Learn to Blog, Blog to Learn

Wow! There is a massive amount of information in the webcast “Learn to Blog, Blog to Learn by Anne Davis. Even when using the “beginners” pages Anne provided, I was overwhelmed with information. Anne has definitely put a lot of time and effort into this endeavor and it shows! The introductory webquest had great insight and information to be used with students. This can be used with beginners and experienced students in the world of blogging. The examples of student work will be helpful when setting up and introducing our own school blog.

I’m thinking of using a class blog to have the students discuss books that have been highlighted for our student elected state book award called Maud Hart Lovelace. Initially I am planning to start with 4^th & 5^th grade students for this book discussion. Then collaborating with one or more media specialists in the district, open this up so the students from other schools will have the opportunity to talk about the books from this preselected list using the blog.

Being that I have little experience with blogs and students, I will be curious to see how eager or comfortable the students will be in putting their work out on the page for others to see. I’m also interested in the student’s reaction to others’ responses. Some of the features within Blogmeister that I especially appreciate are that it gives the teacher control over every word that is written, the teacher can make the post public or private and the teacher also approves all comments and posts. Another feature that teachers will be pleased with is that student email addresses do not have to be used.

The intent of using a blog in the classroom for me is to have the students use this as a springboard to reflect up what they are learning. I would also hope this is another way to for them to grow to be good citizens and accepting of others and their opinions.