In the Classroom, Web Logs Are the New Bulletin Boards (A Posting)

This article describes how teachers are choosing to use weblogs in their classrooms because they are more convenient and are another way for students to express their thoughts. A second grade teacher, Mrs. Dudiak, took her students on a field trip to a Native American farm. When they returned, her students wanted to do nothing else but talk about their wonderful and exciting trip. So, instead of discussing their thoughts and feelings, Mrs. Dudiak had her students sign into their classroom weblog. They wrote about many things including learning to use a bow and arrow and sitting in a teepee and petting a buffalo. Mrs. Dudiak found that weblogs allow her students to interact more quickly and she said that they opened up a lot more online than they do in the classroom.

Weblogs are becoming more popular throughout classrooms. Teachers like blogs because they do not require as much effort to maintain. A man named Will Richardson says that, "with blogs, class doesn't have to end when the bell rings." He makes a rather great point. An advantage of weblogs is that they allow students to be involved and active outside of the classroom as well as in. Teachers also feel that weblogs allow them to give feedback to their students more quickly. Many teachers say that students put a lot more thought and effort into their blogging than their handwritten work. Although teachers are finding it difficult to keep up with their blogging during the summers, many are encouraging their students to handwrite their work and then post it on their weblog. Mrs. Contner, an assistant principal says, "if it gets the students excited about learning, we might as well try it."

This article was chosen because it caught my interest. One of my inquiry questions was how weblogs can help improve the classroom. This article answers my question almost perfectly. Teachers are choosing to use weblogs more often because students can be more free and open with their peers. It is less time-consuming and easier to follow-up on. Students enjoy blogging, and if they enjoy blogging they will enjoy learning as well. To view a full version of the article, click on the title of this posting.