Blogging in the Classroom

My students and I have recently launched a separate blog for student writing, which will enable them to make comments on each other's work.

For teachers who want to learn more about classroom blogging, the National Writing Project has a post called Digital Toolbox: Blogs. Included is a brief YouTube video explaining how blogs can be used in different settings. Here's another version of the same video, called Blogs in Plain English, that includes subtitles in Spanish.

So what are the benefits of using a blog in school? For one, it's a great way to publish student work, and knowing that a broader audience will see their writing can be very motivating. My students' parents will proudly send links of their children's work to friends and family around the world, from New York to Moscow to Tel Aviv.

It also gives students a chance to read comments from peers, teachers, family and friends. Understanding what stands out to their readers can be encouraging and help students figure out how to improve their work. I have also appointed two co-editors for the blog. This is a position that needs to be earned through consistent hard work, but all students will eventually get a chance to take this on. Yet another incentive!

Listening to Blogging in the Classroom on WFCR radio in Amherst, Mass., I heard several teachers discussing how technology had helped their students. They said having a blog motivated kids to produce higher quality work and enabled them to connect with students from other schools. Blogging was also seen as a great way to create a positive writing community.