The article that was chosen discusses how blogs are becoming a new creative tool for teachers and students to use in the classroom. The article was written by Jeffrey Solingo titled, "In the Classroom, Web Logs are the New Bulletin Boards". Solingo explains how "For teachers, blogs are attractive because they require little effort to maintain, unlike more elaborate classroom web sites, which were once heralded as a boon for teaching. Helped by templates found at sites like tblog.com and movabledtype.org, teachers can build a blog or start a new topic in an existing blog by simply typing text into a box and clicking a button." Blogging can also be a helpful learning tool for the students. If a student needs to ask the teacher or another student a question the response can often be replied to sooner through blogging. Another great point the articles has is that the use of blogs gets students writing more often. "Teachers who use blogs say that students put a lot more thought and effort into their blog writing, knowing that parents and others may read their work on the Web. Also, some students are more comfortable expressing themselves through the blogs than they are raising their hand in the classroom. Debbie Contner, an assistant principal who used a blog last year in her class said, "if it gets kids excited about learning, we might as well try it." The use of blogs creates a new opportunity for students and teachers to communicate in the classroom.
Here are some of the pros and cons our team has come up with about blogging in the classroom.
Pros: 1. Allows students and teachers to communicate on a different level.
2. Can give nervous or quiet students a chance to speak up and have their voice heard in their classroom.
3. Some students work harder on their blogs to make sure their spelling and punctuation are correct because they know students, teachers, and parents can look at their entries.
4. Blogs are also a great new tool because they allow students to help and learn from each other. Some students might respond to and understand a peer
better than they would an adult.
Cons: 1. The internet can be unsafe for younger students if they aren’t taught how to use it safely and properly use it.
2. Some students do not use proper spelling or punctuation on the internet which would and should be essential if it is in a classroom blog.
3. Interaction with adults and peers is something students learn a lot about in the classroom. I think we really need to make sure we don’t forget to teach our students how to relate and communicate face to face.
This is Jeffrey Selingo's article. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog.html?ex=1250568000&en=33627811ca310596&ei=5090
12 comments:
I think your team did a good job of clearly stating the pros and cons! I feel that if a teacher is going to bring blogging into their curriculum then they need to do it very cautiously! The teacher needs to make sure that they lay out the guidelines and rules the students need to follow when blogging. Also a suggestion for teachers using blogging in the class is that they could count it as a grade and carelessness in posting blogs could result in points taken away. This way students would have to put hard work and thought into their postings. Overall I think this article was great! Good Job Team 3!!
It's funy, bnecause before this assignment, i never really liked blogging. I'll admit, I still dont feel the urge to go start my own_ HOWEVER, I DO see the advantages it can have in todays youth, and how we can apply that to the curriculums of educational systems. Clearly Blogging has struck a strong note in multiple age groups, and we can use that to our advantage in teaching kids, without them EVEN REALIZING THEY ARE LEARNING.::GASP::
I can also see the dangers of blogging...but believe there are ways to protect kids from it (granted, we may still be finding new ways...but it will ALWAYS be a continuous search, seeing as "bad guys" are alwyas thinking up new ways....)
All in all, I can see blogging becoming an important part of the future of our educational system.
As a parent, I weigh the pros and cons for my kids using blogging in the classroom. The school my kids attend does not use blogging, but I would welcome it.
As with any new technology, the pros must outweigh the cons and I believe blogging in the classroom qualifies. Benefits like conversing with other students in a school hundreds of miles away, an outlet for shy students to feel comfortable, increased efforts at writing correctly, and learning from peers are all positive. Even the negative aspects of safety concerns, spelling/punctuation sloppiness, and social interraction can be overcome and addressed with filtering software, teacher involvement, and other school activities.
I love how your team showed both the pros and cons of the subject. This allows for people to get both sides of a story, and know what is going on and what is to be expected. I think blogging can be really good for classrooms as long as it is used appropriatley. Blogging allows for all students to be able to paticipate in the classroom which is exatcly what any teacher would want. I think this was a great article and very informative!
The polka dots are cute! I thought the summary could have been a little more broken up instead of one big paragraph but the organizing of the pros and cons was well done.
I really like how your team came up with the pros and cons of blogging. Although blogging has been a helpful learning tool recently, it is good to know the bad things that go along with it too. You also provided good information to include in your blog. Yours was short, sweet and to the point.
Not only do I think your page is enjoyable to look at, I feel like I really learned some new things about blogging. Even though a bit dangerous, I can see how it can be so beneficial to the children in the classroom. Good job!
First off I would like to say, Nice work team 3! I agree with your article. I feel the use of blogging will in fact encourage students to be more aware of their grammatical errors. With blogging, students understand that not only the teacher will be looking at their work. Therefore, I feel students will spend more time making sure there work is fitting for not only teachers, but everyone else who is able to view that blog for that matter. Overall, in my opinion blogging will improve students writing abilities.
I really like how clear you made everything. At the same time, you made it interesting! The pros and cons were stated perfectly and you made it easy to understand. You made me understand blogging and its benefits in the class room! Overall, really good job guys!!
This summary opened my eyes to just how much the classroom environment has evolved. Blogging in the classroom is an advancement since I have been in school. Yes, the summary indicates that along with all the positives that blogging offers, there are still a few negatives. For instance, children could abuse the internet and go on the wrong sites. But, like anything there are always some nagatives and harmful sites can be easily blocked. This article summary was enjoyable to read.
This article was actually quite interesting. Next time, you might want to take some time to break up the parargraphs a bit more. I definitely see the benefits more in storyboarding. I loved the background you guys picked out. It grabbed my attention very well. I liked the pros and cons section. good job!
I really liked the polka dots, but they actually gave me a bit of a headache! Including pros and cons was an excellent idea!
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