Thing 3 -- Explore How Educators Are Using Blogs

I’ve been intrigued by the idea of using a blog in my classroom since I started my own last summer. I’m still not sure, though, how I would actually do this. We use Moodle in our school, and the forum feature allows students to post comments such as you would in a blog. I have used the forum to ask students questions and the responses were somewhat generic and uninspiring. Would a blog be different if used as a classroom tool? Hmm…

I wonder, too, about using a blog as a way of communicating with parents and students. I could see using it as a tool to share assignments, keep students and parents updated, etc., but don’t see it as much different from using a website for the same purpose. I guess the main difference is the ability of others to leave a comment, but then again, I think this very ability could become problematic. If parents have a comment, email seems a better venue because it is more personal and the discussion can center on the needs of an individual student. As far as promoting online discussion among students about topics, posting comments and then reading through the comments doesn’t seem to be the most organized approach. I’m not sure that many students would bother doing more than just posting their required comment or taking the time to leave worthwhile feedback on another’s student’s post. Using a wiki still seems to make more sense to me for a collaborative classroom assignment.

I haven’t given up on the idea yet, but I am not completely convinced yet that it will work for me.