Group assignment

Group Task: Michelle, Marie, and Eric
• Knowledge: Identify at least three ways in which blogs can be used in education
– It can be used as a way to collectively ask questions to members of the classroom rather than always asking the teacher. Allows students to learn from each other as well as from the teacher
– You could post assignments and have students respond to them through posts on the blog
– It can be used to post concerns about the class or the material that the teacher can then address in class without taking up so much of class time to hear all the concerns and answer them individually. Rather the teacher can address the issues that apply to large numbers of students in the class and individually if there is only one student with certain concerns.
• Comprehension: List three reasons why teachers should integrate blogs into their classrooms
– It is a way to get students more involved and excited about learning because it is using the computer rather than just pen and paper.
– If students have their own blogs for school purposes they can voice their opinions or concerns in a safe area that they teacher can see and respond to without having to call them out in class; which some students find frightening or uncomfortable.
– Efficient way to answer questions for the whole class or individuals. Helps to save time during class.
• Application: Describe three ways in which you can use Blogs for your own teaching or professional development
– You can use blogs in your classroom to create a discussion on certain topics that you are covering in class. Blogging will allow the students who may not speak up a lot in class more freedom to express their opinion without feeling as though they will be made fun of. (The teacher must ensure a safe discussion forum, providing rules as to how students should be reacting to their peer’s comments, as well as how to create privacy settings so only the class may read each blog if this is what the teacher wants, etc).
– You can create a class blog to show the students and parents what is occurring in the classroom. This way students who are away can see the homework they have missed when they were away, as well parents can see what the class is doing each week.
– You can create a class blog to present student work to the class such as short stories, or poetry in an English class. Students would then be able to respond to these works, and see what their classmates are interested in and what they are writing about.
• Analysis: Is the use of blogs in education better than the use of static websites?
– Blogging is better than using static websites because it allows for individuals to post their opinions regularly. It is dynamic in the sense that it is easy for different individuals to create, change, and insert information. This also means that it becomes more personal because blogs are written by people, who have their own personal opinions that make the blog stand out. Blogs also have their own RSS, which allow its readers to subscribe and follow the blog easier than a static website. Readers can receive emails about the updates on blogs they are a part of, and are then able to post to the new updates easier. Blogs overall, are more user friendly than static websites because they can quickly build a loyal reader base, and are a tool that almost anyone can use.
• Synthesis: How might blogging change your role as an educator?
– Blogging could influence your role as an educator in many ways. I think the main change would be you would be acting more as a facilitator. There would be a lot of independent style learning and much less actual face to face instruction. Blogging is a great method to achieve guided discovery style learning and it is the teacher’s job to guide those students. I believe learning would be more collaborative rather than teacher directed.
• Evaluation: List at least potential disadvantages of using blogs in education?
– Less face to face interaction in class. Students may become anti-social.
– Students may use the blogs as a way to bully classmates without having to bully to the face.
– Students may use their informal computer language rather than writing formally as expected in school.