I will start by saying that I have never had a blog. I actually never really understood what they were. The use of technology has always intimidated me probably because I didn’t grow up using it regularly. I already feel that my 9 year old is more comfortable than I am with technology. The reservation I need to overcome is the vulnerability of it - you are out there for anyone to read. However, I feel that I have developed a much clearer understanding in the last week of the benefits associated with this technology.
After reading Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, and Podcast, it became obvious that I need to use a blog and become familiar with it before having my students use one. I also realized that there is a lot more to it than just setting up a blog. Parent and student education as well the district restrictions are all aspects that would need to be considered.
The question I keep asking myself is how digital writing will fit into the curriculum or more accurately, how will I change my approach to incorporate digital writing into the curriculum? I think a blog would be an effective way to do journaling. I also think that it would be a useful tool for literature circles. Being able to see what your classmates write and how the teacher responds adds another layer to learning. As I became more familiar and comfortable with the technology, I will hopefully be able to provide more opportunities for my students. At this moment, I see blogging as an enhancement to the writing I currently do in my classroom, but not a replacement. I am curious to see if my thinking changes as I learn more throughout this class.
While you say you are unsure about blogs, you have good ideas for starting points! Hopefully you'll be able to turn some of these into workable situations. Maybe you could have one or two students blog about a literature piece (take turns) then have others discuss/comment on their blogs? I agree that digital writing should not be a replacement--including it is a good idea, to me, but 'standard' writing also needs to be taught and polished.
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