Student Blogs
I'm not really a blogger - I tend to use this for reflections and then only sporadically. I guess the reason why I do choose to do my reflections online, rather than in a private document, is that there does feel that there is a degree of accountability. What I say has to be literate, to have a real purpose, and to stand up to scrutiny.
Just as I am drawn to blogging, I've found that my students also like the idea of their work being published for a potential international audience. I've trialled a little bit of blogging with different classes and for different reasons.
The most obvious reason to use blogs links to achievement and engagement. There are lots of websites touting the benefits of student blogging, backed by research (see here, here and here ). These benefits include that students like it, helps with reading and writing skills, gives students a voice - not only in writing their blogs but giving feedback to others, and provides them with a genuine audience for their work.
My first foray into student blogging was last year when my Year 9 class were set the task of promoting the school library. They were able to choose how the were going to do this. Some chose posters, others QR codes linked to book reviews, and a couple of groups decided to blog. It was the most engaged I had seen a particular group of boys all year. They loved discussing the mechanics of the blog - who was responsible for design, who would edit, what content they would include - and they enthusiastically set to work reviewing books, taking photographs of the library and recording a guided tour. They highlight was when they realised that other people had actually read the blog, and they received feedback from someone in Paris (although I suspect it was another student who had changed their location details...). Unfortunately, we ran out of time for them to see their vision to fruition, but it was a great indicator of how successful student blogging can be. Here is the work they did complete. As you will see there are a few layout issues but it does suggest that they were endeavouring to put their own personal spin on it.
This year I have a trial BYOD class and I debated whether to have a class or individual student blogs. I realise, of course, that there is no real reason why I shouldn't do both, but as this was my first year teaching a BYOD class I felt that might be slightly difficult to manage. I decided on individual blogs which would function as an online portfolio of their work. This would enable them to present work they were proud of, be able to show their friends and family, and to reflect on their growth in English this year. As a portfolio, this approach is working well, but I would like to extend their use of blogging to be more reflective of what they are doing in the classroom. I think that I will set aside a portion of every Friday for them to review their learning for the week. You can see what the class has been doing in English here and here.
The final experiment I'm undertaking is using a blog to create a genuine audience for a writing internal assessment. In the past, our department has done a task asking for students to write an opinion piece for an online blog or website but have always told students that their work would not be published. This year I decided to actually create a blog to showcase their efforts. Initially, some students were nervous that their work would be read by strangers but after the first couple of pieces were put online there was a general murmur of excitement. One student thought she might share the blog link on Facebook. Because they realised that anyone searching their topic might stumble upon the blog, students were also more open to proofreading and correcting their work - despite accuracy is one of the assessment criteria, this has often been an obstacle to success. Here is the link to their blog posts.
In all, I've been very proud of my students and the pride that they are taking in their written work. I strongly believe that this is because their potential readership has been substantially broadened, making them conscious of how their work will be received.
Just as I am drawn to blogging, I've found that my students also like the idea of their work being published for a potential international audience. I've trialled a little bit of blogging with different classes and for different reasons.
The most obvious reason to use blogs links to achievement and engagement. There are lots of websites touting the benefits of student blogging, backed by research (see here, here and here ). These benefits include that students like it, helps with reading and writing skills, gives students a voice - not only in writing their blogs but giving feedback to others, and provides them with a genuine audience for their work.
My first foray into student blogging was last year when my Year 9 class were set the task of promoting the school library. They were able to choose how the were going to do this. Some chose posters, others QR codes linked to book reviews, and a couple of groups decided to blog. It was the most engaged I had seen a particular group of boys all year. They loved discussing the mechanics of the blog - who was responsible for design, who would edit, what content they would include - and they enthusiastically set to work reviewing books, taking photographs of the library and recording a guided tour. They highlight was when they realised that other people had actually read the blog, and they received feedback from someone in Paris (although I suspect it was another student who had changed their location details...). Unfortunately, we ran out of time for them to see their vision to fruition, but it was a great indicator of how successful student blogging can be. Here is the work they did complete. As you will see there are a few layout issues but it does suggest that they were endeavouring to put their own personal spin on it.
This year I have a trial BYOD class and I debated whether to have a class or individual student blogs. I realise, of course, that there is no real reason why I shouldn't do both, but as this was my first year teaching a BYOD class I felt that might be slightly difficult to manage. I decided on individual blogs which would function as an online portfolio of their work. This would enable them to present work they were proud of, be able to show their friends and family, and to reflect on their growth in English this year. As a portfolio, this approach is working well, but I would like to extend their use of blogging to be more reflective of what they are doing in the classroom. I think that I will set aside a portion of every Friday for them to review their learning for the week. You can see what the class has been doing in English here and here.
The final experiment I'm undertaking is using a blog to create a genuine audience for a writing internal assessment. In the past, our department has done a task asking for students to write an opinion piece for an online blog or website but have always told students that their work would not be published. This year I decided to actually create a blog to showcase their efforts. Initially, some students were nervous that their work would be read by strangers but after the first couple of pieces were put online there was a general murmur of excitement. One student thought she might share the blog link on Facebook. Because they realised that anyone searching their topic might stumble upon the blog, students were also more open to proofreading and correcting their work - despite accuracy is one of the assessment criteria, this has often been an obstacle to success. Here is the link to their blog posts.
In all, I've been very proud of my students and the pride that they are taking in their written work. I strongly believe that this is because their potential readership has been substantially broadened, making them conscious of how their work will be received.
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