How and Why to Start a Classroom Blog

Teachers and students can benefit from a classroom blog. Through the use of the Internet and a blogging platform, teachers have found that their students find an enthusiasm for writing when reaching a broader audience (Wang & Hsua, 2012). Most students already know how to use the internet, download music and photos and post comments.

Teachers can learn how to use a blog to channel the creative abilities of their students and increase constructivism learning opportunities. Students will need direction in topic matters and proper Internet etiquette, and depending on grade level, approval from parents (McGrail & Davis, 2011). Students learn how to engage in a good discussion through comments and then extending ideas into other blog posts (Jerles, 2012).  Initially, it is a good idea for the teacher to become familiar with blogging and post the first writing.

Students can then be added as authors, with their own username and login. The teacher should have them write on an assigned topic and date, and then save it as a draft. In this way, the teacher will have time to review the post for content and whether it adheres to the rubrics of writing online. Another area of creativity is in the choice of images for each post (Dyck, 2012).

All writers should learn how to post a photo that compliments the subject of the post. Students could have the choice of taking their own photos and avoid copyright conflict or choose those with Creative Commons Licenses. This gives the teacher another area of instruction -- the need to observe intellectual property rights. Students should also be informed that their writing is automatically copyrighted when it is published and that they have rights. The blogging in a classroom is the new class paper, now with a global reach and instantly published.

References

Dyck, B. (2012). Log on to a blog. Education World [online magazine]. Retrieved from: http://www.

educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice123.shtml

Jerles, J.  (2012). Blogging in Elementary School: Why, How, and What Teachers Can Do To Encourage Writing. National Teacher Education Journal, 5(3), pp. 85-88.

McGrail, E. & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25, 415-437. doi:10.1080/02568543.20|1.605205

Wang, S. &  Hsua, H. (2008). Reflections on Using Blogs to Expand In-class Discussion. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 52(3), pp. 81-85.