Incorporating Blogs into the Classroom

Using blogs in a classroom setting may seem a daunting task to some, but I believe it can be done in a beneficial way. When I was in middle school, instead of writing in a paper journal I used Xanga, the mostly forgotten social network that was more of an online journal. Remembering how fervently I updated this gave me ideas about how to incorporate blogs into the classroom.


My desire is to teach high school English literature. Epistemologically, I believe that I learn best when I do not realize that I learning. My voracious desire to read books was awakened in my 9th grade Honors English class. Every Friday we would have reading time to sit and read books of our choosing, and we would communicate via journal to both our teacher and our friends in the classroom. The journals were marble Composition books, and as you can imagine, by June they were falling apart, and many of us had three or four that took up room in the classroom and the desk. My teacher would have to take these notebooks home to respond, and seeing him lug 50+ books out of the classroom was humorous. Instead of using marble composition books, using a blog could be a great alternative. That way, if the student finished the book on Tuesday, her or she would not have to wait until Friday to write about. Likewise, other students could respond in a timely manner so they would not have as much work to do over weekends. I know I am not strong enough to carry many composition books, but I can carry a laptop and my phone. I also can type much more quickly than I can write, which would both cut down on my time, but also lengthen and personalize my writing. 


Another idea I had was using blogs to discuss the books we read as a class. Instead of handing out paper (using both trees and supplies), I could just have the students respond to the questions either in a comment on my personal blog, or in his or her own blog. I could then use the Smartboard or projector and focus in on comments that students made. This would also help with participation. I know as a student I sometimes was shy about answering questions in class, though I sometimes had insight. I also noticed that the students with the best insights were the ones that did not always pay attention in class. This is a way to engage those students in the lesson, and praise them so the strive for success. 


The advantages for these lessons are numerous. It would engage more students who prefer using type to communicate efficiently. It would also cut down on "dumbing down" words because of spelling errors. I believe this is a way to see what students are really capable of, and what they are hiding behind. It also uses less resources for the school: ink, paper, toner, etc. Also, may students are using computers for Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, Itunes, innumerable things. Even I find myself doing homework that can be done on the internet first. There are, however, some distinct disadvantages as well. In a time of economic depression, computers/internet may not always be available to students, especially in urban environments, but this could also pose a problem in rural areas as well. Computers labs may be an option, but students may not always get a chance to go to the lab, let alone get work done. Of course, accommodations can be made, but one must be respectful of the feelings of all students. 


I think blogs can be a very useful tool in classrooms, but they cannot take place of instruction and face to face conversation.