Ok, per my assignment in graduate school I am supposed to blog. Here I go. It's not that I'm anti-blog. I was reading Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson and I can see the potential for using blogs in various projects or just communication between myself and students. I think it could help me to know students much better as individuals and give voice to those students who might be reticent to speak up in class. Given the privacy issues, I would want to have my middle schoolers blog in a protected environment, not yet open to the entire world. But I do realize that sort of limits the excitement of blogging. The attraction is to publish your thoughts for the world to see and comment upon. But parents sometimes frown upon that.
For full disclosure I am in the age group that tends not to want to share personal information with everyone. I do have a Facebook page but you would laugh if I told you my total number of friends. I understand the net generation is going to feel free to share info electronically. I don't discourage that, but do talk about the possible concerns with students in class. And this is my hesitation with blogging. Now if I had a book to sell, a movie to promote, a product to launch, a campaign to run, I would definitely see the advantages of blogging to the world. But for my observations on life and such, I’m just not there yet. However, I am still learning, so I may get there.
The privacy issue is a concern, and I worry about that, too. One thing I've tossed around is having the blog be an optional assignment done from home, with parent signatures. My guess is that is an engaging and cool enough activity that some students would really enjoy it. If they started receiving comments then talk about it at school, it might catch on. Just an idea... :)
ReplyDeleteI too understand the privacy issue and as a high school teacher I think I worry less about that and more about what the little rascals will post on a blog. I know there are teachers doing it, I just haven't gotten up the nerve yet! Especially since my subject area is health - I can only imagine what they're going to write about Alcohol, Tobacco and other drugs :)
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteI think your observations on life and the classroom bring a wealth of knowledge to others. I think many Civics and Communications teachers would follow your blog. I encourage you to "get there."
Like you mentioned, think about the power it would have for ELL students or others who may be shy to voice their opinions out loud in front of the whole class. I agree blogs are great tools for getting to know your students but need to be secured/controlled.
I am starting to have them make comments about current events on a controlled website (tweentribune.com.) As the teacher I get to approve their comments before they get posted to the site. I told my kids that they have to write their comments in English so I can approve what they are saying for the web. I really wish I could speak every langauge in the world so I wouldn't have to do that, so they could write in their native tongue. :)
I'm with you Cindy! I almost feel exposed posting my thoughts in such a public forum. I suppose the younger generation thinks nothing of it, but it is a little intimidating for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of blogging with our students is the ability to get an inside look into their thoughts and perspectives on a certain topic that you may simply not have the time for in class. That for me is one of the hardest parts of being a teacher. I absolutely love getting to know the kids, personally and academically, but there's not enough time in the day to do so with 23 kids. This would be even more relevant in middle and high school where you teach multiple groups of students every day. Imagine the deeper connections and respect you would form with your students and the students with each other. Each class would feel an even deeper sense of community and connectedness. That, I believe, is what makes blogs worth exploring.
ReplyDelete