Research supports utilizing students' interest as topics for their writing. I have used blogging for several years in my own classroom. Recently, I've read an article in The Reading Teacher called Conversations With Leaders: Principles of Effective Writing Instruction. While reading this article, it occurred to me that a better way to use blogging is to allow each student to manage their own blog, writing about topics that interest them. I can imagine blogs on Minecraft, Sports, Books, and all sorts of topics! Next year I want to do this. I would like each student to write for their own blog, choosing topics in which they are interested. Has anyone used blogging in this way? If so, how did you set it up and manage it?
Students would definitely be engaged in writing about topics that interest them. I found a few articles online that might help:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/jul/17/students-should-be-blogging
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-in-21st-century-classroom-michelle-lampinen
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/sweetland/Home/Instructors/Teaching%20Resources/UsingBlogsintheClassroom.pdf
Thanks Mindy. I will take a look at them. I have until August to figure out exactly how I want to use blogging. I am certain that students would love being able to create a blog on any subject they want. The more they write, the better they will be!
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