Monday, November 16, 2009

Blog - Question #1


What did you learn from this blogging experience about yourself and about blogs as tools for teaching and learning? What surprised you about this blogging experience? Why?

Since I am not a writer, blogging has been a struggle for me. I don’t feel that I have anything profound to say or to offer to others, but I do enjoy being able to follow the experts in the field of technology and education to see what new technology they are using or activities they are using with their students. Blogs have opened doors for professional development, and for that, I’m appreciative.

Blogging, in my system, is blocked. The “technology” person determines what can be accessed in the system. Unfortunately, he does not see the benefits of blogging. Blogging allows writers to express themselves for others to read and leave comments. This opens up a dialogue between the writer and the commenters about the topic that was blogged. Lots of information can be shared through a blog, so new ideas and different perspectives are developed through blogging.

I would love to have my class blog on a weekly basis. Students are more motivated when technology is introduced with the lesson. When writing for the world, students would be more attentive to their audience. Students would pay more attention to the message and the mechanics. Who wants to publish work filled with mistakes? My students would have access to information from others from all over the world. What a fascinating and exciting feeling it must be to have someone from the other side of the world to comment on YOUR blog. WOW!

Setting up a blog is as easy as 1, 2, 3. For some reason, I thought it would be more difficult. I am trying to decide if I want to invite my students who have access to the Internet at home to blog. I believe they would truly benefit from a blogging experience, and since we can’t blog as part of our class, then maybe they will gain the same experience from blogging at home. Yes, I think that will be my plan.

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