Thank you, Ann, for the first inspiration for today's post: http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reader.ViewAbstract&paper_id=5680
Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote
literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.
This is an excellent article for the beginning blogger. It provides an overview of the importance of literacy, storytelling, and the potential success of blogs in the classroom. Much of the article reinforced other recent readings, however there were a few quick bits of information that I picked up.
First, anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of blogs are maintained by people under the age of 20 (p.1). That's an impressive number and offers more incentives to incorporate blogs in the classroom. I would imagine most of that percentage falls in the 15-19 range although I can't be certain.
The article also suggests that blogs help improve literacy and are easy to use, whether you can barely turn on your computer or are an ed tech student. Sure anyone can create a blog and write entries, but how is a blog used effectively in the classroom? Huffaker offers some ideas for first time users, like the journalism/editing idea we have previously discussed and a writing display site for third grade students. He does not, however, discuss the best ways to use a blog or give examples of "bad blogging."
My search continued and I came across the next link: http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2007/03/a_problem_with_blogs.php
Jeff Utecht begins by telling the reader there is a problem with blogs. He continues by discussing numerous problems with blogs. The chief complaint? Blogs are being used as journals, not as a vehicle for communication. Many teachers are using blogs in a way that offers no reason for communication. Teachers are asking kids to post thoughts but there is no need to respond or engage in thoughtful communication. Utecht writes, "When blogs are viewed as a conversation vehicle, they bring on a completely new meaning to the term blogging. They no longer become journal assignments; they become thoughtful discussions that extend well after a lesson ends." Yes! This will be one of my goals when I create a class blog. I want my students to feel connected to the blog, to eagerly await their responses and look forward to hearing their classmates' ideas. I do not want them posting just to get the job done or thinking about the blog as an online journal.
Utecht concludes with the following assertion, "So really, there is not a problem with blogs, the problem lies in how we utilize the power of the conversations that they create to engage students in the learning process." As we know, this applies to many other technologies, not just blogs.
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8 comments:
Hi Laine, this is Joe(TA)
The author said that, "Blogs are being used as journals, not as a vehicle for communication."
I agree that collaboration and communication are important, but is there also value in journaling?
Joe,
Yes, there is power in journaling, but does journaling on a blog create anything new or different than journaling in a notebook? Journaling (as I see it) is a place for you to write down what you think, what's going on. It's a one way communication...you telling people about your thoughts or ideas. If we use blogs just as journals than do we they really change the way we teach, the way we write? If you allow people to openly respond to your journal entry then you start a conversation, conversations generate new ideas, new ideas become new thinking, become new approaches to teaching and learning. My point is (and maybe I didn't do a very good job of making it) that blogging needs to be more than journaling, other wises we're just doing the same old thing in new ways.
Thanks for the conversation!
It is always beneficial for students to learn to write informally, so in that respect using a blog as a journal is beneficial. The case can even be made that journaling in a blog could prove impactful in a classroom setting since the journal is "public" and other students can read it to generate new ideas, re-consider old ones, and understand others' thinking more clearly.
However, there is no feasible way -- at least as far as I am aware -- to track that students are in fact reading and thinking about each others' posts unless they respond. I have found that reading, then thinking, then writing helps to develop more critical thinking skills. From a constructivist's point of view, the conversations that can be generated (like this one) through blogging are far more beneficial than being alone in one's thoughts.
That's what bathroom time is for.
Laine, I actually found a wiki discussing the benefits of blogging in education. I thought this was a great way to tie our two fields together. It also discusses the benefits of journaling in a blog.
"Much like journal-writing, blogging gives wings to ideas that otherwise may can stay trapped in the mind. Many individuals find that blog-writing changes their lives in a significant way by allowing them to express their ideas in a medium that appears to have life and longevity--and that might find a kindred audience."
I think this is a valid point. Traditional journals are a way for people to reflect, and no one ever knows about it. This is a personal moment, but aren't their times when we all like to know we aren't alone? Don't we sometimes want to know we do have kindred spirits? Couldn't students help each other this way?
Um...I am such a dunce. Here's the link: http://supportblogging.com/Educational+Blogging
Hi Jeff, and everyone -
Jeff's argument is apparently proven, since my brief response has generated new dialogue.
Journaling has value by itself, but using a blog for a journal isn't necessarily a new approach. However, it may motivate some students to keep a journal that otherwise would not. That is why I don't think it is necessarily bad to do the same old thing in a new way.
On the other hand, dialogue and collaboration will generate more ideas than isolated journaling.
I suppose the approach you choose should depend on what you are trying to accomplish. I'm sure there are instances where your overarching objectives for the course are best met by encouraging some isolation.
Yes, this blog post is a perfect example of what blogging can become. Sure there is benefits in journal writing openly on the web, but this post, this conversation is not a journal entry, the conversation here is new, is different...is blogging. I didn't realize I was the first outsider to your blog, in fact I didn't realize your blog was for a class. I found something here that struck a cord with me, made my fingers start typing and the thoughts start flowing. That's the power of blogging, holding conversations like this with people I don't even know, or who don't know me.
Your blog states:
"explore the effectiveness of various forms of technology as a tool to improve student writing."
...and as our world becomes more digital it is these means of communicating that they will be doing the most writing in. IM Chat, Blogs, Profiles and Groups (aka Myspace) is where they will write, where they will learn to write, and learn to communicate. It's a shift that we need to make in education (in my opinion). Where our students write today is different than were we write. That their language is different for these different forms of communication. Blogs are a very formal way of writing. We still use complete sentences and rules of grammar that we were taught in school. Which is why I think our generation has found the power of blogging rather quickly. But our students enjoy the much less formal IM Chat and quickness of profile and group postings. Why is that? And if that is the future how do we prepare them for it? Should we be allowing some IM Chat in schools? Or even a more scarier thought...should we be teaching it? We have to remember we're preparing them for their future not our past...and that is hard to overcome.
(Enough already Utecht...might have to make my own post out of this!)
Thanks for the conversation!
Hi Jeff,
I checked out your blog today, along with your Wiki and bio...impressive! Shanghai? How do you like teaching there? It seems so far away, I'm not sure I could even imagine living there.
As for your thoughts on my blog as well as your own, I have a great blog for you to visit. The blog was created by Richard Wells, who is actually a member of our group in class. He writes with great wit and intrigue, so I think you'll enjoy. http://rwells5404.blogspot.com
His March 31st explores the very ideas you discussed in your latest post. I'm sure he'd appreciate another perspective.
As for my thoughts, you can read them in his comment section but I can tell you now that I just don't get it. It's obvious that there's a shift in language as there is in most other areas of civilization, but when do we say "enough is enough?" IM language is fine for that particular audience and format, but I can't get over that gasping feeling when I think of it being used in mainstream writing.
Thanks for stopping by.
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