Blogging in

Education: Creative Approaches

in the Classroom

Table of Contents General Overview of Education Blogging

Appropriate Blogging in the Classroom

Using Blogs to Enhance Writing Skills

Conclusion

Bibliography

Blogging BasicsEducation World Article – Laurie Jackson

Blogging in elementary school can be a fun and effective way of engaging students in writing

Jackson states that, “Research has long shown that students write more, write in greater detail, and take greater care with spelling, grammar, and punctuation, when they are writing to an authentic audience over the Internet”.

Classrooms blog about topics ranging from current news to updates on classroom projects

Jackson suggests that especially elementary school teachers use blogs made for educational purposes as they are already modified for classroom use

Blogmeister offers the teacher the ability to read all blog entries before they are sent to be published, making sure nothing inappropriate gets posted

Safety is emphasized; always choose a blogging program that is password protected and can be adjusted to the classroom’s wishes

ReflectionsAHA Moments

Students enjoy having their work published online

Writing skills will be accrued because they value the quality of work they publish

Safety and supervision is mandatory

Back when I was in elementary school, the internet was just taking off. Now, so many different tools online are of use to teachers, and I think blogging can really benefit students in the long-run by teaching them writing skills, and showing them what it means to publish information on the internet.

Uses of BlogsTHE Journal Article– Patricia Deubel

Deubel strives to define what a useful and easily managed blog experience would look like in the classroom

Blogs can help students who wouldn’t normally speak up in class fully participate in discussions

Deubel states, “the blog is a vehicle to ensure that everyone is heard and is a valued member of the learning community. “

While blogging seems easy, with a class of 25 Deubel estimates that there will be 75 posts to read a week, so a system must be used where it is easy to assess the relativity and substance of the posts

Blogging can also be a way for students to start to learn HTML code in order to customize their blog posts; This is a great introduction to the language behind computers

ReflectionsAHA Moments

While blogging may be easy for the students, the teacher has to work hard at grading and managing the blogs

This is a good way to help quiet students voice their opinions

Although blogging is good for discussion, I feel it is necessary to say that in-class discussion should still be the more vital and used method

It is not always easy for students to speak up in a classroom of 15, let the average class size of 30. Blogging could be the start of the process of helping students to open up and not be afraid to voice their opinions. For this reason alone, I would definitely say that blogging has many benefits for students today.

Blogs: Enhancing Writing SkillsTHE Journal Article– Rama Ramaswami

Many experiments have been done to measure the success of blogging on students’ writing skills and enjoyment of writing

Ramaswami states, “the students developed their technology skills even though they didn't receive formal technology- related instruction during the project”

Many of these tools gained from blogging experience will have lasting-effects into the farthest reaches of education from college to medical school

One of the biggest advantages of blogs is that most of the time, they are completely and 100% free to use for an unlimited amount of time and space

For blogs to be successful Ramaswami states, attention to details such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation are necessary or else the project is not reaching it’s fullest teaching and learning potential

Also, students are learning to be concise and precise when writing on the blog, which is extremely helpful when writing longer and more extensive papers in the future

Reflection

AHA Moments Attention to detail is key

in increasing writing skills

Learning precision in writing can be extremely helpful in college

To use this software, teachers need to be extremely well-versed in technology and the blogging world

While teachers have to be vigilant in assessing the quality of the blog posts, the outcomes of the hard work are numerous, from increased number of students enjoying school to an enhanced set of writing skills.

Conclusion Blogging is beneficial to students in many ways

ranging from writing skills to discussion methods

Safety is of prime importance because the internet can be a harmful place, so teachers must develop a system of reading and editing blogs before they are posted

Students love to see their work posted on line, and this fact alone makes the process of assignments and homework more enjoyable

Quiet and shy students will benefit from blogging because they now have a non-live place where they can voice their opinions

Bibliography Blogging BasicsJackson, Laurie. (2005). Blogging, it's elementary my dear

watson!. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml

Uses of BlogsDeubel, Patricia. (2007). Moderating and ethics for the

classroom instructional blog. THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2007/02/21/moderating-and-ethics-for-the-classroom-instructional-blog.aspx?sc_lang=en

Blogs: Enhancing Writing SkillsRamaswami, Rama. (2008). The Prose of blogging (and a few

cons, too). THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2008/11/01/The-Prose-of-Blogging-and-a-Few-Cons-Too.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=5