Blogging has become a form of self-expression, self-reflection, story-telling and interest sharing.  But blogs in the classroom? At first I didn’t see it, even after hearing about it for years, I still didn’t get it.  But then, the lightblub went on.  Ding!  I’ve got it.  Classroom blogs can do/be so much more than another way to give students homework.  A blog can be a way to build a cooperative learning environment where students read, write, challenge, debate and build shared knowledge.  Students can practice, review and apply this knowledge and together, can gain a greater understanding of their own learning and the content.  Simply by participating in a blog, students are practicing their skills and concepts they’ve learned.  From debate the end of WWII to discussing the best method for factoring, students can further their learning and create that cooperative learning that so many teachers desire.  Of course, blogging has it negatives too, especially with math, cannot summarize and provide notes for students, it cannot provide curricular alignment, and blogging cannot always provide assessment to students, although blogs can be a tool with long-reaching possibilities, it cannot always do or replace something that is done by a teacher or in the classroom.  I can certainly see the use of blogs in my classroom, especially to generate discussion on current events that relate to our study of history or to continue discussions that began in the classroom, to the web.  I think that blogging, even more specifically, can be integrated into the normal rigors of homework/practice to provide my students with a more cooperative assignment that generates deeper understanding.  Hmmmm… we’ll have to wait and see, but I hope so.

Missy
7/25/2010 09:54:54 am

Lori, you hit on a point that I'm struggling with. Blogs can be phenomenal. They have proven to be popular in many arenas, but does that automatically make them good for the classroom, especially the math classroom. I can see how they could be used in other areas, but I am having a difficult time finding ways that they naturally fit in mathematics. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Reply



Leave a Reply.