Blogs
can be a very helpful tool to use for literacy practice. “A blog
can serve as a place to publish one’s writing or used as a forum for receiving
feedback on writing” (Lacina & Griffith, 2012). As with traditional paper-pencil writing, blogging requires
students to follow a writing process.
Students still must generate ideas, plan their writing, draft their
thoughts, discuss with others for potential revisions, and edit. In addition,
they are sharing, commenting, and receiving feedback from others.
Children
can write their own blogs, participate in a collaborative classroom blog, and
connect with other students from their school, district, or even around the
country. In the article Writing Re-Launched: Teaching with Digital Tools, Liana Heitin writes, “By design, pen-and-paper composition is a one-person undertaking.
But digital writing is often collaborative. There are a variety of ways
students can collaborate, says Eidman-Aadahl. For instance, they can create a
text jointly, through shared documents or wikis, or they can take turns posting
on a collective blog.” The collaborative nature of blogging allows for students to
participate in meaningful conversation around a topic, sharing perspectives,
making connections, and prompting one another to use higher order thinking
around a topic. The process of writing on the internet allows students to hone
in on their voice and write for a target audience, rather than just writing
with the notion that no one will ever see their work. In her article
on HOT blogging, Lisa Zawalinksi states, “In the past the teacher
was usually the only person who read student work. With a blog, student work
can be read by classmates, parents, extended family members, school community
members, project partners, classroom teachers, pre-service teachers, and anyone
around the world who locates the class blog.” I can truly appreciate how blogging allows for families
to participate in classroom activities as well.
They can read what their children are writing, in real time, and help
make that connection between home and school. Learning is always enhanced when
students are able to make a connection to practice outside the walls of their
classrooms.
Writing
can be shared with the intended audience in many ways for a number of
purposes. Blogs can be used to write
reading responses, book/movie reviews, opinion pieces, information on an expert
topic, or even as a journal. Students
can write on a blog that is entirely theirs, or they can contribute to a
classroom blog all around a certain topic.
For example, the classroom blog might have a focus on teaching about
animals, and each student writes a post regarding one animal in
particular. Teachers can provide
meaningful feedback right there on the blog posts by commenting. I have found that in traditional, paper and
pencil writing, rubrics provide only a snapshot of a teacher’s thoughts on any
given piece, and often a conference is necessary in order to discuss the
strengths and areas for growth. With a
blog, these conversations can happen within the comments section.
Alongside the many benefits
discussed for writing in a classroom blog, there are also some challenges. One challenge, especially in the younger
grades, is finding the time to teach students how to write a blog. From
keyboarding skills, to navigating the internet, to knowing what is and is not
appropriate information to share on the internet (in regards to privacy), these
skills must be a prerequisite to actually allowing students to blog on their
own. While sometimes, these prerequisite skills can seem cumbersome, they are
important for our 21st century learners to acquire as the definition
of literacy shifts to include internet competencies. Alongside learning these nuts and bolts, students should
understand the craft of blogging, which can take time. It is certainly
attainable, with thought and planning. Cathy
Mere shares ideas about using blogs for shared literacy experiences. “Before
students begin to blog individually, we explore how blogging works and its
purpose. Shared reading of blogs can support students in these early days of
gaining understanding.” Shared reading and writing
activities using blogs can be very beneficial.
The use of mentor texts and modeling with a gradual release of responsibility
allows students opportunities to shift toward independent practice within the
craft.
So, can you see yourself
using blogging in the classroom? I have
dipped my toes in the water of using blogs for writing with second
graders. We used Kidblog which is very user and kid
friendly. They loved this novel approach
to writing, and I wasn’t even taking advantage of the true benefits
(commenting, sharing with a larger audience, etc.). I look forward to reaping the full benefits
of classroom blogging in the future. I
also hope to maintain a classroom blog or other form of social media to share
pictures, events, and announcements with parents of my students.