Bloggies!!!

What is a blog? This strange new word is something I added to my vocabulary only about two years ago. It sounded kinda stupid. Kinda cute. When I learned what it was I said "Oh Ok." Since then they have slowly creeped into my life. And other people's. I'm sure kids already are as familiar with these things as with coca crispies and ipods. So why not use them in a classroom to get kids even more involved with them?

There are so many things you can do with blogs! It would be a really fun classroom tool. I have a few examples that may be effective. One is I would like the kids to use the blog as a journal like this class does. Of course it will be read by everyone, so it would have to be a respected, and carefully considered tool. The journal entries could be anything that the kids are willing to share with others or based on something they learned in class. The purpose would be for them to get comfortable with writing, communicate with others,and reflect on concepts they learned in class. I like how this class uses blogs with prompts and I would like to do something similar to that.

Another idea is that the kids can make blogs of made-up characters from the books or texts they are given- someone told me about this idea and I've seen them on the internet. What they can do is pick a character from a story, and make a profile on he or she- or it, along with entries of what they imagine the character would write. For example, if they were to do a blog on Miranda from The Tempest, they could write a made-up entry on a day she spends with Ferdinand based on what they understand from her character and their relationship. I think this would be a fun way to access their understanding of the characters on a deeper level.

The idea of making a blog of a character can also be extended as a group project that uses a series of characters who communicate to each other as we do with our blogs in class.

One thing I can't help worrying about is what kids if get out of control on these things and start writing really scary stuff or worse attack each other on what they say? Will they get inappropiate? I may require "approval from the teacher" before blogs are posted, so they have a sense of what is allowed and what isn't.

To me blogs are about experimentation. They are informal and personal, but also widely shared. They are great tools for learning to communicate without being formally evaluated for things like grammar. They give students a chance to be creative and write freely. If used wisely, they can help students practice writing, and communicating in a comfortable and exciting way!