Post #1: Bringing Blogging into the Classroom
When thinking of a blog, many people's minds go straight to travel blogs or foodie blogs, but in the digital world today a blog can be a powerful tool for education that can impact and transform the learning experiences of students and teachers. The technology space of a blog has gained world-wide popularity by making it easier to search and collect documents, share thoughts in an open public space, and contribute to communities (Blogging for Informal Learning, 2011). Blogging has helped to provide a unique opportunity for students to not only reflect on their learning, but also develop essential skills such as communication, and learn about a new resource that will allow them to dive deeper in a content area. But how exactly can blogging be incorporated into the learning environment to help students expand their knowledge and skills?Â
One of the many benefits of blogging within education is that it encourages student engagement. Throughout their educational journey, students have learned how to absorb information through demonstration, textbook, and notetaking. Students can use blogs to reflect on content lessons, share insights and experiences on a given topic, and document their findings. Within my culinary classroom using blogs could look like, having students create a blog post on a recipe, the culinary techniques used within it, the development of the recipe, and things that would change or add to the recipe in order to enhance it or make it unique to them. Making the documentations about a recipe will not only help to reinforce their understanding of the culinary techniques, but also will help them to develop other skills like critical thinking.Â
The second benefit of blogging that I will be talking about is how it promotes collaboration within an educational setting. âIn blog-supported environments, learners
learn to and begin to appreciate information sharing, idea exchange, and collaboration, which in turn contributes to student learning or professional developmentâ (Learning through Blogging, 2017). When students create and use blogs within learning, they can comment on each other's posts and engage in discussions with one another. Through this discussion they can offer feedback, insight, experience, and ideas from a different perspective. It's important for students to learn how to communicate and collaborate properly, as they will use those skills in their future professional environments.Â
Incorporating blogging into the learning environments is an easy, yet effective way to enhance the learning experience for students, through engagement, collaboration, and communication. So give it a try in your classrooms, and you might just be surprised at the creativity and insight it brings to your students and your classroom!
đĄAdditional Online Resources:đĄ
EduBlogs: A free, education-focused blogging platform designed specifically for students and teachers. Offers tools for creating class blogs, managing student posts, and encouraging collaboration.
What are Benefits of Student Blogging?: This article explores the benefits of blogging in education, offering practical strategies for incorporating it into various subjects and grade levels.
Blogging for Informal Learning: Analyzing Bloggersâ Perceptions Using Learning Perspective. (2011). Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 14(2), 149â160.
Learning through BloggingâŻ: Studentsâ Perspectives in Collaborative Blog-Enhanced Learning Communities. (2017). Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 20(2), 37â50.
