Re: Student Blogging

In response to an email asking about using blogs in the classroom, I wrote back a sort of long-winded reply. I'll post my reply here in case it could be useful info to anyone else.

I love and adore using blogs with my students. In my experience, writing, revising and peer editing within the blog structure has particularly helped their writing skills. So, I've used blogs in that way. I've also had success with journaling in blogs. This semester, my 9th graders are creating big, semester-long projects, and they are using the blogs to sort of document the thought process and give and receive feedback/thoughts from peers.  Teenagers are so self-conscious, I find the lack of face-to-face contact adds dramatically to the strength and effectiveness of peer editing and review.

I've done both public and private blogs. While I'd like all students blogs to be open to the public, there are some legal and protection issues involved. I try new ways each time, but in Livejournal, I allow students to use their real names and post so that only their "friends" can see. Everyone in the class is on everyone else's "friend" list. This is helpful to everyone because by clicking on the "friend" link on one's own page, you can easily see new posts without clicking through a bunch of links or starting a Bloglines account.

I've also used Blogger. I like the templates better, and kids can create their own links outside of the ones created inside posts (unlike in Livejournal). The drawback is that Blogger doesn't have an easy way to make them private. So, I ask each student to come up with a pen name and sign a contract stating that they are never to mention real names, location, school name, etc.

Class interaction on blogs is awesome, especially if you bring together multiple sections of the same course. You can do all that with private blogs. However, to me, blogging is essentially a public act, and I think the act of public publication makes kids take themselves and their writing more seriously.

I'll end with one big positive and one big negative. First, the positive. Blogs allow kids that are not normally popular, not normally sought out, to really shine. All of a sudden, your blond cheerleader is constantly running over to the dorky kid in glasses because she, like, really wants a cool emoticon or avatar. Your quiet, sci-fi and fantasy loving tech-nerds come to life and interact with the class in a new way while getting a chance to show off their skills. My students have known each other since birth, so mixing up the social pecking order is a good, good thing. And finally, the negative. I wish I could do more with blogs, but I constantly run into the wall that is lack of access. My school is lucky to have what it does, but blogging, to my mind, requires regularity. When you can only access computer labs or laptops at odd times or infrequently, I think it is very hard for students to build blogging skills and really get something out of the medium.

That said, I keep trying blogs out, and I learn something new with each experience. They do too, I imagine.

I forgot to mention one long-term positive I recently had the pleasure of experiencing. I helped Taiwanese Superhero set up a blog and showed her some student blogs during an intensely boring meeting before the school year started. She loved the medium right away and started using blogs with both her general and remedial classes. All of our 9th graders did their research "papers" on blogs. So this semester, I got several of her students, and she got several of mine. The first day we went in the lab to learn about blogs and get set up, her students from last semester proudly proclaimed their expertise, showed off their lengthy blog writing to the class and helped assist other students with starting their blogs.

If every teacher used blogs, our kids could really have a kick-butt record of their progress in writing and in high school. Maybe they would continue to comment on the work of kids who aren't in their classes anymore. Maybe it could be common ground between teachers and subjects. Maybe it could be dreamy.

Comments

[epiph]

I've often thought about using blogs in the classroom, but, like you, I have a problem with accessibility. Being in an urban school, we have no computer labs and very little access. In a perfect world, though, I can see how they'd be great.

[Tom Hoffman]

I agree with all your points. Maintaining a blog for several years across different classes is an idea I've been excited about for a while, but I don't think anyone has really tried it. Doing it right is fairly tricky technically and will require some specialized software, which should exist by this time next year.

[shamash]

What a great idea to put research papers on a blog! I hadn't thought of this idea; seems like a great way to get students to share their info with others.

[shamash]

What a great idea to put research papers on a blog! I hadn't thought of this idea; seems like a great way to get students to share their info with others. (BTW: glad to see you back. I missed seeing your posts!)

[audrey mango]

hipteacher,
Thanks for the info on how you use blogs. I found your website and I think it's great--and odd that we seem to have the same teaching experiences.

In any case, I used blogs with some classes last year (also an English teacher), and I was curious as to what else you required from them... and that awful question--how did you keep them accountable (yes, grading)? I had mine keep pseudo-journals, focusing on creative writing or extending classroom discussions, but I wasn't sure this was the best way (for the honors kids, it was fine; for the regular/basic kids, it wasn't specific enough and I'd end up having a LARGE variety of writing that ended up being really difficult to grade).

Sorry so long of a comment. Just like to hear more of your thoughts...

[Ginny]

What a great idea! I wish that would work with fourth graders. I'd probably wind up with a lawsuit or something.

[Guusje]

I would love to use Blogs with my students but I can't because our IT department has them all blocked by our firewall. It's so anonying. When it comes right down to it, they are running our district.

[Dennis G. Jerz]

In response to Tom Hoffman... I've been using blogs at Seton Hill University for a year and a half now, giving students individual blogs that they can keep when the class is over. While the vast majority don't blog when they aren't in class, students do use their blogs to keep in touch with each other socially when classes are not in session. One student who's never been in a class with me has hosted some hot debate about the expanding role of academics, particularly football, at our small school (which until recently was a women's college).

You can check out the site for yourself...

http://blogs.setonhill.edu/nmj/

[Tony Iovino]

Great idea, and what lucky students to have such an inspiring teacher! I'm passing on the idea to my District-- we have a summer reading program that is dead-- I wonder if a summer reading blog site might goose it a bit?

[Carrie]

That is a really neat thing you are doing. If I was still teaching I would love to incorporate those ideas into my classes. I get excited when I hear about ideas like this!

[Greg]

An excellent idea! I never thought about it that way, but I can see how it would bring students in different cliques together. It might also identify a student with a real gift, maybe even one whose gift is concealed because he doesn't do well in class.

I could see a lot of good work coming from blogs and their ease of editing. For example: Create an essay advocating a position. Exercise: Condense your argument to 100 words. Exercise: Create a rebuttal to your argument.

I remember doing journals in elementary school. From what little I can remember writing, it was pretty pathetic work, but now, I'd like to see what I wrote then. A blog could be preserved forever... and brought out by parents to embarrass their kids later. :)

[Ms. Angala]

"While I'd like all students blogs to be open to the public, there are some legal and protection issues involved."...you mentioned this in your post and I am curious what are the legal and protection issues involved.

In elation to this, I created a Class Digital Anthology in blogspot which is a collection of all their poems and illustrations during the school year. I would like to know if I am in compliance. Please visit the website and let me know what you think of it. The "disclaimer" is in Policies In Using This Blog.

THE WEBSITE: www.digitalanthology.blogspot.com

[Ms. Angala]

"While I'd like all students blogs to be open to the public, there are some legal and protection issues involved."...you mentioned this in your post and I am curious what are the legal and protection issues involved.

In relation to this, I created a Class Digital Anthology in blogspot which is a collection of all their poems and illustrations during the school year. I would like to know if I am in compliance. Please visit the website and let me know what you think of it. The "disclaimer" is in Policies In Using This Blog.

THE WEBSITE: www.digitalanthology.blogspot.com

[guusje]

what blogging service do you use with your kids? I can't use blogger - our IT department (the folks who really run the school) have blocked it bcause kids were writing electronic slam books. But I'd like to use blogs with a G/T class I work with.

[kd]

Sounds like a cool idea. I'm foing to try and implement something like with my next reading project.

[Andrew]

I've been using blogs in the classroom for half of the year. I teach two Pre-College English classes. Each week my students must post a blog relating loosely or closely to what we have discussed or read in class. In addition, they have to comment on another individual's blog. For the most part, my students have yet to utilize it as anything more than just posting and commenting for the grade. But, a few really have taken to the idea. One in particular, who is usually pretty quiet, always has great posts and more than one great comment.

[shamash]

Well, due to our IT department firewalling blog sites, students can no longer blog. Sigh. Scream. Hit head against wall.

I wrote a long rant about it at my blog.

Thanks, Hipteacher, for opening this forum to discuss blogs in the classroom. Your reflections are most inspiring, and I'll let you know if I win the battle for allowing educational blogs to be used as part of the English curriculum.

[Diane]

David Warlick had recommended your blog and in scrolling through, I found this posting. I enjoyed this so much, I posted it in its entirety at my blog as I feel it will be useful to readers of my blog.

[Diane]

Sorry, I forgot to give you my blog address:

http://dianesdiscoveries.typepad.com/

[Brian]

I think that the lack of a students self confidence is just a mere reflection of their perplexing age. It is nothing against you as being social butterflies or the like.
Excellent Blog!
B.
http://low-apr-credit-card.valueprep.com/student_credit_card.html

[Anna M. Garcia]

I appreciate this information on student blogging. I have been interested in starting a student blog in the library and the information you provided will help me proceed. I too agree that the students can learn and become more accountable when they know their peers will read their post.

[proquest digital dissertations]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!