This article is such a strong representation of how blogging can be and is incorporated into classrooms of all grade levels. I love the list of blogging ideas Arzt provides and it is a great way for teacher's to begin their blogging adventures. For those of you like me that haven't used blogging in school (or ever) or are skeptical to how blogging can change the learning experience, get exploring! One first grade teacher used a blog to showcase student work but said that students wrote from home because they "wanted to" and the blog was visited over 21,000 times! WOW! These
bloggers are children in first grade! Although the class blog is mostly a collection of work and the class's learning adventures, you can see how moving it would be for a busy parent to go to the page and feel completely connected to their child's life at school. With this connection, parents can use what they see on the blog to foster conversations with their children and ask questions about what and why they are doing certain things in school.
I was also blown-away by the possibility of international learning connections. Classrooms can participate in
Quadblogging or in the
Global Read Aloud Project that allows them to learn, connect and communicate with students from around the world. How moving!--its experiences like this that will make our students global citizens.
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI never thought to use blogging as a tool for teaching in this way especially with younger students. It reminds me of how at one time my class had pen pals in Australia. This is so much easier. I remember going to the post office and mailing letters and waiting weeks or even months for a response. This is so much easier and really meaningful. I want to have my own children set up a blog to talk about some of their favorite books. I think that they would be amazed by what other children feel about some of the same storybook characters that they love. I also like the fact that I can have a window into their world. I would be able to look over their shoulder so to speak. They will be forced to think on a higher level. They will be crafting responses to literature without even knowing it. What a great idea.