A class blog as an ICT resource
What is a blog and how can pupils and
teachers use it?
A class blog is a blog that both the teacher and the pupils
can have access to and make posts in. A class blog would allow everyone to
communicate and collaborate online. Generally a blog is used by an individual
who writes about their daily life. The function therefore is almost like a
diary. Blogs often include written texts, pictures, links and sometimes even
audio and video. A class blog would have a wider purpose than a just an
ordinary blog though. Partly a class blog could be available for the teacher,
who can reach out to both students and parents with information regarding
school. For example about homework’s, study tips, upcoming activities and such.
One more important purpose with a class blog would be the pupil’s use of it. Depending
on the pupil’s age and reading and writing skills, you can let them be authors
in the blog too. For example they can make posts about the past week or upload
pictures and texts about their schoolwork.
What do you need to make this work in
class?
It speaks for itself, you need to have access to computers and
internet in class to be able to use the blog daily. Also the teacher has to be
familiar with the ‘blog system’ to be able to create a blog and teach the
pupils how to use it. To create and make posts in a blog is not hard at all
though. Go to www.blogg.se where you can create a new
blog. Try it out together with your students. I’m sure some of them already
have a blog of their own or read others blogs, surely that will be helpful.
How will a class blog as an ICT resource
develop pupils learning and how could the class blog improve their second
language learning?
By letting the students be authors in the blog by guiding
them towards what kinds of posts they will upload they could develop both their
reading and writing skills. Probably they will also increase their skill with computers
(how to upload pictures, videos, links etc.).
Also I think that you can use
the blog in many various ways. The blog can be an implement to subject
integration. For example you can use it in your English lessons by letting your
students write posts in English. As a teacher you have charge of the blog and
can therefore create different categories in it. For example English, Homework’s, General information
etc. Then your students can write posts in the English category in groups about
for example their thoughts about a movie they’ve seen recently or an article they’ve
read. You might also instruct them to comment on each other’s posts to increase
the interaction between the students.
Another example that you might
want to try is to do collaboration with a class in another country about the
daily activities in school. Then you can make the students tell about their
daily school time. After a week and when the information and pictures are
uploaded on the blog, you can discuss the similarities and differences about
their school week and the other class, in the other country’s school week.
Besides the reading, writing, second
language and technology development, what advantages does a class blog have?
The blog would be a public resource, which means that it’s available
for others to read. This is an important advantage because the students get
real, authentic receivers to their written work, which is really motivating.
If many of
your colleagues use blogs at your school an advantage could be that you can be
inspired by each other’s work trough the blogs and maybe you can adapt it and
use it in your own class.
The blog
would also let parents be involved in the daily schoolwork and they will
therefore get a better insight in their children’s education. Because of the
fact that the blog works like a platform to communicate it will be easy for
everyone to ask questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment