Sunday Morning Reading…

Ok. So a rainy Sunday was spend reading about blogging and education to begin to get a sense of why. Below are some of the things that I have found to be stand out points. Not necessarily unknown, but what I find to be important.

The following thoughts are from reading David Huffaker’s paper entitled “Spinning Yarns around the digital fire: Storytelling and Dialogue among youth on the internet” David Huffaker Article

Blogging is similar to story telling. We are able to share experiences in an entertaining and engaging way. (Think telling gets about stranger danger – read Little Red Riding Hood). It brings people together in a common perspective – you don’t have to agree with what’s being said but it can help you make a more balanced argument/decision. It can stretch peoples capacity to empathize with others and share experiences – on a personal blog I can follow a friend’s European adventure in “real” time rather than having to wait until he gets home to listen to his whole story of his adventure (which I’ll do anyway!!!)

Children by using the collaborative technology can gain a sense of ownership. No longer is it solely the teacher who tells the child what needs to be fixed or amended, but peers and outside commentators who can offer suggestions and it can be the child’s choice to fix, amend or refine. This leads to a natural maturing of the verbal literacy. Questions asked, problems solved and refinements made in a collaborative environment – the flat classroom so to speak.

In primary schools we focus a lot on verbal (reading and writing) literacy and visual (symbols and images) literacy. We need to move more towards using digital literacy to deepen both verbal and visual literacy. Digital literacy is like learning a language. The more fluent, the more likely to change the approach to teaching and using it. For example, moving away from “how to” sheets (which in all honesty I do use – but more to help teachers not so confident in ICT skills and the organic process of learning to do something on the computer) to collaborative online projects or assignments. This use of digital literacy and the need to be digitally fluent is becoming increasingly the one part of the unknown future that is most certain.

We were all told at teachers training that engagement of children was the key to their success or conversely failure at school. The technology we can be using (blogging and online communities) can give children a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. They can begin to feel more in control and their learning which may have a direct impact on engagement and motivation. Speaking as someone who sees 19 different classes a week, it is satisfying (not sure if that is the right word there) to have kids come in and be eager to learn and are engaged throughout the lesson – even when we are working on long projects. If we can harness some of that energy in the classroom, the outcomes can be very positive for our children.

Reading Huffaker’s paper, he speaks of three types of dialogue that youth engage in – message boards, instant messaging (IM) and blogs. Ideally I would like to see blogs being used in the classrooms at our school. But message boards and IM could have a place.
Why am I so interested in blogging. I see it as a great tool to keep parents, students and teachers involved in the learning process. Last year, whilst I was still teaching in a regular class, I trialled Friday folders – a folder where children were able to put work they were proud of, into a folder to take home on Friday to share with their parents. The parents would then write a comment that was shared with the class the following Monday. The kids really glowed when they heard what their parents had written about their work. This concept meant that for those parents (especially dad’s) who couldn’t get into school on a regular basis to keep up to date with their kids progress, the kids produced a highly quality of work because they knew that someone, other than myself, would be reading and commenting on their work and for myself it was a great way for me to see how the kids were progressing. One way of using a blog in the classroom could be a weekly reflection for the class (perhaps done as a class in the junior years) with some “special” work showcased each week. Moving up the school, the kids could have individual blogs where the assignment may be to have one weekly reflection alongside with a couple of pieces of work uploaded. We could then invite parents and the school community to read and comment on the work. It leads to more that just a writing task. Children can read each others blogs and comment on them – whether it be just a positive comment, answering a question or providing a suggestion for refinement.

Here’s hoping…..Wish me luck…..