Jenny’s summer blog!

In this assignment, we were asked to investigate at least five “edublogs.” An edublog is a blog specifically designed for educational purposes. I really enjoyed looking at other people’s blogs because they gave me ideas about things that I can potentially include in my own blog this summer, as well as in my blog when the school year starts. I also find looking at edublogs to be very inspirational because many teachers around the world are clearly using their blogs to help facilitate their students’ education in amazing ways. Because blogs are naturally interactive, they allow both teachers and students to reflect and engage in a unique way. I think that blogs allow for teachers engage in many excellent teaching practices.

The first blog I looked at was from Mrs. Edmison’s class called “Questions for one of our favorite authors: Grace Lin.” In this blog, third grade students wrote questions for their favorite author and then received responses from the author. I think this was a unique medium to use to pose questions to an author because of the reflective and interactive nature of blogs. Rather than a simple exchange of letters, the blog allows for all students to share questions in an open forum for others to see as well.

The next blog I read was by dy/dan (Mr. Meyer) called Why I don’t assign homework. I found this blog interesting because we’ve been having many discussions on the merits and drawbacks of homework at Trinity. This topic is clearly a hot topic in education these days, and I was interested to read both positive and negative feedback in his blog comments. This blog was clearly dedicated more towards teachers and parents than students.

The third blog I read was Mark’s EdTech Blog: Is this SSR 2.0? This blog was really interesting. It was written by a teacher who allows students to read (but not respond to) blogs during SSR time. This blog really made me think about the fact that reading, at least in this day and age, is absolutely not limited to books. Students read magazines, websites, emails, and, yes, even blogs. I think that including blogs in reading time is a very innovative way to encourage reading. One person even commented: “I would say SSR 2.0 is having the choice to read what you want, whether it be a blog, a web site, or a book. Allowing the students choice and making that choice something more than a library book is what I think SSR 2.0 is. It’s having the freedom to chose not only your reading material, but your reading format. This is great keep it up!”

My only concern with students reading blogs instead of reading books is the issue of blog language. In general, language in blogs is much less formal and much more conversational than in books. Although this kind of language is important for students, “book language” is also very important.

A fourth blog I read was Wandering Ink: How to prevent another Leonardo Da Vinci. This blog took an interesting look at how many schools and educational practices can stifle student’s creativity and desire to learn. While I did not agree with every point made in the blog, it was very thought-provoking and reinforced many of my beliefs about best teaching practices. As a strong believer in constructivism, I believe that students should constantly be encouraged to create their own experiences and grow knowledge out of these experiences. This blog was clearly directed towards other educators in a plea to help today’s students.

The fifth blog that I investigated was my favorite. It was called Duck with a Blog: Second graders write about our missing duck. I thought this blog was particularly interesting because the majority of the writing on the blog was done by children. This showed how easy it is to get children (even as young as second grade) interested and involved in blogging.

As I read these edublogs, I was asked to consider six different questions. I have addressed these questions in my response above, but here are a few other thoughts!

• What do you notice about the genre of blog writing in general?

I was impressed by the wide range of topics that are covered by bloggers! Even in the educational field, the vast array of topics is astounding! Students blog about day-to-day occurrences in the classroom, students communicate with other students or adults, teachers blog about educational philosophy, teachers and students create blogs together… the list goes on forever!

• (How) is blog reading different from other types of reading? How is it similar?

As I read blogs, I find myself really reflecting on what I read in preparation to comment. Thus, blog reading is a reflective process. I analyze and question as I read blogs. I certainly analyze, reflect, and question when I read anything, but the ability to immediately comment directly to the author entices me to read even more reflectively.

• (How) is blog writing different from other types of writing? How is it similar?

One thing that I noticed about blog writing is that the language used is often much less formal than language that would be used in a formal letter or writing piece. In many ways, the language used in blogs is almost conversation-like. This enables students, teachers, and parents to engage in an informal conversation with other blog readers and writers.

• How does commenting contribute to the writing and meaning-making?

The ability to comment is what makes blogs interactive. The writer can either write to the general public, or can write to a specific audience (either one person or many people). Although anyone is able to comment on a blog, generally the specific audience members are the ones to comment. Additionally, commenting allows for readers to praise or criticize the author directly, and to add additional feedback and ideas to the original ideas.

• Is there a “blogging literacy?” How does blogging affect the way we read and write?

I think that blogging allows both readers and writers to write in a very different way than pencil and paper writing. Because of the nature of blogs, blog writers know that their writing will be more exposed through the World Wide Web. Thus, they need to be careful that whatever they include in their blog is something that can become “public knowledge.” Additionally, as I’ve already mentioned, blog writing is a more casual way of writing. As people read blogs, they are thinking ahead to their comment or response.

• (How) can blogging facilitate learning?

The edublogs I read show many ways that blogging can facilitate learning. Blogs enable students, teachers, parents, and other adults to write and respond with ease and regularity. People who may have never spoken or communicated can connect through blogging. I think the connections made through blogging make it very relevant and important.