Blogs in the Classroom?! An Educator's Perspective

I was trying to decide how I would actually use blogs in my future classroom (or if I would use them...). I came across an old friend that I did a study abroad with. He is currently teaching at Marshall High School in Portland. I decided that someone's opinion who has had some experience with blogs in a classroom would provide some great insight. This is my friends response (I hope you enjoy!):


"Let's see, as far as blogs and the classroom. I LOVE using blogs because the students of today are WAY more connected to technology than when we were in high school (I remember when texting seemed like a huge technological achievement). I've found my blogs to be really useful to direct students if they have missed class, want to download an assignment, see a recap of the day's activities, ask me a question, or simply as another discussion forum in extension of class.

That being said, I rarely make checking the blog a mandatory activity, since not every student has access to the internet at home. When I do make something online madatory, I will always offer up my computer before or after class, during lunch, or after school.

I do not currently have a classroom blog for this year, since much of what I do is tutoring-related (I do have a class in the morning, but it isn't conducive to a blog). That being said, I did maintain one over my summer school of teaching last year, as well as all during student teaching. Here are all of the links to puruse at your leisure:

http://bensonmwh.blogspot.com/
http://westviewgs.blogspot.com/
http://westviesgs2.blogspot.com/
http://westviewgs4.blogspot.com/

The creation of my class blog was really a spur of the moment thing, the weekend before I started teaching in my internship site at Westview. I knew that 1) I am really good at checking e-mail and creating websites 2) I needed a way to connect to students outside of the classroom that made it easier for them to understand what I was asking of them.

I use the blogs in the classroom as a brief recap of the day before, or to show students links that directly relate to what was brought up. Frequently, I will tell a student "I am not sure, I will get back to you on that question and post it on the blog." I have also found that it is a GREAT way for me to reflect on each lesson plan and unwind after the day. Granted, my blog entries take a long time to write (usually about an hour for each), but I think they are worth it."

My experience with blogs has been to keep in touch with friends and family - more of a social network. But after limited research about using blogs in education, I truly feel that they could be very useful in a classroom. I think it would be a great resource for students, but it would most definitely have to be a trial and error project. For some classes it may be worth the time, if the students are utilizing it. However, it may be a total waste of time for other classes.