The most interesting thing I noticed was that bloggers learn through blogging. One teacher, Dan Meyer, had taken an adamant stand against homework, but actually changed his perspective after reading one of the comments. Because teachers are constantly reinventing themselves, their classrooms, and their methods, blogging can provide invaluable feedback. Sometimes, a reader can learn more from the comments than from the original post itself.
Another valuable aspect about blogging is the journal format. I enjoyed Kaia and Skyelar’s blog that was started by their father. He uses it to record his daughters’ journey through childhood. What a valuable diary this will be for both him and his daughters. Applying this type of blog to a classroom setting has obvious advantages. For example, a teacher could document the entire year through a series of posts. I can see using a blog to teach or reinforce different grammar skills taught throughout the year. Students could go back to older posts to review past lessons. Another skill I’m always working on is improving students’ written expression. Each post could be a separate passage that needs revisions, and students could comment on ways to improve each sentence.
Looking through the blogs gave me several ideas for using this tool in my classroom.
Hey Stacy,
Your blog looks great! How are you doing with the rest of the course?
Patty
Thank you! I think I finally figured out the dashboard. I’ll be working on Things 6 and 7 today; my goal is to be caught up by Sunday.