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Our task was to search for sources, how blogs can be used as an educational tool. Here underneath I’ve listed some of the sources I found followed by their best points and my own thoughts. Before I started to do this task, I never thought that there would be that much information about our subject! I’ve never heard anyone talking about this subject in Finland but, still, I found a few good sources in Finnish, too.
Quotes are from the sites referenced.
http://www.slideshare.net/villevenalainen/blogien-kytt-opetuksessa
- Points out that blogs can well be used
o as a channel to share information
o as a discussion forum
o as forums for Students to reflect their own learning and learn from the others
- A class can write its own blog. I think that would be a very good task for Finnish/English lessons.
That’s a new virtual learning environment. Looks very interesting! I definitely recommend you to look at it a bit closer. With this program you can for example arrange virtual lessons, write your own blog (public or private), network with other people and benefit from sources the users have put there. Maybe a web site like this is the future of education?
That’s a same kind of an environment for class room blogging.
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
“Blogs, because of their ease of use, and because of the context of news and editorial column writing, have become a highly effective way to help students to become better writers.”
“Educators know that students write better when they have a real audience — not just a teacher with a red pen.”
I think that is one of the most important effects of blogs to education. Publishing an own blog can be easy way to encourage and motivate the pupils to write. Let the pupils decide themselves about which topic they want to write. There shouldn’t be too many limitations but of course you, as a teacher, should remind the kids that others can read their texts, too. Well, we all know, that the only way to become a talented writer is to write as much as possible! And we have to remember the pupils with special needs, too. For someone the hardest part of writing is to try to keep the pen in hand and type the letters. Using a computer can open a new world to those kids!
There are some great ideas for class room blogging. I especially like the idea of “Best work blog”. Pupil has to publish his week’s best work in a blog. Knowing, that his work will become public, encourages a pupil to work harder. I think it’s a good way to improve the self-evaluating skills, too. It’s not that easy to say which school work is the best and why. Using commenting boxes help kids also to learn how to give positive feedback and compare works in a positive way.
http://www.edtech.sandi.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=354
There you can find very convincing reasons why to use blogging in education! It is true that the literature of our time is changing rapidly and blogs, for example, are something we read every day nowadays. Every once in a while I notice, that the way I’m thinking can be slightly old-fashioned, but the school/education system shouldn’t be! It’s schools duty to prepare the kids for the world! That’s why we have to remember this following aspect, too: “Blogs provides the opportunity to discuss responsible public writing. We can learn about the power of the published word and the responsibilities involved with public writing.”
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elt
There is an interesting part: “Keeping students interested”. It happens easily, that teacher is, at first, extremely excited about a new teaching/learning environment, but step by step the attraction decreases. Then you can’t get the most out of blogging as an educational tool. In this web entry there’re a few good tips, how to keep up the enthusiasm. As long as the teacher is excited, the kids have more fun, too 
.
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In (almost) every source I read, the safety views are highlighted. In internet occurs a lot of bullying these days. Unwanted comments, writings and photos in wrong hands, other vandalism take place often. That’s why active conversation in class room must be a part of blogging, I think. Kids must know which their rights and responsibilities are, how to know which information in internet is trustworthy, how they can protect their personal information. Teacher has to be aware of the harmful sides of using internet as an educational environment, to benefit blogging the most!
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I read another interesting blog-post on internet, too (http://kerryturner.wordpress.com/about/twitter-as-a-vle/). There Kelly Turner writes about her thoughts about Twitter as a VLE. After the last article I was pretty skeptical, but maybe this writing could help me to be more excited about Twitter as an educational tool. Now I’ll let you know about my thoughts after reading the blog-post.
First of all, I think that VLEs are something teachers should use in their teaching every day. VLEs can be very motivating for the pupils, teach them important skills, and diversify the teaching. But which are Twitter’s possibilities as a virtual learning environment?
- Twitter could really be a great support for teaching! But can we assume that all the kids have an everyday access to Twitter? Schools should provide computers to all pupils, but still they may be out of an internet access at home…
- Do all the pupils know how to use Twitter? First step to use Twitter as a VLE, is to teach all the kids to use it properly.
- As Kelly Turner says, too, verbal communication is the most important, still. So I prefer the idea of using Twitter as a homework space.
- Twitter is great channel for pupils, too, to stay in touched. They can easily discuss with pupils from other schools. But also teachers and parents can follow what their kids are up to.
But is Twitter superior to other VLEs? What is there even better than in other environments?
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I read Laura Walker’s article “Nine great reasons why teachers should use Twitter” on web http://mrslwalker.com/index.php/2009/03/29/nine-great-reasons-why-teachers-should-use-twitter/. I think it was very useful, because Twitter is such a new world to me. While reading it a lot of new thoughts aroused. Can using Twitter make a difference?
(Quotes are from the article)
- Twitter helps teachers to stay in touched. That’s good in big schools, but don’t forget to separate your free time and work, still.
- You really have to know how to use Twitter, to benefit it the most; for example you have to find the “right” persons to follow, know who you can trust…
- Still, I hope that teachers have channels to talk face to face. I prefer “offline” peer support.
- Twitter’s meaning in such a huge scale horrifies me a bit. I think I’m slightly old-fashioned. I really hope that people have time to read the newspaper instead of being online in Twitter.
- The article makes teacher’s job sound very hectic and stressful to me, too. “Twitter users can stay right at the bleeding edge of innovation and creativity, and literally be among the first to know when a new product is launched, article is published or opinion is voiced.” You really don’t have to be aware of all the things around you! I do agree that teachers have to keep up with the time, but the motivation should arouse from one’s own interests, not from a brooding necessity.
- Twitter can help you to become a better communicator. But is communicating in 140 characters something you need in the “real world”?
- I think Laura Walker is also trying to provoke the readers. At least, at some points, she even gets me to be against Twitter.
Well, I am very skeptical, still. But I think that nowadays, in our global and constantly changing world, you just have to learn to use programs such as Twitter.
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What is a blog/blogging?
At the moment I’m writing my own personal blog to Finland, to my family and friends, so that they can read what I’m doing here in Hamburg. So for me personally, blog is an easy way to write an open journal which people I want, can read. Through a blog you can also tell about your interests, your life, your thoughts news, post pictures… I see blogs more as a way to publish informal information but, of course, the subject can be more formal, too. A blog can for instance shed some light on the thoughts, feelings and incidents behind the news story. Usually, as I feel, blogs still are more laid-back writings than for example normal news texts. A blog is an easy way to show your thoughts to the world!
What is Twitter/microblogging?
I don’t know that much about microblogging, yet. That’s why I just signed in to use Twitter! I assume that Twitter is like writing a mini-blog. You tell what you’re thinking or doing, just in a few words. Microblogging is a fast way to know what your friends are doing and find new interesting people.
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I have never before thought about benefitting (micro)blogging in education. Actually, I don’t even have any ideas for that, yet. Well, that’s way I’m very interested in this course. I’m excited to see my thoughts after the lessons. I’m a bit skeptic now, but who knows how convinced I’m about blogging and education working together in the end of this course!
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I made it! I got a new blog now for the Blogging and Education course. I’ll write you more later.
Stay tuned!
