Blogging is a popular Web 2.0 tool. Blogs allow authors to share information, often themed, with people using the internet. Information is typically posted chronologically, and sometimes the public is invited to share ideas by posting. In fact, some blogs are more considered to be in the public domain as since groups and companies sponsor them while the public responds.
Teachers can use blogs with their students in a number of ways. Blogs can help organize discussions, keep records, replace typical pencil and paper Q&A, and more. Depending on a teacher's plan for using blogs with their students, different options exist for making it happen. Still, it would benefit all teachers using blogs to set up accounts (after getting permission). This would allow for multiple uses, possibly making it a common routine (i.e. part of closing review of content).
I am interested in using blogs with my older students, and will be soon requesting permission from parents. This will hopefully allow me to do set up a class account for students. I will be asking for ePals permission as well, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
One feature that can be added to blogging that I recently tried was AnswerGarden. Using this tool, one can ask a question and receive answers from people who visit the blog. I created one for this blog. This will be my first attempt at posting an AnswerGarden question. If you don't see a simpler link, use the one here: AnswerGarden
I like AnswerGarden because it allows for open-ended questioning. It is also good because it does not need to be part of a blog. It is simpler than using a blog, which should entice some teachers to use it when a blog would be too time consuming. There are still enough tools to keep using it safely. Teachers may use this tool to assess prior knowledge or at the end of a lesson/unit. My favorite thing about it though is that it allows the students to see other answers.
I think that teachers using blogs educationally is a good use of Web 2.0 technology, but I think it requires some work to keep up the blog and some work on the part of the students or other users to comment and keep the discussion fresh. Whenever I read blogs with no comments on any of the posts, I think to myself "what's the point?"
ReplyDeleteSherri, I agree. It makes me wonder how many people are really viewing that blog.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I liked your AnswerGarden question. When I clicked your link, it looked like 1 other person had already responded & my answer was the same, so I clicked on their response. It automatically appeared in my typing window so I hit "submit". Hopefully it now shows that 2 of us selected that response. Is there a way to keep track of who responds or is it all anonymous?
I added the "I went to Bethesda". This could be a great tool for every pupil response- at the end of a computer/internet class all the students could respond to a question about that day's lesson. If the question were broad enough, hopefully there would be a wide range of answers that could start off the next class as review of the lesson. Thanks for the tool!
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