Incorporating Blogs into the classroom
Adapt or die…
We live in an information rich society, where every day, students are bombarded with different ways to gain knowledge. Advertising both print and digital, social media platforms, traditional based texts and Web 2.0 tools all form part of the information overload that most youth experience these days. I think back to my own school days, where everything was textbook based, teacher centred and going to the computer room was a rarity. I ask myself what was wrong with that type of schooling surely if it was good enough for me, it is good enough for the youth of today? However then I start to remember a little more clearly, and I remember that most of the time we were completely disengaged, and writing assignments was usually a case of regurgitating information. If we don’t adopt these new information platforms and we don’t enable youth and popular culture, to a certain extent, dictate the direction of our curriculum, are we in danger of isolating/alienating the youth? Whilst some educators have been hesitant to adopt these non-traditional information based platforms into their classrooms, there has never been a greater need to incorporate these new technologies to ensure that youth are engaged in flexible, collaborative, responsive and adaptive learning experiences. With the advent of new technologies, specifically Web 2.0 tools, several opportunities have opened up within the education sphere to provide students with these tools to help enrich their learning experiences
We live in an information rich society, where every day, students are bombarded with different ways to gain knowledge. Advertising both print and digital, social media platforms, traditional based texts and Web 2.0 tools all form part of the information overload that most youth experience these days. I think back to my own school days, where everything was textbook based, teacher centred and going to the computer room was a rarity. I ask myself what was wrong with that type of schooling surely if it was good enough for me, it is good enough for the youth of today? However then I start to remember a little more clearly, and I remember that most of the time we were completely disengaged, and writing assignments was usually a case of regurgitating information. If we don’t adopt these new information platforms and we don’t enable youth and popular culture, to a certain extent, dictate the direction of our curriculum, are we in danger of isolating/alienating the youth? Whilst some educators have been hesitant to adopt these non-traditional information based platforms into their classrooms, there has never been a greater need to incorporate these new technologies to ensure that youth are engaged in flexible, collaborative, responsive and adaptive learning experiences. With the advent of new technologies, specifically Web 2.0 tools, several opportunities have opened up within the education sphere to provide students with these tools to help enrich their learning experiences
One area that could allow for greater flexibility and collaboration with in the classroom is that of blogs. Social media platforms such as blogs have the potential to allow for increased collaboration within the classroom and to shift away from teacher-centric ideologies (Burnett & Merchant, 2011, p. 41). Richardson (2004, p. 25) states that blogs are a great way to manage and communicate the evolving knowledge, especially as we live in a society where information has become overabundant. By implementing individual student blogs, peer feedback and a more inquiry-based approach, learning will shift from the teacher towards the students creating learner-centred environments. Essentially the teacher will operate as a coach and facilitator for student learning (Herrington et al., 2001, p 267). Furthermore, blogs open up several opportunities for people to learn from each other and offer valuable advice and opinions on the content of the blog, thus creating an online community and allowing more collaboration between people (Siemens, 2004).
Some websites that enable you to create blogs include:
Blogging also enables students to delve more deeply into metacognitive engagement within their learning program (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p. 23). I also found that the blended learning approach would compliment the student blog nicely. Furthermore I also came across Siemen’s article (2004) on designing learning experiences around the connectivism theory, whereby students are continually changing their perceptions as they discover more information and develop a deeper knowledge through critical inquiry based learning and access to web 2.0 tools such as blogs.
O’Connell & Groom (2010, p.20) state, “Reflective writing facilitates sorting of knowledge, ideas, feelings and understandings as a continuum of questioning and knowledge aggregation.” By assessing students on a reflective piece it will enable them to think critically about their work and how they came to a set conclusion. More importantly it allows students to draw connections between what is known and what is being learned and to take control of their learning in order to monitor and make improvements when necessary (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p.20). More importantly it allows students to draw connections between what is known and what is being learned and to take control of their learning in order to monitor and make improvements when necessary (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p.20).
Some websites that enable you to create blogs include:
Blogging also enables students to delve more deeply into metacognitive engagement within their learning program (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p. 23). I also found that the blended learning approach would compliment the student blog nicely. Furthermore I also came across Siemen’s article (2004) on designing learning experiences around the connectivism theory, whereby students are continually changing their perceptions as they discover more information and develop a deeper knowledge through critical inquiry based learning and access to web 2.0 tools such as blogs.
O’Connell & Groom (2010, p.20) state, “Reflective writing facilitates sorting of knowledge, ideas, feelings and understandings as a continuum of questioning and knowledge aggregation.” By assessing students on a reflective piece it will enable them to think critically about their work and how they came to a set conclusion. More importantly it allows students to draw connections between what is known and what is being learned and to take control of their learning in order to monitor and make improvements when necessary (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p.20). More importantly it allows students to draw connections between what is known and what is being learned and to take control of their learning in order to monitor and make improvements when necessary (O’Connell & Groom, 2010, p.20).
References
Burnett, C., & Merchant, G. (2011). Is there space for critical literacy in the context of social media? English Teaching: Practice and Critique 10(1), 41-57. Retrieved from http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/journal/view.php?article=true&id=690&p=1
Herrington, A. Herrington, J. Oliver, R. Stoney, S. & Willis, J. (2001). Quality guidelines for online courses: The development of an instrument to audit online units. ASCILITE 2001 conference proceedings, pp. 263-270
O'Connell, Judy and Groom, Dean. (2010). Chapter 3 : Writing and Reflecting in O'Connell, Judy and Groom, Dean, Connect, communicate, collaborate : learning in a changing world, Camberwell: ACER, pp.20 - 30.
Richardson, Will. (2006). Chapter 2 : Weblogs : Pedagogy and Practice in Richardson, Will, Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, pp.17-44.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. elearnspace. Accessed April 22, 2008 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Burnett, C., & Merchant, G. (2011). Is there space for critical literacy in the context of social media? English Teaching: Practice and Critique 10(1), 41-57. Retrieved from http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/research/journal/view.php?article=true&id=690&p=1
Herrington, A. Herrington, J. Oliver, R. Stoney, S. & Willis, J. (2001). Quality guidelines for online courses: The development of an instrument to audit online units. ASCILITE 2001 conference proceedings, pp. 263-270
O'Connell, Judy and Groom, Dean. (2010). Chapter 3 : Writing and Reflecting in O'Connell, Judy and Groom, Dean, Connect, communicate, collaborate : learning in a changing world, Camberwell: ACER, pp.20 - 30.
Richardson, Will. (2006). Chapter 2 : Weblogs : Pedagogy and Practice in Richardson, Will, Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, pp.17-44.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. elearnspace. Accessed April 22, 2008 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm