In the ongoing experiment about the best ways to use various tools within the elementary environment I have been letting one class create, design, and curate their own independent blogs via Blogger under our school's Google Apps for Education domain. Ideally we will expand beyond this one class, but at this time a single class is the ideal setting to test the limitations & possibilities of independent student blogging.
(I see roughly 700 students a week so while I enjoy following/monitoring these 28 blogs, I'm not sure how best to monitor/support/read/engage with the volume of every student doing independent blogging)
The list of their blogs is on the right hand side of my lab blog.
One of the things I like best about it is seeing the excitement they have in writing & publishing on their terms. It is also great to see the focus and dedication they give to their design and layout.
A brief glimpse of the independent writing & design during their class period today...
I began this experiment last year and one of the best parts about it, for me, is this blog. This student moved out of state & moved ownership of his blog from his school account to a personal one. He is still actively blogging and his former classmates are keeping in touch by commenting on his posts. Great to see the connections continuing...
Blogging is a great way to create a positive digital footprint, a portfolio of independent (and sometimes directed) writing, meet a number of the Common Core learning standards, and maintain a creative outlet they are excited about and proud of. Authentic learning & true publishing beyond the bulletin board...
No comments:
Post a Comment