I was just in the back room waiting out a lockdown drill. I was picking through some older magazines. I came across "The Journal" dated Febrary 2004. On the front cover was this; "Blogs in the Classroom". Huh? 2004?? And I thot WE were going to be ahead of this new trend! The article said that weblogs were the "unedited, published voice of the people". "Blogosphere", a term coined by William Quick (2001), is the "intellectual cyberspace" that bloggers occupy. They list 4 benefits of student blogging:
- The use of blogs helps students become subject-matter experts.
- The use of blogs increases student interest and ownership in learning. Students are blogging about topics that are important to them.
- The use of blogs gives students legitimate chances to participate. Blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher-student relationship, allowing the world to grade students and provide encouragement and feedback.
- The use of blogs provides opportunities for diverse perspectives, both within and outside the classroom. Blogs allow all students to participate in a discussion.
2 comments:
I like the idea of the students using blogs in this way. I think it helps them feel connected and valued. I wish it just wasn't so public, the Freaks that prey on the unsuspecting scare me for these kids. I just send up a positive thought and hope it sticks. Kim
There's a lot of safeguards you can use to help making blogging safer. We'll talk about some of those and good blogging providers for student use.
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