Post #2

 
I'm very interested in the aspect of using a blog to foster a community environment within my classroom. While I really enjoy the idea of classroom discussion, some students are initially shy when it comes to speaking face-to-face and a blog would allow these students to express themselves electronically. Not only could the students learn more about each other, but if each of my students had a functioning blog it would provide me with the opportunity to learn more about my students and their individual traits. 


There are many things I want to consider, however, before deciding upon the usage of blogs in my classroom. The students would need to be a maturity level in which they were able to use the blog appropriately and for classroom purposes only, so I would need to have an in-depth discussion about the purpose of the blog and how everyone is expected to respect the opinions of each student. 

After giving my students an orientation on how to use the classroom blog appropriately, I could see myself using the blog for the following:

1. Online discussions on recent chapters read in assigned books
2. Student questions for me
3. A forum where students can ask questions of each other
4. An area where students can post projects and respond to one another's work
5. A place where I can post the classroom assignments and expectations
6. Group project work, including communication through online interactions
7. Much more!

I like the idea of posting assignments online and having students do communicate outside of the in-class interactions. The time spent in class is so limited, so this gives students the chance to think about topics before discussing them in person. Also, I feel that the aspect of communicating with one another online would appeal to many students and could encourage them to be more excited about becoming involved with assignments. Many students already spend a lot of time online, so I feel that it would be a natural experience for them to complete assignments through a blog once in a while instead of always bringing written work to class. 


As a future Literature/Language Arts teacher, I want to emphasize the importance of my students keeping a "writer's journal." Now, these "free writes" could be done within the class, but it's exciting to think about the possibilities that a blog can provide. Some students struggle with writing on the spot, so completing "free writes" on their blog about thoughts about what we are learning in class could be a very effective method to involve all students I work with. Free writes are very effective in helping create the "community environment" that I am so concerned with, as we can all learn more about one another through writing.


~Marta