This week I am participating in a Knowschools course on Blogging in the Classroom. It has been a stretch for me to try and actively participate in this course as well a keep on top of the mountain of other things that usually take up my day, but it has been worth it.
Our latest assignment has been to watch and reflect on an amazing video called Blogging in Their Own Words.
I’m not sure what go into me but I felt compelled to take notes and try to sort out the underlying messages coming from these students. I used a table in google docs to try and organise my notes and was pleasantly surprised to see some common themes emerge. In general the students in this video seemed to be saying that they found blogging to be a valuable classroom tool because:
- Blogs allowed everyone in the class to participate in the discussion, not just the vocal few.
- Blogs provided a written record of the class discussion that they could refer back to.
- Blogs were transparent and allowed you to see what other people were thinking. I included a number of comments about how blogs facilitated the creation of a learning community in this category as I figured their transparent nature might play a role in this.
- Blogs allowed students to feel ownership over their learning because they are able to teach themselves and learn from each other.
- Blogs take the conversation outside the classroom which ‘leaves a bigger imprint’ on their brains.
- Blogs allow for a deeper level of discussion as they have more time to formulate their thoughts.
Wow. What a powerful argument for blogging in the classroom.
bgilgoff
Phil, its a great table. Thanks for sharing it. The video does provide a strong argument for using blogs with students. Personally I think the ownership of the blog, as opposed to just participating in a forum, and the kind of community that can get created by student engaging with each other’s blogs are two of the most powerful reasons.