Have a look at this article:
http://bit.ly/l3sDlc
It has some fantastic blogging resources and reasons why blogging is becoming such an important learning and self-reflection tool for 21st century learners and teachers.
Headings include:
1. The best way to get your feet wet without drowning is to use a group blog (a personal favourite)
2. Teach students how to write comments (all part of effective literacy practice)
3. Use what you already have in your teaching plan with some minor adjustments (don't reinvent the wheel!)
4. Safety
5. Communicate with parents about what you are doing.
We would love to know your thoughts on this.
That's a really useful link, full of good advice. I'm deciding now on the path to take for my Year 4's, and am thinking that perhaps a group blog might be the way to go. Possibly a whole class blog for starters, or have them in groups of five or so, with a blog for the group. Maybe that could even introduce some competition between blogs, trying to 'outblog' each other!
ReplyDeleteIt is important to consider purpose. Do I want it to be an online portfolio of their work, or a place for sharing their writing and ideas? Or both?
I agree that children need to be taught how to comment well, and I like the idea of doing this offline first, as the article suggests. When I visited Point England School I was impressed that reading other students' blogs and commenting on them was part of their literacy cycle.
Keep up the good work on this blog!
I love the idea of group blogs with a bit of competition thrown in!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to support them with group blogging first - great scaffolding and support until they are confident on their own, plus the bonus of building collaborative skills too.
I think the purpose is crucial to the success. It's something we've been reading a lot about for our research.
I love what Pt England School does with their Literacy and blogging too. Would love to visit them at some stage.
Hey Greg,
ReplyDeleteIt would be great, if you have the time, to share your experiences with use of blogs with your Yr4s on this blog cite. We would all have the ability to learn from your experiences and for a bit of a CoP on use of blogs.
I am definitely thinking about using blogs as part of my research project next year to explore cultural competency in college age students. I am thinking of a blended communication model where there would be a face-to-face component but also an online (blog) environment to explore ideas around culture, communication and difference.