Blogs in the Classroom


It was the late 1990’s when the first web log was developed, the term “blog” was coined, the Blogger platform was introduced, and a new electronic communications phenomenon was born (Thomson, 2006). Since then, blogs have been a popular way for people to share their thoughts both personal and professional. In the education field, blogs can be used in myriad ways both in the classroom and behind the educator’s desk.


Blogs can be shared between teachers to communicate ideas, lesson plans, and experiences. They can be shared from teacher to student to share conversation starters or sample work. And they can be used to share writing between peers. According to Edublog research, applications for educational blogging in the classroom setting can be fit into three main categories: practicing reading and writing skills, reflection, and assignment/assessments. (Morris, 2018). Blogs can be a way for students to compile their thoughts about the material they are studying or even the learning process itself. It can be a repository for homework assignments, weekly reflections, essays, research projects, book analyses, and so much more. Any writing that is normally done with paper and pencil at a desk in the classroom can be adapted and expanded to post to a blog.. 


Once published, a student’s blog can be viewed and commented on by peers and teachers alike. The electronic nature of the platform allows others to easily access each student’s writings. Gayle Morris at the University of Michigan describes some of the advantages of the shareability of blogs. “By blogging, students can take ownership of their writing, become better observers of others’ writing, and develop a more immediate and powerful understanding of audience” (Morris, n.d.). The public nature of the blog can help the student to take his work seriously by making it available to more than just the teacher. With a wider audience comes a greater sense of significance, which can motivate the students to produce something to be proud of.


While blogs can be a great way to get students writing and sharing with others, there are some risks that should be addressed. Classroom blogs should be set up “with the proper tools, such as spam monitoring systems for your comment section” to avoid unwanted or inappropriate content (Wallagher, 2015). Even the blog content itself should be monitored by the teacher, and anything inappropriate should be removed and dealt with immediately. Student privacy issues also need to be considered. Parents should be made aware of the existence of any public blog outlet and given the opportunity to protect the students’ privacy or anonymity if desired.


When used with caution and maximized for communication and collaboration among students, blogs can be a powerful tool for producing and sharing student work.




References


Morris, G. (n.d.). Using Blogs in the Classroom. University of Michigan Sweetland Center for 

     Writing. 

https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/sweetland-assets/sweetland-documents/teachingresources/UsingBlogsInTheClassroom/UsingBlogsintheClassroom.pdf


 Morris, K. (2018, April 23). The Current State of Educational Blogging 2017/2018. The 

     Edublogger. https://www.theedublogger.com/survey-2017-2018/


Wallagher, M. (2015, September 8). How Blogging is Being Used in the Classroom Today: 

     Research Results. Emerging Ed Tech. 

     https://www.emergingedtech.com/2015/09/the-state-of-blogging-in-the-classroom/

Comments

  1. Ms. AndersonJuly 25, 2020 at 11:34 AM

    I really like the title you chose for your blogger account "Mrs. Penner's Pen"; so creative! It's very catchy and adds a personal touch, which is a great way to attract readers.

    I appreciate the content you included in this specific blog post about blogging in the classroom. I agree with a lot of what you said, especially the part about blogs being shared between teachers, as well as students. Blogging allows for collaboration, communication and, most importantly, learning and growth!

    Thanks for a great read!
    -Nicole

    ReplyDelete

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