Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Why is blogging valuable ?

Some people wonder if blogging is little more than a meaningless medium through which children might simply bully each other or waste time that they could be using more productively.
Thankfully, my students have been very respectful, mature and diligent in using the blog as a way to communicate, inform, connect, research, share products and collaborate in class discussions beyond the school day.
If there are any students or educators out there who could support my use of public blogging as a means to enrich learning please comment here.
:-)

16 comments:

Jack Sloan said...

I have become convinced about the value of blogging in schools. I teach Year 2 kids (6-7 years old) and our blog has become a really central part of their learning both in school and at home. Come and see what we're up to. I will post a link to your blog on ours and would really appreciate one from you too.

http://yeartwo.chorltonparkblogs.net/

Good luck,
Jack Sloan
Chorlton Park Primary School
Manchester UK

Bubbles said...

that is cool

M Webb said...

Blogging is such a powerful tool. It opens up the world to students literally. We've only just started blogging at my school in 2009 but already there's a Boys School in Adelaide, Australia that we've been teaching about Maori Culture through videos and information. Bloggin can also be an amazing tool to share with a wider auidence. I know your last blog had a huge number of visitors, and my last years blog in 12 months had 7,500 visitors and the students work was viewed 30,000 times!

I think its incredibly powerful to publish work online for others to see and comment back on. Absoluelty indispensable to teach.

Mr Webb, Room 8 Melville Intermediate, Hamilton, Waikato.
MelvilleRoom8.blogspot.com

The Other Boy said...

Blogging is a totally awesome way to share our learning, and whatever we are into, we can share with the world. Blogging as a minor is cool because we aren't allowed to use our real names, so we can make our "Usernames" anything we like!!

THE OTHER BOY!!!!

Winged Hussar said...

its like having an "alter ego" if you will.

Bob said...

or a nickname.

yeah blogging is cool.

check out my blog:
www.drumbledoor.blogspot.com
(if the link works) or click drumbledoor in the blue writing above and then click Drumbledoor in the My Blogs section.

Dam Im Better Than You said...

a person from england comentur bloed on og dats mean.

Ms Driver said...

I find blogging a useful way for me to share my insights into teaching, what is working well and how I believe that I can help make integrating web2 into the classroom seemlessly. It's great to read how other people have tackled teaching challenges and learn from their mistakes. It's great to help people out by giving advice on how you would try something.

Personally for my son who is 8 years old, it is an authentic audience for his learning. He often struggles with self-motivation and persistance on tasks, however because he is getting feedback (comments) from all around the world, he is more engaged to contribute and have a go. This is having positive spin-offs away from the computer in his school work, with his sentence structures and spelling, he re-reads his work more to ensure he is making sense. His blog can be found at http://piersdriver.blogspot.com He completes all the posts by himself.

Well done Woodmonstas for sharing your learning with not only your family but with the world.

Keep up the good work
Justine Driver
http://digitallearningnz.blogspot.com

Little Miss Room 18 said...

Blogging is a good opportunity for us to improve our computer skills, punctuation and spelling!!!

Teaching Sagittarian said...

Just a few reasons why I think Blogging is valuable!

Encouraging the process of writing for an authentic audience.
Sharing and evolving ideas that facilitate interaction and collaboration.
Engaging students in conversation and learning.
Sharing opinions, points of view on a topic.
Sharing classroom events and happenings with families and the wider community.
Fosters an understanding of Global Awareness, communication and collaboration.
Connecting with others both inside and outside the classroom and encouraging Global communication previously not possible.
Reflection, expression and evaluation of own learning.

Anytime, anywhere!

Little Miss Room 18 said...

Blogging is a good way to learn because we are learning a different way of learning (If that makes sense) Because we know how to learn and use our ideas on paper and now we can do it on the computer as well!!!

MrWoody said...

Thanks for all the feedback.
:-)

Anonymous said...

I've found blogging to be a great motivator for children and their work. They love having someone real to share their work with. At first it was just family and friends, but it's grown to include most of the world. Geographic tools and widgets introduce children to the wider world around them. Blogs enable and foster collaboration, cooperation and conversation and, along with wikis, provide a real world context for learning.

Mr F

Wm Chamberlain said...

Blogging allows my students to see beyond the boundaries of our small town's city limits. Last semester we did a video project with Mr. Webb and my students learned about New Zealand's culture and where to find it on the map. This learning would not have happened without our blogs.

I use my class blog for many different things: dissemination of information, giving assignments, and recognition of achievement. I have a blog set up for my students to post on so they can get feedback from their peers.

Mr. C
Noel Elementary
Noel, Missouri USA
Mr. C's Class Blog

i couldn't think of one... said...

I really like blogging. :)

It's soooo fun. You can post on your blog things you really like and people come onto your blog and comment. I think it's awesome. :)

And please come onto and leave a comment if you read this. My blog:
www.malikffis1.blogspot.com

Thanks

Computer Guy said...

I believe that blogging is a way to communicate with machines and people, a link to the universe, and a valuable tool.
If you do not believe me, you have:
1. Never had a blog, or heard about blogger
2. Do not like the idea of talking by text
3. Never used a computer
4. Do not know how to spell 'blogger' or have no idea what to type in the address bar.

If any of these descriptions fit you, please make a blog. :-)