One thing that I have had difficulty with is getting my year 9 students to actually complete a post that shows some reflection and hasn't been done at the last minute to appease me. Some tips from Blogging Basics may be what I need to help ease the students into the process:
BLOGGING STEP-BY-STEP
To gradually introduce students to blogging:
- Teach them the etiquette of online posting.
- Invite students to use blogs for a few days just for fun -- until they get used to how the system works. Create your own blog too.
- Assign one blog entry per week on a class-related topic; keep required lengths short and emphasize reflection.
- Over time, encourage students to provide feedback on one another's blogs; to evaluate blogs outside of class; and to create group blogs.
- Grade students on their blog entries. Evaluate such factors as time management, content, and grammar and spelling.
In setting up our class website I had assumed that my students would immediately understand what I wanted from them because I was taking the classroom discussion into the internet world. Not true. In many cases students couldn't even figure out how to open a new discussion thread or respond to a post.
Another thing that I discovered whilst completing this Module is that blogs do not necessarily need to be written (particularly prose). There is such a thing as a video blog and a photo blog. Pages like Indian Music Blog combine videos with written analysis of new and old music and are a great way for students to discover blogs as multi-media experiences.
FOR THE FUTURE
It is my intention to have my year 9 students to create a weekly blog about their personal musical journey for that week (or perhaps they can do it fortnightly). For some students it will involve journalling their daily music habits and for others it will mean making a conscious effort to listen to music that is not part of a television show, movie or computer game (although I do recognise all of these as valid sources for musical journeys).
I do like your blogging - step by step process - especially for novices to BLOGGING. Make blogging a two way learning process for both you and the students.
ReplyDeleteI've set up a NING site for my Year 12 Geography class - learnt blogging, organising discussion forums, uploading videos, images etc through the students -