Blogs

Blogs are typically about me, me, me, what I think, like, don't like, prefer, want to do or make happen. It is then posted on the web for the whole world to know. In some instances it may be like a public diary or therapy session getting feedback from some friends and even friends I haven't met yet. My writing ability is not a strength so I tend to be apprehensive about publishing things I write.

Blogging with and for students....Hmmmmm? It has its place in education. Students need to be able to communicate. In their generation / culture blogging, twitter and texting seems to be the way to go. They are about quick ways to communicate, long gone is the day of the letter that is stamped and put in snail mail. Within their "quick" communication they have developed a new language using abbreviations such as ttyl, lol....to enable them to communicate quicker. Even though this "quick" method or language is acceptable for casual correspondence, it is still not acceptable in the professional world. Educators can tap into the students current knowledge on blogging and twitter and expand their skills through the use of this familiar and preferred technology.

One transformation from an old school activity to integrate technology is the "Adventures of Teddy" the classroom bear. In the original version of this activity each student took Teddy and a notebook home for a weekend. Over the weekend, the students had to take Teddy with them and record what he did in the notebook. They could write it as a news report or turn it into a story. On Monday they would return Teddy to class and share what he did over the weekend. To upgrade this activity to fit the new generation of students a blog for Teddy could be set up and the student could make posts through out the weekend. This would give students an opportunity to follow what Teddy was doing throughout the weekend as well as respond. This way the whole class could remain engaged in the reading and writing of posts and not just the student who has him for the weekend.