Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Blogs


Blogs On Demand (Publishers)
newstex.com

I have not had the opportunity to establish a class Blog yet but will be implementing this great learning tool early next term. As future classroom teachers we should be prepared to design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology to maximise student learning. To become fully literate in today’s world, students must become empowered to succeed. By providing our digital natives with opportunities to learn in ways that they are familiar and comfortable with, they will be more engaged in the learning process. Blogs give students a real audience to write to and a collaborative environment where they can give and receive feedback. Also students don't tend to write unless they have to. Blogs are one way to change that.
A blog is a great way for students to complete journal assignments, placing their responses online gives you ready access to these journals. It also allows other students to see what their classmates have written and creates collaborative learning. Blogs with a commenting feature allow you and other students to respond to journal postings, which only enhances collaboration.
Several students can work together on a blog centred on a single topic or assignment. Using a blog extends the collaborative space outside the classroom, allowing students to work together across time and space. At the same time, the blog records the process of collaboration, allowing teachers to observe, comment, and intervene as needed while allowing students to reflect on the process at the end of the assignment.
A class blog would be a quick and easy way to create a homepage for the class, one that will allow you to post important reminders and notices, reflections or summaries of class discussion, and links that reflect and inform the class readings (Blogs as writing practice, n.d.) Retrieved 1 September 2009, from:
http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/barrios/blogs/write/index.html