Digital tool: Blogs for Learning

Blogging. An odd word, but a very handy tool

A blog, which is a blend of the term “web log” is the electronic version of a personal diary, except that the writer desires people to read it and to make comments.
While the application has been around since 1999 when a small San Francisco based company called Pyra labs launched what is now “blogger.com”. Today Blogger.com is one of the largest and most popular free blog hosting services in the world.

The pedagogical benefits are that it allows the teacher to gain a better insight into their students thought processes.
Through documenting and sharing childrens' learning with themselves and each other and their families, we can:
*make learning visable
* engage children further in the learning process through reflecting on experiences, so clarifying and deepening their understanding
* Stimulate children through learning from each other
*build on childrens' sense of identity and their relationships by revisiting experiences and taking pleasure in their learning
* share our interest in childrens' learning, showing them that their intentions, ideas and views are important to us and their families
* put children and their processes of learning at the centre of our understanding for planning for childrens' next steps.
* encourage the development of shared meanings and experiences between a group of children, their families and other adults and lead into further planning.

A blog is a useful tool for young and older students as:
(1) It requires no programming skills, all the tools and resources are located on the web.
(2) Is about personal expression, creating and using your own voice and not having to worry about censorship. (It is important, however, that the laws of copywrite and defamation still apply). (3) It is a forum for sharing thoughts, ideas, opinions, talents, knowledge, rants, photos, videos or music.

When creating a blog it is important that:
(a) you consider who is the target audience
(b) the blog is well written and easy to understand
(c) concise and contain no spelling or grammatical errors.
(d) it should be visually appealing.

References

Wikipedia. (2010). Blog. Retrieved August 23rd, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Rich. J. (2009). Blogging for fame and fortune.Canada: Entrepreneur press
Price. H. (2009) The really useful book of ICT in the early years. Milton Park, Great Briton: Routledge.