The uses for blogs in LMS, teaching, and learning seem to be many and varied, from superficial informational posts, to more complex creations involving links, pictures, critical thinking skills, and more. Blogs are commonly thought about as "Look at Me!" creations on the internet, where people partake in a one-way street to share about themselves. However, when used for educational purposes, blogs can become a two-way street in which discussions and learning are present.
A basic use for teachers and LMS that I see for blogs is information sharing. Teachers can post assignments, classroom happenings, changes, or general announcements for parents and students to see and keep up to date. LMS can do the same with library happenings, new materials and resources, etc. This allows students and parents the chance to check on what they need to do, and stay connected, even when they are not in the classroom. It would be a useful way to share information about the day with students who are absent, and would not require all the extra technology skills that might go along with maintaining a full class website to share this information.
Moving from this one-way communication to two-way communication is where we help our students to develop their 21st century skills and higher level thinking abilities. A teacher can post a question prompt on a blog, and either have students respond as comments to the teacher blog, or in their own blogs. Personally, I see comments in a teacher blog lending themselves to shorter answers, with personal student blogs being more useful with "essay" type answers.
Having the students respond online gives them the time to process and reflect on their answers before sharing. This processing and reflection allows them to fully form their thoughts before sharing, which is not always possible with oral responses in class. Class time can also limit how many students are able to share on certain days. Blogs give the chance for all students to respond. It also allows them to analyze different points of their argument, think about the point that they are trying to make, and how best to make that point. Once they have shared their post, interaction and discussion with other students' posts will help them to ask questions, agree and disagree with different viewpoints, work to support their opinion, and create new opinions.
One of our readings this week discussed 21st century skills and the idea of students becoming a part of a democratic society. Last semester we read "Democratic Education" by Gutmann. Though it is a small step in the larger process, if blogs are used as a means of discussion, sharing, and learning, instead of just talking about oneself, this web 2.0 tool can be a way for students to share, learn, question, and form opinions. In a democratic society and learning environment, we do not have to agree with everyone else's opinions, but they are allowed to have them and share them, which is exactly what blogs are meant to facilitate. Exposure to new ideas is what helps us to shape, modify, and strengthen our own ideas.
Whether it be information sharing, responding to critical thinking questions, having discussions, or posting short question responses that practice grammar, vocabulary, or basic ideas, blogs are a tool that could prove very useful in a classroom. They seem to me to be a tool that would catch a student's attention and keep them engaged, and any time we, as educators, can pair student engagement and excitement with learning, the outcome will be more successful.
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This entry really is more generalized in uses for a blog. As a foreign language teacher, I see myself specifically using a blog more as a journaling exercise for my students. I could give them a prompt in the form of a question, a statement that they have to complete, or an open topic in which they have to use a certain number of vocabulary words or verb forms from a certain topic. Doing a free write is a great way for them to work on their written fluency and developing their communication skills. When I do this on paper, I sometimes focus on their grammar, sometimes on their vocabulary, and sometimes just on their overall meaning. It is not always how "correct" they are, but whether they can get their idea across.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea. It would be especially good when you want them to focus on overall meaning. You could make comments on grammar and vocabulary, but you can't mark directly on a post. In some respects that's not a bad thing as I know students may get intimidated by too many red marks on their papers.
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