Blogging connects in school and out of school literacy practices. This week Jen and I spent a lot of time researching blogs to find out what they were really all about. I do not have a personal blog and I have not spent much time looking through blogs in the past. (Although I became such a Facebook junkie I decided to limit my use as a New Year’s resolution.) I know the importance of incorporating technology into the classroom but I never really thought about the technology being something like a blog. I have discovered that bringing blogs into the classroom could lead to a number of positive outcomes because students will have the ability to publish their own work and collaborate with their peers. Using blogs allows students to be creative and gives the timid students a voice in the classroom. The ability to hold an online conversation has incredible power in the classroom and is a great tool to motivate all students to be active participants. Moreover, blogs are personal! When reading through a variety of blogs one of the first things I noticed was the individual voice of each blogger. All students could have the opportunity to upload their artwork, photographs, poems, and so on to make their blog their own. Since I have jumped into the world of blogging I have discovered the power of classroom blogging.
If I use blogs in the classroom I will start out by having my students read blogs I have selected. This way, students will be able to see the differences between blogs which will hopefully encourage them to take ownership in their own blog by creating something personal. Blogging is also an excellent way to integrate writing into the classroom. While the technical aspect of blogging is easy (something most of our students could figure out without any instruction) the higher order thinking may come as a challenge to some of our students. Really being involved with a blog requires conversation and reflection rather than simply posting entries. The readings suggested explicit instruction and modeling of blogging. “Blogs promote critical and analytical thinking and allow students to create content in ways not possible in traditional paper- and- pencil environments” (Johnson 182). I thought this quote summarized the power of classroom blogs. Blogging provides depth in the regular curriculum and expands the classroom walls.
