Creating Community In The Classroom: Student Blogging

MSD Teacher Academy

Creating Community In The Classroom

Session #2: Writing As A Public Act

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Today’s session will revolve around the notion that writing is a public act.  This belief pushes students to embrace a greater sense of transparency and see value in sharing one’s thoughts with a class or learning network.  New York City teacher teacher Ileana Jimenez believes writing is a public act and as a result, encourages her students to blog. According to Jimenez, rather than having students write a paper and hand it in only for the teacher to read, waiting for some kind assessment, writing should be public, it should give a sense of urgency and visibility and for students to feel that their writing has a voice in the world.  

Writing for an audience that extends beyond self or just the teacher can lead towards creating a stronger sense of community in the classroom.  Creating spaces where learners can share ideas and offer feedback, threads stakeholders together.  Students come to see themselves as valuable resources and an integral part of a learning network.

During this session, teachers will be introduced to sample blogs from classes throughout the district.  Teacher initiated blog assignments and students posts will be shared.  A few teachers from the high school have been invited to explain how/why they infused the use of blogs into their respective classrooms.  This will eventually segway into a discussion of Kidblog.  Kidblog is a blogging platform currently being used by over a million K-12 students.  Several teachers in district employ Kidblog.  It is a secure site and students can develop accounts without the need for an email address. 

After the Kidblog discussion, the session will end with the Moodle pilot program.  Next year, the district will pilot the use of Moodle in several elementary school classrooms.  This will introduce, at the elementary level, a course management system to students.  Additionally, embedded into Moodle are tools such as discussion forums that promote the publication of ideas and transparent learning.  Moodle like Kidblog is safe and secure and student accounts can be generated by a teacher or administrator.   In an attempt to support the fluid integration of technology K-12, elementary students need access and experience playing with what is often considered tools of the 21st Century. 
 
Resources for Today’s Session

Sites:

• Kidblog
• Moodle
• MHS Moodle Site

Blogging Resources

• How Should My Students Approach Blogging?- ideas for sustaining student blogging in the classroom
• Making Educational Blogging Work For You- teacher shares experiences blogging with students, helpful links and samples embedded in the post
• Books, Blogs and Videos To Transform Learning- grade 4 teacher shares how blogging changed the culture of her class
• Online Journals for English Classes of Mr. Christopher Waugh- examples of student and teacher blogs from an English classroom
• Student Blogging Guidelines- tips for posting and commenting
• Ms. Cassidy’s Classroom Blog- Six and Seven Year Olds Inviting the World Into Their Classroom
• Teaching and Learning With Social Media- small case study on use of blogs in classrooms
• Why Students should Learn To Write For The Public- pushing idea writing should be a public act and how blogs facilitate this notion
• Blogging Is The New Persuasive Essay- how blogging can help students become better writers
• Olin Student Bloggers Wanted- Olin Business School (Washington University) turns to blogging as a public relations tool

Student Blogging

At the start of school, more teachers have asked students to maintain a blog.  Through their Google apps accounts, students are accessing Blogger to establish a personal digital space.  While communal spaces such as Moodle and Schoology  have become commonplace across classrooms at the high school, encouraging students to maintain a personal space has been slow to develop.  However, the first few days of school has witnessed a change and teaches are reserving time during the introduction process for students to create a blog.

One English teacher is having all of her 9th grade students maintain a blog.  Students will use this space to archive reflections, offer commentary on ideas shared during class and to post finished products.  Learners are also encouraged to follow one another and provide feedback on each others posts.  As opposed to a limited feedback loop, an entire class can participate in the process of offering constructive commentary.  Learners should benefit from the expanding range of perspectives fostered through a growing blogging culture.  Subtly, through their diligence in maintaining a personal digital space, students will see that writing is a public act.  As New York teacher Ileana Jimenez says,  “Writing should be public, it should give a sense of urgency and visibility… for students to feel that their writing has a voice in the world.”

I wanted to share an opening snippet from an initial assignment.  9th grade students were to read, analyze and share reactions to the Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.  In class, students were broken into small groups where they discussed and debated select parts of the manifesto.  As a class, a poll was taken to see which points resonated most.  Outside of class, students were to reflect about one point on their blog.  I want to share the following insight offered by one of our 9th grade students about #19- Work the metaphor: Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.   It's refreshing to read a personal and genuine response. The nature of the assignment, time to think and space to voice an opinion led to a insightful and stimulating post- with the chance to further a deep and meaningful communal  conversation

"Work by the metaphor," a phrase, that is, according to Bruce Mau, essential to the "incomplete manifesto for growth." Bruce Mau defines "work by the metaphor" as every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. I see this, the ability to see beyond the surface, dissect the true meaning, or in the more cliché way of saying it, "reading between the lines," as a true sign of maturity, something that goes hand in hand with growth. As people grow into the person they are destined to be, which usually happens in the teenage years, their maturity is defined. Your maturity is not only the unit of measurement for how well you can handle things, but also shows what kind of person you are below the surface.