I thought I knew what blogs were- simply an online journal, right? Boy was I wrong! After sampling just a few blogs, I now see that blogs serve a multitude of purposes just within the educational field alone. I assumed that blogging was mostly impersonal for the reader(if anyone actually read the blogs). Again I misjudged blogs. Now, having read several, I feel a personal and professional connection to people I have never met.
I am discovering that I like the genre of blogs. It is different from any writing or reading venue I have encountered before, but that is why I like it. It is versatile. I can see a number of uses in the classroom for student blogging: reading, writing, critical thinking, assessing(for and by the students). This is a tool that I can see myself using in the classroom more and more each year.
This would also be a great tool for distance learning(especially for group/team projects). With the ability for students to access this anywhere or anytime blogging can be a collaborative tool, and the ability to comment on other posts creates a conversational tone. The content and formality of the writing is versatile as well, meeting the learning needs of all writers and readers in the classroom, as well as meeting all curriculur needs. More versatility!
In a quickly evolving technological world and in the educational world, I understand the need for flexibility. I think blogs and blogging are a great new(to me) tool. I plan on becoming ever more flexible in the near future. Time to dust off the yoga mat!
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This was a great post to read because I know so many people that think of blogging as a very narrowly defined type of writing in which only people with too much time on their hands engage. I think people can only understand the potential of blogging by reading other blogs--not by being shown how to blog. That was a mistake I have have made in the past when teaching blogging.
ReplyDeleteI agree - this was a great post to read. I loved your statement about feeling "a personal and professional connection to people" you do not know. There are many major players in the tech world that I follow and I feel like I "know them." I think your ideas about how to involve students in blogging are great.
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