BLOGGING
"Blog" is a shortening of the phrase "web log". It is made up of informational posts published by individuals or groups on the internet. Not only are blogs good for recording and sharing information and experiences, they give the writer a voice and a platform from which to share their thoughts.
Before starting this course, my experience with blogging was limited. I addressed this weakness by keeping my own blog which documents and reflects on the use of ICT in the classroom which can be accessed in the drop down menu under "Reflective Blog".
Before starting this course, my experience with blogging was limited. I addressed this weakness by keeping my own blog which documents and reflects on the use of ICT in the classroom which can be accessed in the drop down menu under "Reflective Blog".
Creating and maintaining this blog has highlighted to me how simple a process it is. It has been helpful to build up a diary of ICT experiences in the classroom and it is very satisfying to see how fairly short reflective entries can combine to create an overall picture.
Blogging has extremely useful implications for learning:
- Creating a class blog to provide a platform for children's work.
Although the prospect of having their work displayed could inspire children to produce their best work in any subject, this could be particularly meaningful for literacy and writing where different formats and audiences are considered. A class blog, accessible by parents and carers could provide a perfect opportunity for pupils to think about this.
- Creating a class blog to communicate with parents and carers.
A class blog could be used to show parents and carers what children have been doing during the week. Depending on age, the blog could be written and maintained by the pupils with supervision by the teacher. Blogging could include photos and excerpts from pupils' work, descriptions of classroom activities, ideas for further learning at home and an opportunity for parents and carers to ask questions and comment (with teacher approval).
- Creating a class blog that children can access and contribute to from home.
This could sometimes be used for children to complete homework on. The group nature of the blog would contribute to collaborative learning so children could see and comment on other children's blogs (with teacher approval). This also has implications for peer assessment.
Blogs in Literacy...
From my experience on the Literacy Pathways element of the course, blogging seems to have an important place in school literacy. Blogs are often written by extremely interesting and inspirational people and should therefore be made available for children to read during quiet reading sessions. Equally, blog text should be used to support units in literacy and children should be taught, through the writing of a blog, how to write for audiences through this digital medium.
Overall, blogging is something I would definitely consider doing with a class in Key Stage 2. I think there is a real potential for children to find their "voice" through blogging to an audience, that may not be so present when only writing in exercise books to the teacher.