I am somewhat familiar with Blogs since I had to use a blog for a course last year and am obviously using one now for LIBE 477. I used Blogger.com for both these courses and found it quite easy to use. Last year I basically used it as a reflective assignment or journal entries. I only used it to add text then and had no need to try anything else. This year I learned how to add pictures, video, audio and anything else off the internet. I really had not background in blogs and I didn’t even know anyone who used it. After reading Richardson’s book I learned a lot. Richardson says weblogs or blogs
· are easily created and easily updated
· are comprised of reflections and conversations
· engage readers with ideas and questions and links
· ask readers to think and to respond
· demand interaction
· can include graphics, photos , video and audio files (p.18)
He says millions of young adults have created sites at weblog hosting services like Facebook, MySpace.com, and Beebo.com (which I never heard of). These students are really journaling and are in danger of revealing too much information with potentially negative impacts. That could be true for everyone. This is something that needs to be addressed in school! However, the benefits outweigh the detriments. Here are some positive aspects of using blogs in school from page 20.
· can promote critical and analytical thinking
· can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive and associational thinking
· can used for increasing access and exposure to quality information
· can be the best mix of solitary reflection and social interaction
Richardson suggests using blogs in classrooms as class portals, online filing cabinets, e-portfolios, collaborative space, knowledge management and even web sites. He says that students will be building relationships with peers, teachers, mentors and professionals in the blog environment. (p. 21)
I have not used blogs in my classrooms but I like Richardson’s idea of creating an online filing cabinet. Students would be given their own blogs where they can post their work online for peer and teacher response. The advantage of this is that students never misplace work, it is a good place for student reflection, and work can also be shared with parents. The only issue here I believe is with computer and internet access from home. Not every family can afford this technology and parents are not always able to help their children. In those cases the teacher would need to provide internet access from school.
Another way I would like to use blogs is in a collaborative space for a project where other schools or professionals get on board with it. I’m not sure how I would find other groups to link up with??
I don’t see why all teachers can’t use blogs in the classroom!
I think I could go on for hours talking about blogs!
I’ll blog you later!
