Blogging is being used more in the school setting as use of computers and of the internet become more general. Individual classrooms are beginning to be equipped with several computers, making it easier for teachers to give students more computer based assignments, which in turn makes it more convenient to do things like blogging.
Blogging could potentially be useful in older grades (5th grade and up) to help the students in their typing and their writing. It could be used as a form of journal writing, where perhaps they typed their reactions to books they read or assignments they had to complete without having the formality of writing a paper. It could be also used by students who had to complete an online assignment and instead of writing their report by hand or typing it and printing it out, they would enter it into their blogs, and they would put the links where they got their information for their assignment.
I personally feel that in younger grades (4th grade and down, probably) blogging would be less useful. Students in these grades are still learning how to read and write by hand, and I feel that learning to write by hand is very important still. Also, in these grades, if we are going to teach the children how to type properly, the students need to be taught using a program made specifically for teaching correct typing (such as Typing Tutor) instead of (or at least along side of) being let loose on their own to type their own blog in any form or fashion that they choose.
Parents and teachers should be aware of the dangers of blogging. This article and this article both say similar things about the dangers of blogging. Parents seem most concerned about their child’s privacy and safety online, and another growing danger is that of cyber-bullying, which the school should try to be aware of.
This article and this blog post make good arguments for blogging with students. In theory, it’s a good idea. In practice, will I use it? I can tell you now, I probably won’t if I teach third grade or anything lower than that. I think it would be a good idea to use it in fifth or sixth grade.
I most certainly agree about the younger students needing to spend time on the basics of learning to read and write. It is a good point that computer time related to writing, in the younger grades, would be well spent on typing tutors.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the younger students need to master the pen and paper before being let loose on a computer. However we need to remembr that most of these children can do more by Kindergarten than a lot of adults can do. I do agree that they need to be taught how to type properly and not just peck at the keys.
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