Blogs are useful tools for teacher-student collaboration and
peer-to-peer collaboration because it creates a space where people can freely
reflect and share their ideas and opinions without any formal rules. A blog post can be written in the style of
the writer. A student doesn’t have to
adhere to any specific writing guidelines, or tense. Blogs are very informal that way. They also allow for other students (within
the class or abroad) to comment on each blog post and share their perspectives
as well. Blog posts can be anonymous, or
not.
According to escrapbooking,com, an online resource for
creating educational scrapbooks, states that blogs are designed to “stimulate
new questions, promote sharing of process, encourage alternative ideas and promote
interaction” (Lamb & Johnson, 2011).
Student blogging also lends itself to other learning initiatives like
exploring Web 2.0 technologies. Students
can research online content to put on the blog like streaming videos, audio,
moving images and links to their favorite online websites. Students will enjoy the
interaction they experience with adding their own favorite content for the
world (and their peers) to see and comment on.
Teacher collaborative blogs are also useful where teachers can share
lesson plans, tips and ideas with other teachers. There may be a slight learning curve and
teaches may want to introduce student blogs slowly, with some parameters and
tips for online safety. But after the
learning curve, it should be a fun, online learning experience.
References:
Lamb, A & Johnson, L. (2011). Escrapbooking.com.
Retrieved September 21, 2012 from http://escrapbooking.com/index.html.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts. (pp. )Thousand
Oaks: Corwin.
