After having my students journal via blogging for a week, I have found myself full of excitement. Not only am I getting the results that I envisioned, but the students are more motivated and willing to express themselves more openly via their blogs. When students completed their daily journals with paper and pencil, they held off on their writing. They did what was needed to get by. Now, they are given twenty minutes (instead of ten) to get a response posted in their blog. More time is given for them to navigate and upload images as necessary. Students are more motivated and excited about this experience so they are putting more into it. Students are writing (typing) more than they ever had through their old journals.
My goal of having students utilize digital tools and reflect is being accomplished. Students are becoming familiar with technology that they have yet to be exposed to which is creating a more successful learning experience. My students now have skills that will help them as they progress towards their future careers.
With each blog that students complete, they are following a given prompt that they must reflect on. This prompt is either a reflection of a personal experience, a learning activity being done in the classroom, or their thoughts/opinions on a particular idea.
My upcoming goal is for students to create aggregator accounts where they can follow two of their classmates blogs. They will be required to share a response with at least one member three times a week. This will be a way to share ideas and thoughts with each other through a blogging experience. The only downside to this is students are having to get comfortable with the idea that their journals are now public to the rest of the class, where before only the teacher was required to view the entries. For the most part, students are okay with this idea and are excited about reading and commenting on their peers’ blogs.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteHave any of your students asked if they could read and/or respond to others? My only experience with blogging with students involved a prompt to which they had to respond. Although I did not even mention them responding to others, I had about a third of them ask a question or compliment another student on the blog. It was truly an amazing experience to read the interaction between them. I hope you have this same experience when you open it up to others. Good luck.
Melissa
Melissa - Yes. They are very excited about their blogs. As we get more experienced with working with the blogs, I will open up the opportunity for them to read other classmates' posts. They will be required to respond to at least one other class member for each week.
ReplyDeleteBlogs allow your students to say things they may not say to you face to face. As many students text message, they are used to this particular way to communicate. BRAVO!
ReplyDeleteHow do you manage this activity in class? Do all of the students use a computer or laptop at the same time? How do you grade this assigment? If you were to give tips to someone trying this for the first time, what suggestions would you give in making sure that the activity runs smoothly?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to get children to do journals than always using paper and pencil. I know your students are enjoying journal time in your classroom. Technology is everything these day and we as teachers must get on the ship also.
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