I have never heard of schools using blogging as a classroom tool, but I can see why. There are a lot of good prospects for blogging in the classroom. Students can express their own ideas freely and other students can help build on those ideas. Teachers and students can encourage and learn more about those students who do not like to speak up in a regular classroom setting. Blogging can also be an outlet for those with different learning styles. For some students, perhaps discussing a book or an idea in class wouldn’t work for them. Blogging can be a visual tool for them to better understand what is happening in the classroom. Older students may be able to bring in the “real world” view of what they are learning about. Pictures, news articles, and so on can be linked in their blogs and discussed which would cause students to see how what they are learning about relates to the the “real world.” However, blogging does have a few things teachers need to be aware of. First of all, some students may not feel comfortable sharing their own ideas, whether in the classroom or in a blog. Also, student safety is a huge factor. The internet is an open playground for anyone and people may be able to read the student’s blogs. Of course, there is also the limitation of students being able to have access to a computer.
2 comments:
A few of the elementary Blogs that I read included photos of the K-1 students and I was surprised to see first names attached. I know this is supposed to be safe since the last names are not included, but it seems to me that none of the names should be public information. Especially since the elementary school and location is in plain sight. Suppose the family is in a custody battle. All of the child's info and school work are accessible. With the increase of immediate access and technology, the increase in security must be thoroughly understood.
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