As an English language teacher, I’ve been pondering ways to use a blog in the classroom since the idea was first introduced to me this summer. Though I’ve got some interesting thoughts for how to use the blog with my 12th grade students, what I’m less sure about, and what I want to put out there today, is how best to blog with my 8th grade English Language Learners. Blogging in a classroom setting will be a new experience for my students, who are not used to technology being part of their school lives at all. For this reason, as well as language considerations and my own inexperience, I plan to start small. I would like to post a prompt every week in connection with the literature or topics we are working on in class, to which each student is required to post a response and comment on two or three of their peer’s postings. I would also get involved by contributing to the conversation. Additionally, to make the blog an interesting “destination”, I would like to post assignments, rubrics, and a class calendar to aid in student organization, as well as some fun pictures, captions, and quotes for them to enjoy.
This simple blog would serve the purpose of introducing my students (and their parents) to school-related blogging, as well as allowing them to share their thoughts with a larger audience, and engage in (hopefully) meaningful communication with their peers. The topics discussed in the blog would connect directly to content we are covering in class, and I believe that referring to comments which were posted in the class blog during classroom discussions would enhance lessons by engaging student interest, recognizing student-generated ideas or insights, and providing the opportunity to build on what was said in the blog in subsequent lessons.
Blogging is more that journaling in a different form. According to Bill Richardson, it sharpens critical reading and writing skills, develops media literacy and information management skills, promotes and supports student collaboration, and teaches about social (and technological) networks. For this reason, it is more than worth diving into. Nevertheless, I have some concerns about using blogs with my students. These are: lack of access to internet, parental displeasure (I’m in a very alternative school environment), and posting student work which contains grammatical errors (unavoidable if their contributions are to be authentic).
I look forward to reading your comments!
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Tsenala,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great way to introduce students and parents to blogging. It sounds like the blog will be presented in a non-threatening way so that everyone feels welcome and "safe". Students (and parents!) could get used to simply visiting your blog for information and to read the posts. They can get comfortable with the blog before posting.
You mentioned a lack of technology. That was my one question- do your students have internet access from their homes? Many of my students come from low-income families and do not have access to the internet in their homes. In my case, I would not expect my students to check the blog from home. I would have to make sure they had access to it from school as well.
As far as grammatical errors, most sites provide some form of spelling/grammar check. The students could be taught how to correct their errors before posting, if they do not already know how to do it. You still find errors, but the amount could be reduced. Also, you could post a disclaimer- make a statement,some thing to the affect of the posts being authentic writing and not subject to formal grammar guidelines.
I hope your parents do not fight this idea. It is a very good way for you to communicate with the parents. They can see and participate in their child's education. It can provide a strong link between school and home, while providing students with skills that they can take with them after they leave your class.
Linda
Hi Tsenela!
ReplyDeleteStarting small is exactly what my first thoughts were as well! I soon found that a blog was not a small task! I teach literature, and had very similar plans as you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for both of us!
Technology is also a problem for my students. Most of my students do not have access at home. School policy is that I can only reserve the computer lab so many times each semester, so class time isn't always an option. Have you had any ideas of how to find time for your students to access the computers? I'd love any suggestions myself.
As far as posting information with grammatical errors, I found that you can put an administrative "hold" on postings until you have checked them. I have done this with my class blog. Not only can I help students make changes, but I also have to watch for inappropriate language (my students have behavior disorders). Once you as administrator clears the comments, you send them on for everyone to read. It's a bit time consuming, but in my opinion worth the time by saving a headache!!
Great ideas! Good Luck!
Mandy :)
It seems accessibility is a nearly universal concern among teachers. Aside from the few schools that have ensured that each student have a laptop and internet access, it is a problem we all deal with. Most of my students have some kind of internet access at home (perhaps 80%), and for those who don't, I am unable to offer an in-school alternative. We are in the process of establishing a small number of computers accessible to upper-school students (grades 9 and up) through our library. For the middle school, I have absolutely no access to computer resources. I have an idea to provide a no-tech alternative in the form of a classroom "blog-board" which would function much the same way as the weblog, with students posting responses to a prompt in the form of note cards, to which other "blog-board" users would then post comments.
ReplyDeleteAs for the grammatical errors, these are 8th graders for whom English is a foreign language. They're reasonably good, but they are language learners nonetheless, so their mistake quota will be high as compared to a native speaker. The idea of using administrative hold in order to fix up the worst errors before posting comments is really good.
Thanks for the feedback!