blog #8 - Blogging Reflections

I have used blogs before in the classroom to update parents on things that are going on in class and to use for students. Even though the use of blogs was not new to me, actually updating a blog regularly with my own thoughts and reflections on educational topics was a very beneficial learning experience. Having to weekly stay updated on specific educational topics has been good for me professionally. What a great way to ensure that I am staying on top of current practices in education. I have to admit that after this class I probably won’t regularly update my blog but I could see myself doing so on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. The main reason for doing so is that if I am going to have anything to say that would be worth somebody reading I would need to do my research first. In doing my research I would be able to always find new and exciting ways to better reach my students and help support their learning.

The use of blogs in the classroom is a tool that I wish I had the option of using in my current classroom. It isn’t really and issue with blogs themselves, it is the ability to get my students to computers so that they can utilize the benefits of keeping a blog. My old school had a mobile laptop cart that allowed me to give each student access to a computer on a regular basis. This made blogging very easy and students loved it. I was able to use it for keeping journals, writing book reviews, posting hypothesizes is science, or even the who scientific method for an experiment. The best part was the interaction. After students post their work their peers or even better their parents can review it. . Knowing this usually provides motivation for reluctant students because they put a little more time in effort into their work when they know their parents and classmates can easily see it and make comments on it.