Blogs in the Classroom

Reading about the various was to use blogs for education, there are three ideas that stick in my head and make me excited.

The first are blogs created by teachers aimed at other teachers (or various other interested readers). My favorite out of the blogs I looked at is dy/dan. This is a blog about teaching Math, Geometry and Algebra specifically. As a beginning teacher, this is a great resource to see what other teachers are doing and whether or not it is successful with the students. I think another valuable asset to having a teacher to teacher blog is being able to put up new lesson plans and ask for comments and/or improvements from other teachers. Even though this blog is a bit above my future students' age group it still is a great place for new ideas.

Another great example of how to use blogs in the classroom is Huzzah! This is a 5th and 6th grade class in Canada. The most recent post talks about "Anti-Embarrassment Goggles"; goggles students can wear while they are getting 'the talk' so no one will notice when they are blushing and feeling uncomfortable. The post has pictures of the goggles and students modeling them. It is absolutely ingenious and hilarious!!! The blog also features various other activities the class is doing. This is a great way for parents to see what their children are doing in the classroom. It also allows parents to be an active part of the classroom since they are able to comment on blog entries. The teacher gains valuable knowledge and feedback from parents as well. Win-win. Students can also comment or even create their own posts on the classroom blog if they want. Win-win-win.

Individual blogs by students are another option. This allows the student to have a place to be creative and also state their opinions about certain assignments or things happening in the classroom. Although I think this is a great idea, it may be more difficult to implement, especially when dealing with students younger than the high school level. The teacher would obviously have to make sure parents are aware their child has his or her own blog so both the teacher and parents could make sure no inappropriate content or visitors (internet predators) starting happening on the blog. That said, I still think this is an outstanding way for students to be more open with their opinions and feel like they have their own voice.