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
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June 11th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
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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
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December 31st, 2007 at 10:21 pm
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February 17th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
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February 18th, 2008 at 3:10 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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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 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am
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June 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 am
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June 4th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Thank you for the very succinct reasons for why kids should blog. I’m convinced
June 5th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
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June 7th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
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June 8th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
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June 10th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Great list! I like the comment about how a student can retrace their own learning from earlier thoughts and comments. What a powerful message for students! To see one’s own learning journey in progress!
June 11th, 2008 at 11:37 am
[…] A Rational for Educational Blogging, Davis quotes Donald Lou of Syracuse University, “In fact, the ability to learn continuously […]
June 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
[…] In the process of teaching of writing, the Publishing phase receives the least of the teacher’s attention. After the Editing phase, the teacher tries to find time to grade and comment on 20-30 papers. The next phase in the writing process is the Publishing phase. Teachers do not usually want to spend the time having students read their papers aloud or have reports presented to the class using Powerpoint. So most of the time the papers are pinned to the bulletin board and/or sent home. Pinning a paper to the bulletin board does not provide a great incentive to write more or to write better. But the possibility of having your writing read by thousands….now that is incentive to write often and to write well. The case for using Blogs in education is presented extremely well by Anne Davis on her blog. […]
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June 27th, 2008 at 11:46 am
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July 16th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
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August 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
[…] elementary school level? How can teachers scaffold this type of powerful blogging and learning? “Rationale for Educational BloggingAnne Davis explains how blogs are reshaping the learning environment and fostering the development […]
September 4th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
[…] just read Anne’s justification of blogging in K-12, http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/, reminded me that we have the same conversation in Higher Ed. Why would we teach teachers […]
September 5th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
[…] venturing into blogging. That’s why I was delighted to run across Anne Davis’ “Rationale for Educational Blogging” from EduBlog Insights. Ms. Davis presents a clear, well-conceived set of reasons to consider […]
September 6th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
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September 7th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
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September 10th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
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September 14th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Thanks for so many great reasons to blog! I am just beginning to think about blogs for my students and am very excited about what we can do!
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September 16th, 2008 at 3:11 am
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September 16th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
[…] terms of theory, I found the Anne Davis’ EduBlogs Insights post about the Rationale for Educational Blogging builds a strong case for how blogging can facilitate learning. Donald Leu, a Syracuse professor, […]
September 16th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
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September 17th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
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[…] ”(How) can blogging facilitate learning?”, is one with which I am still struggling. The blog Rationale for educational blogging made me realise that there is potentially a large benefit to students in helping them mature and […]
September 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
[…] can write or respond to a blog. The first Blog that I chose to read was Anne Davis’ Rationale for Educational Blogging. This was fortunate since she is obviously a thoughtful and long-time blogger. Due to the […]
September 21st, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Thanks for this post! I used part of this post in my cover letter to parents this year as I’m starting to use blogging with my students. I’ve also included some links in my article benefits to blogging
An additional benefit is that students who are unable to connect orally with other students for any reason can communicate with their peers in this written format.
September 22nd, 2008 at 6:09 am
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October 5th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
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October 9th, 2008 at 10:27 am
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October 27th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[…] program at Georgia State, and I am just in awe that she is a blogging celebrity! Her post about rationale for blogging in education was so cool- it makes me want to put her 13 reasons for blogging on a poster and hand it out at the […]
November 10th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I have not, yet, got into blogging for educational purposes. As a teacher of chemistry and IT I have begun to use Wikis and other web 2.0 tools but the ways in which I can use blogging in my subjects are not immediately apparent to me. I can see general support issues with selected students being one avenue to explore with blogs but I wander how this particular tool is being used by anyone else teaching my subjects. http://bskelearning.edublogs.org/
January 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
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January 28th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Yes, blogs may be a great way to communicate and get students to engage their perspective in a new way, but it also seems to me that this new way of getting out what you always wanted to say can lead to real problems. Many kids still thing if you read it is must be true. I think blogging is similar to a personal journal, but not personal. Maybe that is the problem I am having?
January 29th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Blog reading and writing is sitting down with a group of people and having a discussion about a given topic. Only it is written down. And the people aren’t all sitting down at the same place or at the same time. It provides a way for people to converse who will never have the chance to meet face to face. It broadens the conversation because anyone who has an interest in the topic can contribute. It’s not limited to a like-minded peer group. Some blogs are written formally but many are less formal, more relaxed. You get the sense that people just want to share their thoughts and have others share in return. Blogging facilitates learning by giving us the opportunity to connect with a wide group of people who have something to say about our topic of interest.
I appreciated Anne’s list of ways of reasons why blogging is useful for teaching. Her quote of David Leu was right on target. “…as new technologies for information and communication continually appear, new literacies emerge.” Blogging literacy must be taught. I agree that blogging gives students a voice and a reason for expressing themselves well when they know a large audience may be reading their writing. It allows them to learn from each other as well as experts on their topic. As it takes them to contributors outside the classroom it helps them realize that learning isn’t just for school. It’s for everyone everywhere.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:39 pm
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February 4th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Thanks Anne,
You have provided some rationale for some of the blogs that I have tried with my students in the past!
February 12th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
After I read the blog by Annd Davis, I set up a blog for my 5th grade classroom. I think it has given a voice to all of my students. I think it is going to be a useful teaching tool.
February 12th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Thing 4
After I read the blog by Anne Davis, I set up a blog for my 5th grade classroom. It has given my students a voice. I think it is going to be a useful teaching tool.
February 14th, 2009 at 6:48 am
What a wonderful list of positives for blogging. I see proper use of grammar, use of keyboarding skills, collaboration between parties, individual responses, critical thinking, proper internet etiquette, individual responsibility, unlimited interaction, brainstorming, creative interaction, time for reflection and incubation of thoughts, chance to go back and add to an original idea or thought…the list goes on.
February 14th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
[…] me an education. I did find Williams & Jacobs (2005) [Full ref below] quite useful as was the Rationale for Educational Blogging though I would be interested if anybody can advise me on how to reference […]
February 16th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Great outline of the role of blogs within eduction - the potential of blogs for sharing and learning as well as the responsibility of teaching students how to write for an audience.
February 19th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
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March 12th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
[…] Rationale for Educational Blogging showed me not only specific reasons why to jump into blogging, but also that it is important to teach the skills necessary for literate blogging. Thanks to Anne, I’m gaining confidence seeing that it is ok to guide students and expect standards of behavior when blogging, and that it is crucial to show them how to be engaged in what they are writing and attend to their audience. […]
March 14th, 2009 at 9:37 am
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April 9th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
really great points for the pros on blogging. at my school although access is blocked students are more into facebook
so we have just introduced them to what is a blog and it is certainly more a reflective process as they learn to organise their experiences compared to the immediacy of facebook which for many of them encourages a knee jerk reaction to put everything out there.
teaching digital world responsiblity goes hand in hand with the technolgy
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more on your positive reasoning for using blogging as a means of encouraging student collaboration and participation.
Blogging presents a ‘more’ acceptable method of creating student portfolios along with giving ’student voice’.
Great article, will definitley use this in my teaching….
May 6th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
[…] blogging,” the author succinctly lists reasons why blogging in education is a good thing. (http://anne.teachesme.com/ 2007/01/17/ rationale-for-educational-blogging/) In addition to noting that blogs give writers an audience and allow them to learn the meaning of […]
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:22 am
I never thought about bringing blogs into the classroom. There are some really great points in this piece that make me want to consider bringing blogging into my math class.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
[…] easy to implement and may try some tomorrow myself. Anne Davis’ blog, Edublog Insights at http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ provides great rational for blogging in schools. As I was reading through the reasons, it […]
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:41 pm
[…] I hope to arrange something like that with an author next year. In the post by Anne Davis, http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ she brings out a good point when she states that blogging gives the reader a voice. Yes it does! […]
June 5th, 2009 at 10:03 am
[…] educators do not see the value of blogs, but Anne Davis of Georgia State University explains the advantages of educational blogging. Ms. Davis points out, among other things, that blogging allows students to share their opinions […]
June 8th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
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June 8th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
[…] blog I enjoyed was The Rationale for Educational Blogging by EduBlogs. This provided a great background into blogging and the key elements to think about as you plan the […]
June 14th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
[…] by everyone and anyone, and too much information to comprehend! I was initially interested in the Rationale for Educational Blogging, where the pros are clearly stated for teaching and learning. And then I realized the post was in […]
June 17th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I’m sitting in a wikkis and blogs class right now. We are a group of teachers having an in-depth discussion about the uses for blogs in the classroom. This website helped launch a great discussion concerning the use of blogs in the classroom.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 am
Thinking in any form is an excellent skill.
Regrettably, there can be negative consequences for wrong choices made by others.(See the Titanic)
So, we have to be vigilant and continue to give tomorrows thinkers(which all of us are) opportunities to think!
Blogging is a great opportunity. Kind of reminds me when I went from pencils to ink in elementary school. What a growth experience!
When I was allowed to use ball point, I knew I had made it!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
[…] is not the only voice in the classroom. And one of the components of a good educational blog is that is gives all the participants a […]
June 25th, 2009 at 1:47 am
[…] to my heart. I have been blogging with students since 2002, mostly elementary kids. I once wrote my rationale for educational blogging and thought I’d share. Also, some lessons […]
June 29th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
[…] ever since television took a prominent place there. As Anne Davis points out in her blog “A Rationale for Educational Blogging“, under: Uncategorized « Thing 2 - Web […]
July 1st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
[…] on a piece of paper and turning it into the teacher. However, I first ask you to read this Rationale for educational blogging written by Anne Davis. She mentions that blogging fosters enthusiasm for writing and […]
July 5th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Blogs provide a space for exchange of ideas across time and space. I’m reading and responding from China in 2009. Thanks Anne for your insights and brevity.
July 7th, 2009 at 4:24 am
[…] Anne Davis’ “A Rationale for Educational Blogging” her brevity and focus were particularly useful. She reminded me that when I ask students […]
July 8th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thank you for pointing out that teachers need to teach some skills and not just let students blog away! Teaching students 2.0 responsibility and critical thinking skills are essential!
July 15th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
[…] Nope, this is a post to get educators convinced of the value of the blog, both in and outside of the classroom. Not for […]
August 9th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
[…] in Edublog Insights also has some great insights into why we should blog in her post on the Rationale for Education Blogs. Blogging is educationally sound for teaching students because: • Blogs provide a space for […]
September 27th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Anne,
I now am using blogging on our wiki page as part of thier history test. The blog is added to their essay section of their test. Kids love to blog it is kind of like texting. High school students are addictied to that.
Scott
September 27th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
[…] in perfect cursive handwriting, which is a skill that they will no longer use in the 21st century! “A Rationale for Educational Blogging” directly links to the teaching of blogging. I especially liked the quote that we do need to […]
September 29th, 2009 at 9:14 am
[…] EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging […]
September 29th, 2009 at 9:32 am
[…] http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ […]
September 29th, 2009 at 10:10 am
[…] http://anne.teachesme.com/2007/01/17/rationale-for-educational-blogging/ […]
October 10th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
[…] the answers to problems and issues or approaches and strategies to solving problems is immense. The real issue is the problem of riches. How do you select strategic keywords, ideas, and concepts that help you narrow your […]
October 11th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
[…] The number of teachers using blogs is growing exponentially. Are they beneficial? Click on this link and read some of the rationale behind using blogs in education: Blog Rationale […]
October 11th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
[…] See excerpt by Anne Davis, rationale for blogging. […]
October 13th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
O.K., I get it! EduBlog Insights seems to be on target as to what Blogs can do for learning. Blogging does need to become a literacy, and we all know we must constantly learn changing technologies. I do wonder about any research studies that might provide us with some idea of where tech comes in to student lives?
October 17th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
[…] Don’t Assign Homework ,CoolCatTeacher (Vicki Davis): Spies Like Us,EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging , NeverEnding Search: PowerPoint Reform – A First Chapter, Extreme Biology: Imagine Turning On […]
October 24th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
[…] our students to do. This type of reading is “appropriate for the time” as read in Rationale for Educational Blogging by Anne Davis. The positives about blog reading is that it is usually quick. Typically we […]
October 25th, 2009 at 5:25 am
[…] There is a really great discussion of the rationale for educational blogging here. […]
October 25th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
[…] Blogging is the way to go! Just a few of the Anne Davis’ excellent […]
November 13th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
as always informative and a great read. thanks.
November 14th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Thank you for the great list of reasons elementary students benefit from blogging. Now I need to convince my superiors!
November 18th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
[…] sound either mentally challenged or pretentiously provocative. The most powerful blog read was A Rationale for Educational Blogging. New literacies that are constantly changing as new technologies […]
December 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
[…] trying to find what the teacher wants in terms of an answer.” For more persuasion, read the full entry. December 3rd, 2009 by tjdownesPosted in […]
December 13th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Love this post. As a teacher using new technologies to encourage students to learn we always have to remember not to forget the fundementals too
January 10th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for the comprehensive list of the educational benefits of blogging. I believe there is room for students to blog, but they do need to learn how to manage the digital world as well as the components of publish worthy work. Many of the comments come from high school teachers. Is there room for blogging in the elementary school? I was also wondering if blogging would be just as effective if the blog was limited to our school district? I know my district has some concerns over publishing on sites that provide access all over the world and the safety of our students.
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I truly enjoyed reading these insights. I knew about blogging but never thought of the numerous impacts it could have on our curriculum. In response to “Sherri” I believe this could be effective for elementary students. It’s a chance for them to begin thinking and typing at the same time. So often we have them draft on paper and then write. But in the work world, most of the thinking happens as we write. It is a shift in how we think and we need to prepare them for that transistion as well. Thank you to the writer because this provided great rationale for blogging in education.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
[…] 3 – EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging […]
February 6th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Thing 4_____Thank you for sharing this great ideas on blogging. I appreciate the time taken to enumerate the significance of educational blogging.Am very encouraged.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Wow. You can add another item to your list. This conversation has gone on for 2 years! The ability to build a conversation over time — what a remarkable thing! This reminds me of the wonderful way artists, writers, and thinkers have used letter writing in the past to develop, test, and share their ideas. This makes me feel like I’m part of something huge and historical.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I’m a virgin to the new blogging era and I’m amazed at how much I’ve missed out on. This blog has turned on a light bulb for me as to all the possibilities of using blogging in the classroom. What a wonderful way to differentiate instruction for all students, but particular students with learning and behavioral problems to get them motivated and actively engaged in learning. I’m so thankful that I’m now a part of the Edublog world now.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
[…] students’ blogs and extend and refine their own learning in a fun and engaging way. Hopefully, teachers are learning more about these technologies and are allowing their students to use these technologies to […]
February 14th, 2010 at 11:15 am
The readings for my class are very intriguing because they tell the story of someone’s life that we might not know about. The stories provide an insight about someone’s beliefs, values, language, religious traditions. It makes me wonder what else is going on in the world that we have not discovered yet. Before this class I did not realize of much, my society in America, is such a small part of a greater world. My professor really knows how to get his students to keep asking for more and find modern tools today that can teach us how things are happened many years ago.
February 15th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
[…] gives a really wonderful and helpful list of reasons to use blogging in education in her article, A rationale for educational blogging. I think this would be a wonderful reference to keep in mind when advocating using blogs in your […]
February 18th, 2010 at 10:39 am
[…] are read and commented on by strangers who actually make the writing a more complete picture. In Anne Davis’s “A Rationale for Educational Blogging”, she states that “the worldwide audience provides recognition for students that can be quite […]
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:14 pm
[…] Anne Davis’ blog summarizes the case for educational blogging, mentioning these and many other advantages of this type of communication. Like my daughter, students have a familiarity with digital media that allows an SSR 2.0 to work beautifully in the classroom. While they might not be digital natives , they at least feel comfortable in the terrain. Reading online is second nature, and the brevity, conversational style and interactive qualities of blogs keep kids engaged. Is this the new literacy? Why not? Having the opportunity to read about others and express oneself digitally is just as valid as pen and paper. There may be different tools, but the ends are the same. […]
February 25th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
[…] does not cost any money, gives constantly updated information and is real life learning. As Anne Davis states “The opportunity for collective and collaborative learning is enormous. Students […]
February 26th, 2010 at 9:23 am
[…] Anne Davis’ “Rational for Educational Blogging” […]
March 5th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I love all of the points listed. I hope I am not restating anything but one of my reasons for working with Blogs and other 2.0 resources is simply to define the web as an interactive learning tool. Many kids see it as only a social networking and gaming device, which are fantastic uses by the way, but they do need to see what a powerful tool it can become.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:51 am
New to the world of edublogs, but they are fascinating as to the world they open up to students and teachers alike. Still a student, but am very excited to learn about this community of teacher and student collaborators and look forward to the journey as I jump on ship.
April 15th, 2010 at 2:28 am
[…] the playing field between teachers and those being taught.. Through blogging, everyone becomes both a teacher and a student of peoples, places, and life. One example, Our Missing Duck spoke to me, because it demonstrated the benefit of blogging as a […]
April 19th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
[…] other three blogs that I reviewed were Edublog Insights, NeverEnding Search, and […]
April 19th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
[…] of the educational process. It is used for sharing thoughts and opinions as Anne Davis does in her blog regarding the rationale for educational blogging. She shares a great rationale for the practice of blogging and has many comments to share from […]
May 3rd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I appreciate the comment that blogging encourages writing for life long learning. Regardless of your profession, life long learning is a key component to thriving in the digital world. Blogging allows for an open forum that allows different people with different learning experiences to collaborate and share in an effort to continue one’s education. There is a creative component to blogging as well, which keeps it interesting.
May 4th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
[…] and learning since 2005. Through years of practice, a common understanding has formed around the benefits of the use of blogs in […]
May 8th, 2010 at 7:59 am
I made a copy of “Blogging is educationally sound for teaching students because:”.. I think you’ve captured the positive aspects of blogging as an educational tool.
As I read this blog and others about ever changing fast paced influence technology I can’t help but think what we need to be doing with students is we learning philosophy and ethics, so now matter the change in the technology the student’s thinking is filtered through a critical and moral framework.
May 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I would like to link this with my blog, perhaps using technorati
May 27th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Anne, this is very insightful. I admit that when I started a blog with my class I hadn’t any idea about all the positive aspects that it would provide my students with. I tried it because somebody told me it was “trendy, and I was in desperate need of suggestions to take my students off their apathy. Getting to know these advantages made my decision to continue doing it even stronger. Thanks!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Many incredible reasons why blogging at the educational level is useful. These are things I have not considered.
June 7th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
[…] Edublog Insights: A Rationale for Educational Blogging […]
June 7th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
[…] ideas put forth in A Rationale for Educational Blogging are vast. I especially like the following three […]
June 9th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
[…] Reading Anne Davis’ blog listing her 13-point rationale and Will Richardson’s “What Did You Create Today?” and the intriguing comments that follow both blogs was like being at a cozy dinner party with intelligent, well-spoken friends who through the course of an evening build upon, refine, test, question, confirm and ultimately improve upon the original thoughts and words that began a conversation. The experience of reading the blogs and comments was intimately powerful in a way that a lecture or handout could never be. And as Susan Davis replied on Feb. 6, 2010, to Ms. Davis, “This conversation has gone on for 2 years!” Amazing! […]
June 10th, 2010 at 8:55 am
[…] both Anne Davis’ rationale for educational blogging and Will Richardson’s “What Did You Create Today?” as well as the intriguing […]
June 13th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
[…] The Rational for Educational Blogging was outstanding. I am sending this link to our principals as food for thought. Actually I am sending them quite a few links because I think we need to change some of our strategies at school. […]
June 15th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
[…] Rationale for Educational Blogging: This list provides some good ideas for educational applications of blogging; my lingering doubt arises from a wish that every list item contained the conditional form. All of these ideas COULD produce the described results–but the simple fact that students are blogging, as opposed to some other activity, will not ensure that outcome; it still remains for the teacher to set up a well-designed situation in which that will happen. In so much of what is written about web 2.0, one can receive the impression that using the tools guarantees the stratospheric outcomes. I would love to hear how the biology teacher who designed Extreme Biology went about framing her parameters, which are now clearly the accepted norm of the activity. Successful teachers have always shared the characteristic of being able to inspire students to reach for a very high bar and to accept stringent standards of excellence as standard operating procedures. What I don’t know is how that translates into parameter-setting in this new environment and with these new tools. […]
July 1st, 2010 at 1:39 pm
[…] Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging Anne Davis, an edublogging pioneer from Georgia State University, has been blogging with elementary […]
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:30 pm
[…] also respond. You become the conversation starter. One of the blogs I read for this task titled Rationale for Educational Blogging talked a lot about blogs being beneficial because of the way that they are interactive, which is […]
July 5th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
[…] reading the Anne Davis piece on “Rationale for educationl blogging,” the idea that blogs give “audience” […]
July 31st, 2010 at 10:43 am
[…] blogging is so important for students who happen to be so technologically savvy. The point that blogging “engages students in conversation and learning” means that this could be a way for […]
August 6th, 2010 at 1:53 am
[…] Rationale for educational blogging var recbtn_skin […]
August 14th, 2010 at 7:24 am
[…] 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.” […]
August 18th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
[…] I’ve highlighted the points that I find most relevant from this very informative blog post by Anne Davis (Information Systems Training Specialist in the Instructional Technology Center in the College of Education at Georgia State University). Clipped from anne.teachesme.com […]
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:00 am
[…] I read and re-read EduBlog Insights (Anne Davis): A Rationale for Educational Blogging , I found myself becoming excited about setting up my own classroom blog for next Fall. My greatest […]
August 31st, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Please see the recommendation I made for Frank. I am sure the author of the blog would be most helpful!