Monday, November 24, 2003
When I first heard about blogs, the wheels in my mind went into overdrive! The possibilities for using them with students was incredible. At that time, I was taking a course in instructional design and had to design a major project. What a perfect opportunity for me to see what I could do with a blog. I was also involved in a grant to improve writing scores in my district. It only made sense to tie these two together.
So I started to look to see what was already out there. I searched for every blog site that had anything to do with education. There seemed to be a large number of blogs for the university arena, but very few for the elementary student. Perfect, just my cup of tea! But what really solidified this project, was when I started to look for writing research that would support the use of blogs to improve student writing.
The Neglected "R", a recent report conducted by the National Commission on Writing, stressed that it would take a writing revolution to get the emphasis on language and communication back to where it should be. In addition to doubling the amount of time spent in writing instruction, it was emphasized that teaching writing cannot be the sole job of the English teacher. It must be taught across all curricular areas. This will require that all teachers, no matter the content area or grade level, receive instruction in writing practice and theory. The fact that writing is a "shared responsibility" was reiterated in Danielson's article: The Improvement of Student Writing: What Research Says.
Another concern found with writing instruction is the fact that teachers are held accountable. This accountability is often measured by the performance of the students they teach on various state and national tests. Whether or not you agree with this practice, it has a profound impact on the way many teachers teach writing. In The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning, Hillocks questions whether these tests are aligned with the learning objectives. In Nagin's review of this book, he cites a quote from Warren Simmons, executive director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, "what we have in too many districts is test-driven reform masquerading as standards-based reform". Hillock points out these mandatory assessments, "undermine the standards they are meant to support and worse, encourage bad writing and bad teaching practices".
That is all well and good, but how can blogs help improve student writing? (Here comes the good stuff.) The original intent of blogs was to serve as a type of on-line journal. A place where people could write their thoughts and ideas for others to view and even post comments. The first blogs began to appear in 1998. Their use was limited to those who had a proficient knowledge of html. These first blogs became a community when Cameron Barret published the list on Camworld. Then in 1999 the first free build-your-own-weblog tool became available. The 23 known blogs suddenly grew to over 1.4 million active blogs listed on Blogcount. If you're into blog history, be sure to check Rebecca's Pocket.
When you look at the Recommendations on Teaching Writing, you'll find these listed as areas to increase: student ownership and responsibility; class time spent on writing as a whole; making the classroom a supportive setting for shared learning; writing for real audience's; writing across the curriculum; and constructive and efficient evaluation. This is where it becomes evident that blogs can be influential. Let's take a closer look at these.
Let's suppose your students are going to create a blog for it's original intent, as a personal on-line journal. These blogs will be made public and allow for responses from other readers. As soon as a student creates his personal blog, he has taken owernship. He will be able to not only write his personal thoughts and ideas, he will be able to link to other web sites and blogs that compliment these interests. Those readers who share his interests may now link to his blogs from theirs. Voila! A virtual community has just been created with a vast authentic audience.
Just as important as having others read his blog, the author will have the opportunity to reflect on what he has written, even days or weeks later. He will have the chance to build upon what he has already written or even change a previously posted idea based upon newly acquired knowledge. This is a definite plus for blogs. With more traditional writing assignments, once it's been graded and a revision is not required, that assignment is complete in the eyes of the author.
I personally see blogs for being used much more than a personal journal. I designed the Regions of the U.S. project to see just what could be done. The Regions project was created for fourth grade students. It gives them the opportunity to work collaboratively with students in and out of their classroom. They will be able to read and comment on the work of any student across the country who participates in this project. They will be able to use other participants as a resource as well as serving as a resource for others. With the advantage of the Internet, this interaction can continue outside of school. Using blogs for this type of activity, virtually breaks down brick and mortar walls an opens the classroom to the world.
So I started to look to see what was already out there. I searched for every blog site that had anything to do with education. There seemed to be a large number of blogs for the university arena, but very few for the elementary student. Perfect, just my cup of tea! But what really solidified this project, was when I started to look for writing research that would support the use of blogs to improve student writing.
The Neglected "R", a recent report conducted by the National Commission on Writing, stressed that it would take a writing revolution to get the emphasis on language and communication back to where it should be. In addition to doubling the amount of time spent in writing instruction, it was emphasized that teaching writing cannot be the sole job of the English teacher. It must be taught across all curricular areas. This will require that all teachers, no matter the content area or grade level, receive instruction in writing practice and theory. The fact that writing is a "shared responsibility" was reiterated in Danielson's article: The Improvement of Student Writing: What Research Says.
Another concern found with writing instruction is the fact that teachers are held accountable. This accountability is often measured by the performance of the students they teach on various state and national tests. Whether or not you agree with this practice, it has a profound impact on the way many teachers teach writing. In The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning, Hillocks questions whether these tests are aligned with the learning objectives. In Nagin's review of this book, he cites a quote from Warren Simmons, executive director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, "what we have in too many districts is test-driven reform masquerading as standards-based reform". Hillock points out these mandatory assessments, "undermine the standards they are meant to support and worse, encourage bad writing and bad teaching practices".
That is all well and good, but how can blogs help improve student writing? (Here comes the good stuff.) The original intent of blogs was to serve as a type of on-line journal. A place where people could write their thoughts and ideas for others to view and even post comments. The first blogs began to appear in 1998. Their use was limited to those who had a proficient knowledge of html. These first blogs became a community when Cameron Barret published the list on Camworld. Then in 1999 the first free build-your-own-weblog tool became available. The 23 known blogs suddenly grew to over 1.4 million active blogs listed on Blogcount. If you're into blog history, be sure to check Rebecca's Pocket.
When you look at the Recommendations on Teaching Writing, you'll find these listed as areas to increase: student ownership and responsibility; class time spent on writing as a whole; making the classroom a supportive setting for shared learning; writing for real audience's; writing across the curriculum; and constructive and efficient evaluation. This is where it becomes evident that blogs can be influential. Let's take a closer look at these.
Let's suppose your students are going to create a blog for it's original intent, as a personal on-line journal. These blogs will be made public and allow for responses from other readers. As soon as a student creates his personal blog, he has taken owernship. He will be able to not only write his personal thoughts and ideas, he will be able to link to other web sites and blogs that compliment these interests. Those readers who share his interests may now link to his blogs from theirs. Voila! A virtual community has just been created with a vast authentic audience.
Just as important as having others read his blog, the author will have the opportunity to reflect on what he has written, even days or weeks later. He will have the chance to build upon what he has already written or even change a previously posted idea based upon newly acquired knowledge. This is a definite plus for blogs. With more traditional writing assignments, once it's been graded and a revision is not required, that assignment is complete in the eyes of the author.
I personally see blogs for being used much more than a personal journal. I designed the Regions of the U.S. project to see just what could be done. The Regions project was created for fourth grade students. It gives them the opportunity to work collaboratively with students in and out of their classroom. They will be able to read and comment on the work of any student across the country who participates in this project. They will be able to use other participants as a resource as well as serving as a resource for others. With the advantage of the Internet, this interaction can continue outside of school. Using blogs for this type of activity, virtually breaks down brick and mortar walls an opens the classroom to the world.
Posted by Rena Shifflet at 11:52 AM permalink
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Things are beginning to take shape. I found a template I wanted to use at Blog Skins. I've had some trouble with getting the skin I wanted posted. I had to copy the html code into the template twice. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get the picture I want to post. I have to figure out what to which server this blog is being posted! Problem solving was never so much fun!
Posted by Rena Shifflet at 5:25 PM permalink
Friday, November 14, 2003
Well, here I am. I'm actually creating a blog! This is really an exciting experience for me. When I first started digging into blogs, I couldn't help but see the many possibilites for using this format with students. What a great opportunity for teachers to create authentic, interactive writing activities. So that's what I want to do. I want this blog to serve as a resource and spot for educators to collaborate. Even if no one ever happens to stumble on this site, I know it will help make the students I work with to become better writers.
Posted by Rena Shifflet at 9:27 AM permalink