Hi Everyone!
This is my first attempt at a blog. I have always wanted to have my own blog, but thought it was too hard to do. If I had known it was as easy as this,
I would have started one a long time ago. So, if I can do one here for our third week first discussion in EDU652, then I will be able to start one for my bariatric site. I don't know if I will keep up on this or not, but I am not afraid to try. I know that with blogging you should write everyday. I have a journal that I started and kept up on for awhile then quit doing. I never seem to have the time to sit and write long posts. But maybe if I were to do a food journal (the only thing I write and keep up with everyday), then I could keep up on this.
Anyway, I think using a blog for teaching would be a great tool for students. It would help with written communication, spelling, grammar, punctuation, reflection, critical thinking, brainstorming, and self-expression. A teacher could assign it every week (like on a Monday and Friday) to allow students to write about what they are looking forward to in the coming week or to write about what they have done during the week. Writing allows a student to get out feelings they didn't know they had bottled up inside.
For teachers, blogging would offer a unique way to communicate the activities the students are involved with in the classroom to parents, such as upcoming field trips, plays, and other things that their student or school may be involved with.
I did some research about blogging in classrooms and asked my cousin (a teacher) to ask her fellow teachers about blogging in the classroom. Most of the teachers said that blogging is a wonderful tool for students and teachers alike. They said it allows for positive re-enforcement of grammar, pronunciation, and language skills. It allows students and teachers a way to communicate without the students feeling like they are "picked on". The teachers mostly allow a free format for writing with the occasional assignment. According to my cousin, the blogs also can help with student self confidence. She had a student that didn't like to participate in anything or do homework, despite everything she tried. When she had them write stories, this particular student showed an intelligence far greater then what he had shown up to that point. She asked him if she could share his story, and everyone loved it and praised his work. This praise bolstered his self-esteem and he is more willing to join in then he was before.
Despite all the benefits a blog has, it has disadvantages as well. One disadvantage is setting aside time to read the blogs of multiple students as well as write in the blog in response to the students blogs. Another disadvantage might be the comfort level of the students and teachers at using the technology to make a blog. There could also be loss of face time or a "personal touch" when using a blog. For students, it could cause anxiety if others besides the teacher are reading their blog entries. The blog contents may also unintentionally end up public, rather than private.
Over all, I think the advantages of blog writing far outweigh the disadvantages, and should be used as a learning tool in the classroom.
