Blogs Help Struggling Writers Write
When I started this blog, I began to see possible applications for classroom use almost immediately. In a literature discussion, how simple would it be to post the reading for an assignment and then ask that every student comment before the next class? What a simple way to provide the beginnings of a class discussion without the usual silence and closed looks. (Not to mention the motivation for students to actually do the reading.) A teacher could come to class with an idea of what students thought about the reading or problems they had with the work and be prepared to focus in those areas.
In a writing class, students could post work and receive feedback not only from peers in the classroom, but anywhere in the world. A professor could then use class time to allow students to work on specific issues brought up on the blog. Not only that, but students and professors would have an organized, easily accessed record of all revisions and comments. No more lost drafts and portfolios missing peer revision work.
The opportunities are endless!
Obviously, I’m not the first person to notice the wonderful world of blogging. Nether am I the first person to realize the many classroom applications. Sara Kajder and Glen Bull wrote an interesting article about just that called Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs for the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) journal Learning and Leading with Technology. In it they discuss students that fall behind in writing and reading and some of the reasons that blogging can help. Not only that, but they offer a list of ways to use blogging in the classroom. The article was written with K-12 grade in mind, but the suggestions they make could easily be adapted for use in the college classroom.
Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs is located at http://www.people.virginia.edu/~sbk8q/31232k.pdf. It was published in the ISTE journal Learning and Leading with Technology volume 31 number 2 in October 2003. The ISTE web page can be found at this address: http://www.iste.org.
In a writing class, students could post work and receive feedback not only from peers in the classroom, but anywhere in the world. A professor could then use class time to allow students to work on specific issues brought up on the blog. Not only that, but students and professors would have an organized, easily accessed record of all revisions and comments. No more lost drafts and portfolios missing peer revision work.
The opportunities are endless!
Obviously, I’m not the first person to notice the wonderful world of blogging. Nether am I the first person to realize the many classroom applications. Sara Kajder and Glen Bull wrote an interesting article about just that called Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs for the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) journal Learning and Leading with Technology. In it they discuss students that fall behind in writing and reading and some of the reasons that blogging can help. Not only that, but they offer a list of ways to use blogging in the classroom. The article was written with K-12 grade in mind, but the suggestions they make could easily be adapted for use in the college classroom.
Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs is located at http://www.people.virginia.edu/~sbk8q/31232k.pdf. It was published in the ISTE journal Learning and Leading with Technology volume 31 number 2 in October 2003. The ISTE web page can be found at this address: http://www.iste.org.
posted by Spelunker at 8:30 PM
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