Wow, I'd completely forgotten I started this blog for another class way back in undergrad. For now I guess it works as well as any space so here we go!
Once upon a time I was a HUGE blogger. I wrote a Buffalo Sabres blog and for a while a personal blog as well. But as someone else said - I think it was Cathy - eventually I started shifting toward other social media platforms. A lot of my hockey talk migrated toward Twitter. A lot of my personal stuff migrated toward Facebook and Instagram. Eventually my poor blogs sat collecting dust. (They're still there should you ever want to read about the Sabres between 2006 and 2010 for some reason. Heh.)
I have always loved the idea of class blogs. Giving students a way to share their thoughts and ideas with more people than just the teacher could be so beneficial and even fun for the students. I have a student who, every time we write a new paragraph, asks excitedly, "Are we going to hang it up in the hall?" She *wants* to share her work so much which I love. The ability to discuss class subjects on a blog could also be really helpful for kids who are a little intimidated by the idea of giving feedback to a peer or asking adults questions. I really love the idea of every student having his or her own space.
I've shied away from trying it, however, because as a special education teacher, so many of my students are really struggling writers. For some kids, typing alleviates that, but for most of my kids, typing was even MORE frustrating because they have very little experience with technology. (And I'll admit, part of the frustration was mine because it takes SO LONG that I can't help but think of the many other things we need to get to in the short amount of time they're with me.) We experimented some last year with speech-to-text and it worked great for a couple of kids and caused frustration with others with speech issues.
That said, I think with the right kids, blogging could be a really powerful tool. When we talk about the school library - and ELA in general - we focus a lot on reading but writing really gets the shaft which makes me sad because writing has always been such an emotional outlet for me. Sometimes I don't really know how I feel about something until I sit down and write about it. And I imagine there are tons of ways to use blogs to connect to kids in other schools in other states and countries. How fun would that be? It would also be fun to have an official library blog that students contribute to. Maybe they write book reviews or opinion articles or poetry. Definitely lots of interesting options!
Once upon a time I was a HUGE blogger. I wrote a Buffalo Sabres blog and for a while a personal blog as well. But as someone else said - I think it was Cathy - eventually I started shifting toward other social media platforms. A lot of my hockey talk migrated toward Twitter. A lot of my personal stuff migrated toward Facebook and Instagram. Eventually my poor blogs sat collecting dust. (They're still there should you ever want to read about the Sabres between 2006 and 2010 for some reason. Heh.)
I have always loved the idea of class blogs. Giving students a way to share their thoughts and ideas with more people than just the teacher could be so beneficial and even fun for the students. I have a student who, every time we write a new paragraph, asks excitedly, "Are we going to hang it up in the hall?" She *wants* to share her work so much which I love. The ability to discuss class subjects on a blog could also be really helpful for kids who are a little intimidated by the idea of giving feedback to a peer or asking adults questions. I really love the idea of every student having his or her own space.
I've shied away from trying it, however, because as a special education teacher, so many of my students are really struggling writers. For some kids, typing alleviates that, but for most of my kids, typing was even MORE frustrating because they have very little experience with technology. (And I'll admit, part of the frustration was mine because it takes SO LONG that I can't help but think of the many other things we need to get to in the short amount of time they're with me.) We experimented some last year with speech-to-text and it worked great for a couple of kids and caused frustration with others with speech issues.
That said, I think with the right kids, blogging could be a really powerful tool. When we talk about the school library - and ELA in general - we focus a lot on reading but writing really gets the shaft which makes me sad because writing has always been such an emotional outlet for me. Sometimes I don't really know how I feel about something until I sit down and write about it. And I imagine there are tons of ways to use blogs to connect to kids in other schools in other states and countries. How fun would that be? It would also be fun to have an official library blog that students contribute to. Maybe they write book reviews or opinion articles or poetry. Definitely lots of interesting options!
Heather,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a great point that it is different depending on the student what works for them the best. I love the speech to text idea for those that don’t have a strong suit in typing but as you state that doesn’t work for all. I really prefer twitter over blogging because I feel that it is not as overwhelming for students (and adults), because it is only 140 characters! A tiny amount compared to a ‘HUGE’ blank blog post waiting for you to write a story in.