Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

Using Blogs as a Teaching Method in the Classroom

“Blogs facilitate a new form of genre that could be called ‘connective writing’ a form that forces those who do it to read carefully and critically” (Richardson, 2009). Learners will most likely gravitate towards blogs as a platform to improve their writing because it is in a format that is easy, stress-free and exciting. Additionally, blogging in the classroom will provide a new and different way for teachers and learners to network and communicate with others. Pennay reiterates that, he “found the students to be more engaged in the writing process” when they used blogs because their writing were “more thoughtful and elaborate than… in the past”. Pennay supports the opinions of Drexler, Dawson and Ferdig, who stated that “collaborative blogging improved students’ attitudes towards writing [and] feedback generated from the collaboration … increased students’ motivation to write” (2007).

Blogging “demands clarity and cogency in its construction, that is done for a wide audience, and that links to the sources of the ideas expressed” (Richardson, 2009). Students can expand their connection with other learners in other countries which “facilitates connections in ways that plain paper cannot” that demands clarity and cogency in its construction, that is done for a wide audience, and that links to the sources of the ideas expressed” (Richardson, 2009). For example, Language students can create conversations with native speakers and Science students can dialogue with experts in the field which can efficiently contribute to their vicarious experience.

As an educator, the primary purpose for introducing blogs in the classroom would be as a platform for my students to improve on their writing and communication skills. As a learner, my English has improved over the years mainly because of more exposure to writing and from constant contact with people who are exemplary writers. Hence, I would use blogs a medium for my students to be exposed to various writing styles. Additionally, if students have the opportunity to be communicate with their peers through words, then not only will they develop a greater appreciation for each other's thoughts but they can learn from each other. Once students are adequately prepared to write in an open forum like blogs, then they will be more cautious about their grammar, spelling, among other important aspects of the writing process. By using blogs, students can also be given the opportunity to highlight their talent and creativity. Blogging can be used to enhance the lesson as students' feedback from comments will provide evidence for me to ascertain whether the goal is being achieved. Blogging can help students to learn the value of taking constructive criticisms and using them to enhance the quality of their work. Also, potential writers as well as those who like to rationalize can further develop their strengths. "Blogs can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking" (Eide Neurolearning Blog, 2005).

Using blogs in a Grade 9 Language Arts lesson would be appropriate for addressing students' writing and communication skills. With the use of an online learning environment, my students can learn to reflect on the comments of others before posting comments, they can ask probing questions for clarification or to obtain new knowledge. My students can also apply ethical research skills during the process of information sharing. Furthermore, blogging can be a relax environment for students to write and post more than one reaction to several responses. I would definitely allot sufficient time for students to respond to tasks as I would like to cater to both slow and fast learners.

Using blogs is also an effective tool as it can be accessed from any computer so students could upload their post that is convenient to them under favorable conditions. Blogs are the sophisticated journals that are trendy and not limited to gender or intellectual capabilities. Therefore, I would give my students time to embrace this new mode of expressing their thoughts and expanding their ability to be exposed to the new information age within a technological atmosphere.



References

Drexler, W., Dawson, K., and Ferdig, R. E. (2007). “Collaborative blogging as a means to develop elementary expository writing skills”. [Electronic version]. Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education Annual. Web. 27 July 2009.

Eide Neurolearning Blog. (2005, March 2). Brain of the blogger. Retrieved September
25, 2005, from
http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2005/03/brain-of-blogger.html

Pennay, Anthony. (2009, September). Techno- literacy: a boom for writing
instruction in the classroom. EBSCOhost. California English, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p18-20, 3p; (AN 44276829) Retrieved October 4, 2009 from
http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=44276829&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for
classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.