Learning how to use blogs effectively in your classrooms takes time. It is not a teaching strategy that we educators are accustomed to using in our classrooms. Have patience with yourself and your students. Think of it as the beginning of building a learning community that can be unlike any you have had in your classroom before. Allow yourself the opportunity to learn what will work best for you and your class. Start small, build, and enjoy the learning journey.
Weblogs are unique spaces that we can use with students to make writing THE focus. We can publish quickly. We can set up an audience for them. We can give them ownership of their work in ways we cannot in our solitary classrooms. Students can get to practice writing through a diverse array of writing experiences. It’s a way we can make writing a joy for them and let our students know and feel that their writing matters.
It is a great way to reassess our teaching and re-examine student learning. It is also a good way to give our students a voice. We can listen and learn from them. Blogging can foster classroom conversations that matter. Your having a blog shows your students that you make writing a priority.
Start thinking of ways to use it as a tool in the classroom to ensure that your and your students are talking, reading and writing about how and what you are learning and thinking. Interact through comments. Have others outside your classroom enter the conversations. Work at building a community of learners who respect and encourage each other.
Notice the link on the sidebar that includes A rationale for educational blogging. Please read it. Then we’ll start the conversations about things we need to consider as we begin blogging in our classrooms.
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