My first blog post
I used blogs a lot when I was getting my Master's Degree; we had to post about various subjects and then comment on our classmates'. I found the use of blogs was sometimes a time-waster and almost "forced". A lot of my classmates posted the bare minimum and didn't give great feedback. Also, I feel that depending on the subject, blogs can be a great tool or not very helpful. I find myself using blogs/forums all the time when it comes to troubleshooting a problem with my car or phone but don't spend the time to search for blogs about a random subject that I don't need assistance with.
I do not feel I will use blogs with my students. When I create a lesson for my students, I always ask myself "how would I like this lesson if I was a student?" Seeing I haven't had good experiences with using blogs in the past, I feel the students might feel they are "forced" to have a discussion about something that they aren't particularly interested in.
I feel the greatest challenge to using blogs in a district is the problems with filtering software. Some districts may allow certain blogs and some may not. It would be very difficult if you are asking your students to post to blogs and they are being blocked. Also, students can get into some pretty inappropriate blogs when they are on normal, "school appropriate" blog sites. How do you stop that from happening if the blog is allowed by the school? Teaching students what is acceptable to be viewed and have an open line of communication when they feel they might have entered in a bad spot.
When it comes to incorporating blogs into my classroom, I can't expect each student to be entirely engaged in each discussion in class, but I could require them to create/post a blog about something they are interested in at some point in the semester so it isn't as "forced." This would clearly meet Standard 2 on the ISTE Standards for Students because the students would be using technology to put their thoughts into words and post them for others to collaborate with.
I do not feel I will use blogs with my students. When I create a lesson for my students, I always ask myself "how would I like this lesson if I was a student?" Seeing I haven't had good experiences with using blogs in the past, I feel the students might feel they are "forced" to have a discussion about something that they aren't particularly interested in.
I feel the greatest challenge to using blogs in a district is the problems with filtering software. Some districts may allow certain blogs and some may not. It would be very difficult if you are asking your students to post to blogs and they are being blocked. Also, students can get into some pretty inappropriate blogs when they are on normal, "school appropriate" blog sites. How do you stop that from happening if the blog is allowed by the school? Teaching students what is acceptable to be viewed and have an open line of communication when they feel they might have entered in a bad spot.
When it comes to incorporating blogs into my classroom, I can't expect each student to be entirely engaged in each discussion in class, but I could require them to create/post a blog about something they are interested in at some point in the semester so it isn't as "forced." This would clearly meet Standard 2 on the ISTE Standards for Students because the students would be using technology to put their thoughts into words and post them for others to collaborate with.
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