Rationale for educational blogging
I was recently asked to give a rationale for educational blogging. I thought I’d share what I wrote and invite comment.
Blogs are reshaping our environment. They are beginning to emerge in large numbers in the educational field and offer great potential to transform learning and teaching. It is about new literacies appropriate for this time. The quote below comes from Don Leu, to be published soon in a book by the International Reading Association (http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~djleu/newlit.html) I feel it is a very appropriate focus as relates to the new literacies and blogging for educators. Donald Leu of Syracuse University expresses it far better than I ever could.
“The new literacies include the skills, strategies, and insights necessary to successfully exploit the rapidly changing information and communication technologies that continuously emerge in our world. A more precise definition of the new literacies may never be possible to achieve since their most important characteristic is that they regularly change; as new technologies for information and communication continually appear, new literacies emerge (Bruce, 1997; Leu, in press a; Reinking, 1998). Moreover, these changes often take place faster than we are able to completely evaluate them. Regular change is a defining characteristic of the new literacies.Â
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This simple observation has profound consequences for literacy and literacy education. The continuously changing technologies of literacy mean that we must help children learn how to learn new technologies of literacy. In fact, the ability to learn continuously changing technologies for literacy may be a more critical target than learning any particular technology of literacy itself.â€Â
There are many skills and concepts that need to be addressed to effectively help teachers learn to use blogs throughout their curriculum to foster these new literacies. It is not just a matter of transferring classroom writing into digital spaces. Teachers need to address writing for a public audience, how to cite and link and why, how to use the comment tool in pedagogical ways, how to read web materials more efficiently as well as explore other ways to consider pedagogical uses of blogs. Blogging requires us to teach students to critically engage media. Students need instruction on how to become efficient navigators in these digital spaces where they will be obtaining a majority of their information.
Blogging is educationally sound for teaching students because:
- Blogs provide a space for sharing opinions and learning in order to grow communities of discourse and knowledge — a space where students and teachers can learn from each other.
- Blogs help learners to see knowledge as interconnected as opposed to a set of discrete facts.
- Blogs can give students a totally new perspective on the meaning of voice. As students explore their own learning and thinking and their distinctive voices emerge. Student voices are essential to the conversations we need to have about learning.
- Blogs foster ownership and choice. They help lead us away from students trying to find what the teacher wants in terms of an answer.
- The worldwide audience provides recognition for students that can be quite profound. Students feel more compelled to write when they believe many others may read and respond. It gives them motivation to excel. Students need to be taught skills to foster a contributing audience on their blog.
- The archive feature of blogging records ongoing learning. It facilitates reflection and evaluation. One student told me that he could easily find his thoughts on a matter and he could see how his thinking had changed and why.
- The opportunity for collective and collaborative learning is enormous. Students have the opportunity to read their classmates’ blogs and those of others. This is not possible in a regular classroom setting.
- Blogging provides the possibility of connecting with experts on the topic students are writing.
- The interactive nature of blogging creates enthusiasm for writing and communication.
- Blogging engages students in conversation and learning.
- Blogging encourages global conversations about learning–conversations not previously possible in our classrooms.
- Blogging provides the opportunity for our students to learn to write for life-long learning.
- Blogging affords us the opportunity to teach responsible public writing. Students can learn about the power of the published word and the responsibilities involved with public writing.
January 17th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Wow. Simply outstanding. My favorite quote: “It is not just a matter of transferring classroom writing into digital spaces” which is the comment I encounter all the time.
This should be required reading for all high school English teachers who have kids write for the refrigerator.
Thanks.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Anne,
Fantastic! Those of us who have been doing this for a while in the classroom know these things to be very true. I personally get a little tired of having to spell out over and over the “why”. So I send you a BIG thank you for a very comprehensive list - one that I will reference often! I’d add to your archive point that blogging provides an opportunity for an ongoing writing portfolio - with a worldwide audience! When in history was that ever possible? I have opened the doors to my students from last year - and they are back in the blogosphere again. Thanks - Mark
January 18th, 2007 at 10:26 am
[…] Today on Edublog Insights, Anne Davis, an edublogger who goes way back has written a post describing why it’s important for students to blog.  […]
January 18th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Thanks Anne. This is a very comprehensive list of statements that can used to promote blogging in schools.
January 18th, 2007 at 11:32 am
David said:
This should be required reading for all high school English teachers who have kids write for the refrigerator.
I’d add to that anyone teaching - at any level. The list that you’ve given, Anne, is so applicable to any age of student - from Kindergarten to Post Graduate.
The points that I found particularly relevant for the teaching that I’m doing were:
Blogs help learners to see knowledge as interconnected as opposed to a set of discrete facts.
Blogs foster ownership and choice. They help lead us away from students trying to find what the teacher wants in terms of an answer.
January 18th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Marvelous. You have such succinct way of putting the pedagogy for blogging. Thank you.
January 18th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
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January 18th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Thanks, Anne
January 19th, 2007 at 10:13 am
[…] Anne Davis has a long list of points that are very relevant to all anyone who is encouraging their students to blog, or, indeed, to anyone who wants to blog for their own learning. All points are so true, though at the moment the two that particularly strike me are: […]
January 19th, 2007 at 11:44 am
The thing that I value most about blogging, is the manner in which it empowers me as a participant in idea development. I have never before had the opportunity, nor motivation, to refine my thoughts and ideas, as I do now that I am blogging.
January 19th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Wow! That *is* good! I think blogging has the ability to give a voice to many who wouldn’t have a voice any other way. And the opportunity to publish and have such a brood audience has really lit a flame into my own writing, for sure.
Your list nicely makes the case why we need more blogging instead of having it banned, blocked and seen as a disruptive avctivity in schools.
dick
January 20th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
[…] Following a work week when I felt the need to justify introducing teachers into Web2.0, I started my morning with Anne Davis’s inspiring and research-based post Rationale for educational blogging. Besides listing 15 points below, she also references work by Don Leu, one of my heroes. […]
January 26th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Admittedly the list is very convincing, but what about the negatives?
- Many children have much more knowledge that their parents regarding computers. How do you educate both the students AND their parents?
-the advantages / rationale for educational blogging are many, but I worry about online predators
-How is one assurred that students will exercise good judgement?
-Where does the responsibility lie in protecting students from harming their futures
I know these questions have been asked before, I just wonder what your thoughts are.
Thanks
January 27th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Response to the comment from Slodog:
As an educator in an elementary school, a PhD student, and a mother of an eight year old, I feel responsible to teach my students how to interact safely on the Internet. Yes, many parents are unsure or ill-prepared, but those of us who are prepared owe it to our kids to provide them with safe opportunities and explicit instruction on how to behave responsibly on the Internet. Educational blogging is an ideal way to begin to teach these important skills.
January 30th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Anne- I so enjoy your posts and this one I made sure all of my teachers had an opportunity to read. So many people are still afraid the we will “lose the power of the pen” when I truly believe that it has the ability to create better, more creative and critical writers.
January 31st, 2007 at 1:01 am
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March 22nd, 2007 at 9:53 am
[…] Are blogs worth using? Does blogging provide any advantages to teaching and learning? Why should they and how can they be used?…..At this point I was going to make some eloquent and well argued points but Anne Davies who works for (Georgia State University, USA) writing in her blog EduBlog Insights makes a convincing case and is well worth reading Rationale of Educational Blogging […]
May 9th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
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June 11th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
[…] I’m for it! I love the idea of using educational blogging in my classroom. This would be an excellent way to communicate with the parents of my first graders about the exciting events that happen in our little world. In fact, the kids would be able to describe and voice their opinions (find their voices) in a community with teacher and parent support. I believe this will be a huge motivator for the reluctant reader/writer to work on skills so that they can get their ideas across. This could even be used as an informal research site to learn about community jobs and aspects of various cultures…especially with the families within the classroom. Posting homework would be easy along with the list of sight words, spelling words, math activities for enrichment and remediation, at home science experiments, etc. This is exciting! Filed under: Uncategorized […]
June 11th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
[…] Cooperative learning practices tell us that children need to talk in order to learn. In other words, they need to use language to process learning in order for it to really sink in. Blogging would allow children a way to “talk” about their learning. As children talk back and forth about a subject and share their ideas or understanding, their understanding would deepen. […]
June 11th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
[…] I also liked the list of ideas about why blogging is important that came from our first article Rationale for Blogging. […]
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June 26th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
[…] Next year I will be developing a plan to incorporate student blogging into my classroom. Why do this? One educator, Anne Davis at Georgia State University, has published a long list of reasons to blog in her post, “Rationale for Educational Blogging.” The entire list is fabulous and encourage you to follow the link and read its entirety. My favorite was: The opportunity for collective and collaborative learning is enormous. Students have the opportunity tor read their classmates’ blogs and those of others. This is not possible in a regular classroom setting. […]
July 17th, 2007 at 7:12 am
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September 17th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
[…] Blogging Rationale: “There are many skills and concepts that need to be addressed to effectively help teachers learn to use blogs throughout their curriculum to foster these new literacies. It is not just a matter of transferring classroom writing into digital spaces.” […]
December 31st, 2007 at 10:21 pm
[…] Rationale for Educational Blogging http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ Anne Davis explains how blogs are reshaping the learning environment and fostering the development of new literacies. […]
February 17th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
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February 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
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February 21st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
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February 22nd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
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February 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
[…] http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ did give me pause to think about the new literacies that are no longer static and I am grateful […]
February 24th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
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February 26th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
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February 27th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
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February 27th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
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March 13th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
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April 17th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Well said! I especially like your focus on teaching students about having voice and their responsibility in public writing. Thanks for sharing.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:30 am
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