Using blogs in the classroom

Give someone a fish and they will eat for a day. Teach them to fish and they will have food for life.


I like the idea of teaching kids discourse of blogging. It is easy to use blogging sites to put people down. This is not acceptable because many people have access to blogs and can get the wrong idea from a heinous remark about someone that is not true. If blogs are used in the right context they become very useful for learning. It is up to us as teachers to teach the etiquette and explain. If kids have a firm grasp of why they should act a certain way they are more likely to participate. Blogging allows you to teach the kids civil discourse. This will help them become better citizens for the future. If they can learn to be empathic to other student’s ideas they will be able to handle disagreement appropriately in the future.

I really like the rule of teaching kids “discuss ideas, not people”. This ensures that remarks are not pointed at one person. People can openly discuss ideas in a safe manner.
I also like the rule of making sure the communication on both ends of a blog is clear. Sometimes online communication can be misleading. There is no face to face contact so emotions can’t be easily read. Something that is meant to be sarcastic could be viewed as serious.

Model it yourself. Kids will follow the leader naturally. As a teacher, you are constantly being watched. It is like being in a fish bowl. You are being watched, but you don’t realize that the student’s are watching you.

I love the math blog. I think it is great that kids can interact with the site. The site is a location where learning can take place. You can post lectures. You can post encouraging comments. The students can ask questions and you and respond with your answers.

I would love to set up a blog for my students. I think it is another useful tool to connect with your students. They will be able to interact with you outside of the classroom. This makes real life connections for your students. They will realize that teachers have a life outside of the classroom as well.