Oh the Possibilities

After reading just the first two chapters of Richardson, I feel inspired. I know I can't do it all but I am excited to start. I am looking forward to using the free tools that are available to us, as teachers and as citizens, to create interactive learning opportunities for my students. One of my favorite quotes from the reading is the comparisons between writing and blogging: "Writing stops; blogging continues. Writing is inside; blogging is outside. Writing is monologue; blogging is conversation. Writing is thesis; blogging is synthesis." I liked this so much because it seems that a lot of formative assessment is handing in a culminating paper or responding in a journal that a teacher scores and gets back to you, but a blog provides feedback opportunities from someone other than the teacher and the conversation and learning can continue beyond handing it in; publishing is NOT the end.

One issue that has continually been brought up at school has been how to motivate our students and how to get them to that "next level of achievement." How do we move beyond proficiency and push our students to achieve at the goal and advanced performance levels? I think that blogging could be the answer we have been looking for; blogs are tools that engage readers with ideas, questions and links and they seek response and commentary and advocate collaboration. We want students to take ownership in their work and seek further knowledge. 

To me it seems that blogging opens doors to endless possibilities and provides opportunities for students to submit works and receive feedback from peers and contributors that are not always their teacher (fancy that). I think this work is easier said than done and that a lot of planning and pre-teaching must be happen to have a classroom blog work as an effective learning tool. Even at a whole school level, positive implications can be seen, take the school webpage from Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Portland, OR for example. This page shows a wide range of interaction possibilities. In exploring the page it is obvious the second that it loads that the school's site is more of a news outlet than a site to answer the who, what, where of the school. Just the homepage features 5 posts of school activities in the past week, what an easy way to build a school community and create rapport and bonds between classes, families and community members.  Are blogs the answer to student engagement and family involvement?