Literacy takes on a new form in todays classrooms. It is not simply reading a book in class or writing a one page response to a prompt. Today, students of all ages are asked to go one step further and bring their learning to life through technology. Experimenting with technology is the easiest way to get kids interested and testing out these new resources. Kidbloggers are the latest edition to the blogging world. It is now quite common to see students blogging about their learning, as well as using their classroom blogs as a platform to share their opinions and ideas.
The 8th graders in Mr. Boylen's 8th grade class have implemented blogging in their daily learning. His students are given prompts to respond to as well as given a bit of freedom to write about their personal lives. These students are much older than my 1st graders but it is great to see students interested and engaged in blogging. The principal at their school, Greg Miller, shares his thoughts and opinions on kid blogging in his post Getting to the How and Why of Student Blogging. I think it would be beneficial to share this administrators opinion with my administration when I try to implement a kid blog in my classroom (hopefully in September!). I agree with many of the arguments Miller has in support of student blogs.
Kid blogs are beneficial in helping students to:
-Become better readers
-Become better writers
-Exercise their opinions (working on defending their ideas with support)
-Become engaged in the material being taught
-Communicating skills (with peers as well as adults)
Do you agree that blogging should be implemented in the classroom? Why or what not?
With plenty of modeling, feedback, and supervision, blogging can be a very meaningful way to extend and enrich classroom conversations outside of the classroom. In my third grade classroom, I do have several classroom computers and all of my students have computer access at home. Given that they are expected to access an online math program each night as part of their homework, I'm thinking that KidBlog may be a realistic platform to use for student blogging. Time to chat with my principal!
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