Although I no longer teach in the K12 system, the idea of using blogs in the classroom has been a great interest to me and I am hoping that I can pass this idea to the preservice teachers in my classes. On this note, I found a good article from the Internal Herald Tribune re: blogs as a classroom tool.
As i read through the article, I become aware of certain pedagogical/technological principles which blogs seem to provide. These principles follow along with the supported passages from the article.
Interaction:
“It allowed them to interact with their peers more quickly than a journal”
Simplicity:
“… blogs are attractive because they require little effort to maintain, unlike more elaborate classroom Web sites, which were once heralded as a boon for teaching.”
Student/Participant-Centred:
“The work that is required to refresh and maintain an interesting blog is being provided by students.”
Extend Learning:
“One way teachers use blogs is to prolong spirited discussions that have been cut short, or question-and-answer periods with guest speakers.”
Immediate Feedback and Digital Accessibility:
“I used to have this stack of hard-copy journals on my desk waiting to be read …. Now I can react to what they say immediately, and students can respond to each other.”
While I knew most of these attributes (re: blogging) existed before, it’s interesting to see how clearly they are perceived in this particular instance.
As a new face in the school system I am amazed at all the new, easy and eduacational ways to use computers. I admit I am fairly opposed to students spending many hours infront of computers; However, I have had the opportunity myself to use Blogger and I already have seen how beneficial it can be in the classroom. It see it as a great tool for creative writing and easy and quick feedback. I have yet to further explore other blog sites that perhaps offer more ways of communication, but this is a great place to start.
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