Digital Tool: Blogs
Pedagogy and Blogging – Blogs in Education
Image retrieved from http://mslilpetamattschoss.com/tag/blogging/
Throughout my recent use with blogs, I have found it to be an incredible and useful learning tool, specifically for my own reflective practice and learning journey in this course. The benefits of working through tasks weekly and reflecting on each aspect as well as visiting peer blogs, I can see much personal growth and engagement within this course. I enjoy how collaborative, interactive and constructive this learning space is and will endeavor to use this great online tool in my future practice as an educator.
After engaging with blogger I can see the many benefits that students could gain when interacting with this online tool. According to Fernette and Brock Eide’s as cited by Richardson, W. (2010) there are potential benefits when using online tools such as blogging in the classroom. These include:
• Can Promote Critical and analytical thinking
• Can Promote Creative, Intuitive and Associational thinking
• Can Promote Analogical thinking
• Potential for increased access and exposure to quality information
• Combination of solitary and social interaction
• Literacy skills
These many benefits above have been demonstrated from my own personal experience over the last two weeks in this course and will continue to demonstrate throughout the remainder of the course. However, for students to effectively reap the benefits of online spaces such as blogging, certain thinking tools needs to well scaffolded so as to set clear requirements and expectations of the task. To ensure students success in blogging, certain thinking tools as well as carefully constructed questions sequence or strategies need to be implemented. Furthermore, this tool can be used to encourage your students to blog:
These many benefits above have been demonstrated from my own personal experience over the last two weeks in this course and will continue to demonstrate throughout the remainder of the course. However, for students to effectively reap the benefits of online spaces such as blogging, certain thinking tools needs to well scaffolded so as to set clear requirements and expectations of the task. To ensure students success in blogging, certain thinking tools as well as carefully constructed questions sequence or strategies need to be implemented. Furthermore, this tool can be used to encourage your students to blog:
- Their reactions to thought-provoking questions
- Their reactions to photos you post
- Journal entries.
- Results of surveys they carry out as part of a class unit
- Their ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class.
For blogs to be effective in the classroom, it is fundamental that educators design spaces in which reflections are created and shared with an audience/peers, and feedback is offered to support learning. In addition it is essential that teachers control this online space at all times.
Retrieved from http://tep.uoregon.edu/shared/blogswikispodcasts/BlogsInEducation.pdf
Note: these are only a few examples of how blogs can be used. For further information on how blogs could be used in the classroom visit:
Blogs in Education
Below is an analytical thinking tool called SWOT to reflect on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of blogging. This tool is effective because it allows students to write and reflect analytically rather than being just descriptive.
Blogs in the Classroom
Strengths · Critical and analytic thinking · Creative, innate and associational thinking · Ownership of their own learning (author) · Analogical thinking · Exposure to quality information · Solitary and social skills · Literacy skills · Encourage confidence · Collaborative · Encourage reflection · Engaging · Online navigating skills · Communication | Weaknesses · Often schools will not allow this online tool · Support staff to help guide the use · Publically accessible · Time consuming · Monitoring · Need scaffolding |
Opportunities · Improve writing skills · Learn how to critically reflect · Be exposed to online resources and learning | Threats · No learning gains · Plagiarism (legal, safe, ethical requirements) · Difficult to help students at one time if they require individual help |
Check out the Blog i created at http://brievandenbergh.blogspot.com/
Image retrieved from http://bloghackz.com/
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