Blogging in the Classroom

In today's classroom, there is a huge buzz around using technology in the classroom.  I am personally a big fan of using technology in the classroom, even with my second graders!  I think that at any age, technology can be beneficial to every student in every classroom.  We are living in a world driven by technology, and our students have answers to their questions at their fingertips now.  Let's bring that to them in our classrooms!  Doesn't it only make sense to use what is familiar to our students to teach unfamiliar concepts?

Blogging! Blogging is a fairly new classroom technology tool to me, but I am loving it so far! Blogging to me was always something that the "big kids" did, because my kiddos are still learning how to read, write, spell, and type.  I have now learned that blogging in the primary grades can be very beneficial to student learning.  Student writing is enhanced with blogging because students are able to freely express themselves, while knowing that they are writing to a wider range of audience.  I think that students are more aware of their skills when they know that someone else out there is seeing what they write and not just their teacher.  Also, by using a blog, teachers can share their own writing with students easily and effectively.  It is so important for teachers to model good writing and to show that, they too, are writers just like their students.  Check out this article by Jan Lacina and Robin Griffith.  They share a lot of research and ideas in regards to using blogs in the classroom!

Now, I know you are sitting there spinning your wheels about all of the craziness out there on the internet. You are asking yourself "do I want to expose my kiddos to all of that?"  That is a major concern to me as well.  I wanted to implement blogging in my classroom, but I had a fear of making my student's work public.  Digital citizenship is key when teaching your students to blog and post responsibly.  If you want to incorporate blogging in your classroom, please take the time to teach frequent digital citizenship lessons to your students.  John K. Walters of "The Journal" has some interesting thoughts on teaching digital citizenship in this online article.  There are TONS of kid friendly blog websites out there that teachers can make as public or as private as they would like. Seesaw, KidBlogs, and EduBlog are just a few!

If I have your interest in blogging, now you are wondering how you should use it in the classroom.  Teachers can use blogging in the classroom in many different ways.  Students can write an assignment for you in any genre, and the best part is that they can comment on each other's work!  Of course a lesson on effective and helpful commenting should most definitely take place, but being able to read and review peer work is very beneficial to student writing.  Students who struggle with writing are able to see what other students are doing, and can then take that and use it in their own work.  Reading and commenting on peer work can also let students know what they might be missing in their own work, as well as see what they are doing so wonderfully.  In any sort of critique with my students, I always remind the kiddos to begin with a positive and tell your friend a great thing they did.  Second, suggest something they could do to make their work even BETTER. Finally, end your critique with another great thing they did with their assignment.

Blogging is a fun and exciting way for students to interact with each other while learning.  In today's world, everyone is connected by a click of a mouse. People interact with other people around the world to get jobs done and decisions made.  Why can't our students learn the same way?

If you are interested in learning more about blogging in the classroom, here are more articles you can check out!  They have GREAT information about how to implement blogging and use it effectively in the classroom.

HOT Blogging: A Framework to Promote Higher-Order Thinking

Blogging in the Classroom - Infographic