Blogging in the Classroom
Has anyone ever read “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” by Will Richardson? I’ve currently only read the section on blogging in the classroom and I’ve come to the realization that even though I have used blogs with my students over the past several years, I haven’t been using them effectively. I required my students to post a response to their blog every two weeks. Sometimes I would post a question for them to respond too and other times they would choose a topic of their choice. I did realize that when they were given the freedom of what to write about, they were more apt to complete their post by the due date. However, that was it. Nothing ever happened from that point on. I tried to build relationships by having my students respond to one anothers posts, but they did little more than the dreaded “I agree” or “That’s cool!” comment.
Now that I have a better focus on how blogging can be done at Grapplings‘ transforming level, I’m eager to implement them with my students this upcoming year. I hope to use them as any or all of the following things:
- e-portfolios to display student work with reflections
- to publish writing samples, across the curriculum, to gather feedback (what worked well, what needs improvement) on their use of the 6-Traits
- literature circles to collaborate and discuss a book the group is reading
So, my question to you is this: How do you use blogs with your students? I would also love to see your class blog so please post the link, too! 
