BP2_2010011_EduUses4Blogs

What is a blog? I think of a blog as an electric journal. Instead of using a diary to store your thoughts, you use the World Wide Web to store your thoughts. In fact, you are on one right now. “A blog is a simply a website that an owner or ‘blogger’ can update on a regular basis” (Davies & Merchant, 2009). Blogs are well known in the Web 2.0 world and can be used for various educational purposes. The following is a list of some of these purposes:

Peer Discussion

Movement Portfolios

Coursework

Peer Discussion

Through blogging students are able to not only connect with their classmates, but students from other schools as well. Students are able to voice their opinions or certain topics and receive feedback from other students, parents, and other teachers. The world is virtually at their fingertips as they are able to network with the world.

Movement Portfolios

I am a dance teacher. Movement portfolios are really important to me. I allow each student to create choreography, an audio, and a drawing of how they feel about dance at the beginning of the semester and at the end. I usually compile these on individual discs and give it to the students to take home. They receive feedback from only me on their work. I believe that if my students created their Movement Portfolios through a blog, they could receive more rich feedback from other dance teachers in the district as well as their dance peers.

Coursework

Blogs would be a great way to store my dance course requirement, dance assignments, and events. The students and parents could simply read the course requirement on my page and then respond as their signature. Dance assignments such as making timelines can be easily done through a blog also. I could write out instructions as well as give the students examples through pictures. Parents and students could also have a say in the theme of our dance showcases, costuming, and fundraisers through blogging.

Blogs have endless possibilities. Anything you can do in the classroom, you can do it through a blog. “The blogosphere can transform pedagogy by opening classroom learning to a wider, dispersed audience” (Davies & Merchant, 2009). However, with tools such as blogs some teachers are wary to allow students such freedom on the World Wide Web. “Such experiences with the broader blogosphere, will allow learners, under the guidance of teachers, to explore the internet in safe ways and learn to read and critically interact with the vast amount of text available online” (Davies & Merchant). In order for our students to receive a rich educational experience through blogs netiquette must be discussed previous to incorporating blogs into a curriculum. Our students deserve the chance to make their mark on the world. Since they are now able to make their mark on the world through blogs, who am I not to introduce them to this wonderful Web 2.0 tool.

Davies, J., Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 for schools: learning and social participation. New York, New York: Peter Lang Publishing.