Blogging in the Classroom

I am an elementary school teacher that has taught 1st as well as 5th grade – all were and are contained classrooms. The subjects I cover are – Math, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science. Last year I decided to go back to school and pursue a Masters Degree in Education and I am focusing on technology. So here I am talking about Blogs – something very new to me. The only blog type format I have knowledge/expertise in is Facebook. So I will learn right along with my students about blogging and they may know more than me!
A classroom blog is a place where the students and I would reflect on learning. There would be writing samples that show work at all stages from first draft, edited draft to final copy. We would do this to show the whole writing process and to see how the students learn. There would be a section on internet safety. This would be my very first lesson with the 5th graders on how to interact with people over the internet. “Regardless of how you start using Weblogs with students, make sure that students, parents, and even administrators are clear about the expectations and the reasoning behind it.” (Richardson, pg 46) A great way to introduce internet safety is through http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexFL.htm . NetSmartzKids ensures a safe and positive experience for children and it does not link to any outside sources. This virtual town takes the student through all the pitfalls they may encounter in the world wide web on their level. As a class we would discuss the eidetic of blogging. We would welcome all comments but need people to follow rules such as not to share personal info, try to be supportive of others (if you do not have something nice to say do not say it at all), language use, spelling and grammar appropriate for school, just to name a few.
Blogging is a great way to share ideas in the classroom. It prompts work at home, fosters independent work as well as creates a dialog amongst classmates. Students that do not share in class may feel more comfortable participating virtually. The role I would take on is that of a connector, not just an evaluator. “As you read, what students write, try to respond by commenting back when appropriate. And link to the best student posts and ideas in the class blog. When you celebrate good work, or use students’ unique ideas to drive further discussion, it goes a long way to creating a community of learners.” (Richardson, pg 47) Blogs are a place for students to interact about content, showcase their work, access links/resources/activities and corresponding with me any questions they may have about their work. Students love the idea of having a site to go to where they can get answers. A blog site would give the students a sense of ownership and they will feel vested in the site – a place where we can add class photos of projects, create videos, and give feedback.

-Noreen aka… Mrs.V