BP3_2009121_EduUses4Blogs

Educational Uses of Blogs in the Classroom

The idea of using blogs in the classroom can be an overwhelming thought. The first thought would be why use blogs in the educational setting. Blogs take the realm of education outside of the traditional classroom setting and into the global community. The student is now able to connect with students all over the world giving them a genuine audience for their work. By using blogs students are able to take ownership of what they are learning and find meaning for their learning. Regular blogging fosters the development of writing and researching skills(Downes, 2009).

So what are some ways to use blogs in education? Transform the old book report into a book study where students could write about different aspects of the book and other students can comment on their ideas. Students could write summaries of the parts they like or didn't like. Students could also start a book review blog where they could suggest books for the other students to read. Students could also include drawings about the books.

Blogs could also be a way for students to create art portfolio. Students could scan or photograph their artwork and comment on the art elements they used. Students would be able to draw connections between materials posted at different times of the developmental process(Hooker, 2005). Other students would be able to see an comment on these elements also.

One activity I used to do when I was a classroom teacher was a story starter.  The class would start a story then each student would have to write a different part of the story. The story would be written on paper and passed  around until each student would have a chance to write. A blog would be wonderful way to do that. Instead of a student adding just one time, students could post many times.  The students could also create illustrations to add to the story. The students would have to read all of the post to make sure the story was consistent and made sense. These stories we created were a favorite of the class and the students loved to read them.

When the class was ready to go global the students  could collaborate with another class within the school or another school to research and post their findings to the blog. This way the students were sharing information with others outside the classroom.

While blogging is meant to connect learning in a global sense careful consideration must be taken in the elementary setting. The first 3 activities could be used within the classroom.  The teacher could also used these activities to teach the rules of the blog and how to  be responsible in the cyber world. Once the students learn this the students are ready to go global.

Downes, S. (2009, April 13). Blogs in education. Message posted to

        Half An Hour: http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/

        blog-in-education.html

Hooker, S. (2005, August 8). Educational uses of blogs. Message posted

        to Educatr: http://www.educatr.com/discuss/msgReader$74

Western Australia Department of Education. (2009). Blogs in education.

        Retrieved November 29, 2009,

        from http://www.det.wa.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs