Blogging in the Classroom

 

 

 

 

Globalising Education

 

When I first started thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of blogging in schools, I immediately thought to myself "That would probably be great for secondary school students, but in Primary schools?  That wouldn't really work".

I found this great video which gives an overview of the advantages of using blogs in the classroom:

 

 

This got me thinking alot more deeply about it, so I did some research and the possibilities for incorporating blogs into classrooms are really exciting!  Firstly I performed a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and came up with this;

 

 

Strengths:

·         Students are able to contribute to their classwork outside of school hours.

·         Using a blog allows students more time to reflect on material and formulate responses.  They can also go back and edit past contributions as they gain a deeper understanding of the material.

·         Students are able to integrate other forms of media (such as videos, sound bites, web links) into their work, which was previously not possible when producing hard copy work.

·         Blogging is great for students who prefer a more independent approach to their learning, as they have more control over how they present their work and what information they include.

·         Blogging may encourage some learners to be more engaged with the material over traditional classroom methods (this is dependent on their preferred learning style).

·         Blogging is designed to be highly collaborative and encourage open discussions amongst learners.

·         Blogging regularly will encourage students to develop good online etiquette, of which is imperative in this day and age considering that an increasing amount of our communication is being done online.

·         Using an online forum may encourage some introverted students to engage in discussions with their peers more than they would in a face to face situation.

Weaknesses:

·         Not all students have access to internet/computers at home.

·         Some students may have pressures outside of school that do not support independent learning (poor family support, financial pressures).

·         Some students prefer a one on one, more directed learning style (although a teacher can still be very actively involved in the blog, minimising this weakness).

·         Overuse of online communication may impede face to face social skills, particularly in already introverted students (which is why teachers must be careful to keep learning activities balanced).

Opportunities:

·         Blogs could be used to collaborate with a class in another country (a powerful way to learn about different cultures and reflect upon and showcase our own.

·         Having an online depository of student work would make it much easier for parents to engage with what their children are learning on a regular basis (particularly for parents who do not have time to spend at the school), and encourage them to reinforce what their children are learning by relating it to their lives at home.

• A homework blog would be a fantastic way to keep students homework together, and allow both the teacher and student to include other forms of media (such as videos or web links) making it infinitely more engaging if done properly.

Threats:

·         Students may contribute incorrect information and throw other students off (blogs would require heavy monitoring by teachers to guide discussions back on track).

·         Will disadvantage students that do not have internet/computer access outside of school, giving them less time to spend on their work than those who are able to access their blogs on their own time.

 

·         Students may abuse their freedom and upload inappropriate content(again, teachers would need to be closely monitoring blogs, and having strict consequences for breaches of 'nettiquete').

 

Overall, I think that blogs could be incorporated very effectively into the classroom.  I am doing a Primary specialisation, and I think that the upper Primary grades would greatly benefit in particular by using blogs to expand upon their classwork.  However I love the idea of having a 'web-pal' class from another country, giving students the opportunity to share and learn about different cultures which could be very effective for across all grades.

References:

Boyd, R. (nd). Why let our students blog? (Version 1.5). Retrieved 15th March, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whm3pxqkvB8 

Calberg, F. (2008). 11 Advantages for Using a Blog Online. Retrieved 15^th March, 2013 from www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/11-advantages-of-using-a-blog-for-teaching