an example of what can happen when people collaborate through the use of blogs.

Though I can see the many different advantages of incorporating blogs into teaching and learning, I can't help but worry about the safety issue. Richardson touches on this issue in chapter one and explains that one of the first things to do is talk about the rules and expectations of your students with regard to blogging before beginning to blog. Once students have a good understanding of what is and what is not appropriate internet behavior, a class can begin to share ideas through blogs. I'm curious if anyone in this class has tried blogging with their students. I teach elementary school so I'm wondering how this might work with my students. I know that not all of them have a computer at home. I could take them to the computer lab when I wanted them to respond on a blog. Any ideas? I'd love to hear what experiences people have had with blogging with their own students. How did you promote safety for your students while they work online?

Having said this, I learned a great deal last semester about digital citizenship and what it means to behave appropriately on the web. If anyone wants to look at the blog I created last spring, click here to see it.

Sources:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.