Welcome to the CARLATech Blog!
This first post will illustrate some of the features of Blogging and raise issues regarding blogging for educational purposes.
Simply put, a Blog is a form of interactive Web-based technology that allows users to post information and comment on such posts. It is a part of Web 2.0 technology, or what can be termed the Read/Write Web. Web 1.0 technology is primarily presentational: web pages are static and are maintained by a webmaster who supplies and formats the information. On the Read/Write web anyone can provide and respond or react to information, thoughts, ideas, videos, sounds and images.
Web 2.0 technologies involve such things as online catalogs, particularly those like amazon that allow users to post reviews, video posting sites such as YouTube, where users can post videos and can comment textually or in video form on other videos, podcasting sites and services, online photo storage sites, online photo editing sites, wikis, and blogs.
Characteristic of blogs is the regular posting of content relating to a particular topic. The blog author posts a message (textual, visual, aural), and the blog allows for readers of this message to comment on the message and on one another's comments. Generally, blog posts are displayed in reverse chronological order -- most recent posts appear first on the blog page. Often a blog will present links to earlier posts and discussions, it may link to other blogs or other web sites, and may present several different options for reader interaction. Finally, the beauty of blogs is that they can be syndicated, or automatically distributed to subscribers. Every time there is a new post on a blog that I subscribe to, I can know about that post without having to navigate to the blog site. I can keep a list of blogs that I want to monitor and access this list of all these blogs in one central place.
One general conception of a blog is as an online journal. Individuals set up a blog to tell the world what they have been doing and what they are thinking. Blogs have been used to post photographs and narratives of one's experiences. I have two former students who spend a year in Germany who regularly wrote about their experiences and posted photos for all their friends and acquaintances to see. It is a form of letter writing with a wide audience.
Yet blogs can and are used for more purposes. Most news organizations now publish their articles in the form of blogs. Organizations that present news relating to particular issues organize their essays in blog form, allowing for and encouraging reader responses. YouTube is in essence a loosely organized video blog site. I use a blog to keep my 8-10 language lab assistants current with what transpires in the lab on a daily basis.
Most effective blogs, however, share certain characteristics. They are not simply a loose stream of consciousness, but rather organized thoughts and ideas. Like research papers, blog authors make use of resources and work with these resources to express themselves. Such blog posts are often means of digesting these resources and developing and supporting a thesis. As such, they lead beyond themselves, pointing directly to primary sources on the web by means of links, allowing readers to inspect this information. Finally, they encourage reader reaction and therefore interaction.
Of all the above, can you see any use in blogs in the curriculum? Firstly, I ask from a teaching perspective. What use can we as teachers put to the blog technology? Secondly, what about students? How might the use of blogs in the curriculum enhance their learning -- not just from the point of view of students as readers of blogs, but that of students as creators and writers of blogs?
I think that blogs offer an alternative for students who may struggle with classroom participation to be a part of discussions with their peers and teachers. Sometimes the power dynamics in a class (especially at the middle school level, which I currently teach) prevent all students from feeling at ease with sharing, especially if there are a few students who tend to dominate verbal activities. Blogs offer an opportunity for the teacher to pose questions about content and to get responses from all students in a setting that may not make students feel quite as put "on the spot."
ReplyDeleteI haven't used blogs at all in my teaching (I am actually an orchestra teacher, not a language teacher (at least not in the conventional sense :)) - I'm here because I've been working on an additional ESL license), but the challenge that does come to mind for me is the fact that not all of my students have home computers with internet access. While the majority do, I think it's important to keep in mind that there could be some access issues that would need to be addressed in order to use blogging as a component in classrooms. I do think, though, that moving towards methods that allow students to use Web 2.0 as a part of classroom instruction is a way of connecting content to their lives, as using sites like YouTube, Amazon, and various blogs are everyday occurances for this generation of students.
For us as teachers,blogs are a great way to discuss and share information about many topics related to our work. Activities, materials, professional development opportunities, etc. can be talked about. Each of us has particular interests and expertise to share with our peers. The blog provides a convenient useful conduit for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel's comment that the blog provides a means of interaction for all students, especially those who may be more at ease writing. The informality of the blog lends itself to spontaneous communication and yet students will want to add to the discussion with some degree of thought and accuracy since their response will be considered by the group.
From my exprience today, I am trilled to know that there are many ways to supprot and back up our instructions in a language classroom. Blogs are one excellent tool to use while teaching a language. In fact, language students need more than just authentic opportunities to process what they learn. They need a time and a place to reflect on what they learnt and how others perceive their learning too. Sharing opinions, feedback and knowledge is a very good way to improve one's learning of any language. As langauge teachers, we should get out of the box and be more creative in appoaching languag learning. I think that one way i can use the'blog' is to ask students to reflect on activites we do in the classroom. Based on the reflections, i can improve my instructions. I can also use it as way to tell a story. I will show them a clip (like the one we saw today in the class) then ask them to write what happened in the story in three stages: beginning, middle and end. I can also ask them to predict what is going to happen in the story using what they know of the Arabic langauge. For the lower level, i can ask them to talk about themselves and their families in Arabic. That will allow them to practice the target language as well as sharing personal information with classmates.
ReplyDeleteI hope I understood the concept behind "blogs".
It seems that a blog can be like a letter to the editor in the local newspaper. The writer gets to express his or her opinion on a matter and potentially begin a public dialog.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed recently that the size and volume of the newspapers that I read are reduced with less content, fewer features and smaller sized pages. I would be very sorry to see hard copy newspapers disappear as I like the feel of holding the pages at my kitchen table, turning them, writing comments directly on them if I am saving an article for another purpose, cutting it out and filing it. I suppose that I am still a citizen of the 20th century.
I liked the comments about "digesting resources" and making it possible for readers to "inspect information and sources." I suppose this can happen more quickly due to the nature of the format.
Using blogs in the classroom and with learners is probably inevitable. Students appear motivated to use computers, at least I have only met one of my English language learners who did not like computer time.
As an ESL teacher who moves from district to district over a 50 miles stretch of road, I can see that I could keep in touch with them more regularly. I could assign follow up work and review work.
Follow up might be particularly helpful in my Swedish language teaching, when I do not see the students after the week camp or residency is over. I could develop lesson plans to include the community component of the 5Cs where the children would have assignments to share with their families, thereby giving parents and grandparents an opportunity to learn a little Swedish along with their younger family members.
Very nice thoughts, everyone. Rachel sees opportunities for students to engage more fully, particularly those who are less verbal in class, and points to the "digital divide" problem -- that not all students have access to the technology necessary to carry on such activities. Despite the possible lack of access, there is nonetheless facility with the format -- as in YouTube commentary and Facebook interaction. Richard sees the blog format as a possibility for instructors to exchange ideas independent from students and class work. Certainly sharing ideas and reacting to one another's ideas is a great form of collaboration. I also appreciate Richard's highlighting the public nature of the communication as a possible motivating factor for students. Fatima sees a couple possibilities in the format, both as a means of reflection, interaction and conversation, thus the "interpersonal" aspect of communication in ACTFL terms, as well as a means of the "presentational" in presenting story ideas or writing about themselves. And Valorie rightly sees an opportunity for continuing communication at a distance. When not always present, online communication can reinforce and further develop linguistic competence and cultural awareness through the interactive exchange of ideas via presenting and commenting in the blog format. One of the great aspects of a Blog post is that the references are and can be "live" -- That instead of having to search in footnotes and then locate the source for the comment, the writer can embed a link directly to the source, and the reader can follow this link to experience it for herself. So, in a sense, we can also be teaching learners to document their sources through linking within their own writing. Also the aspect of involvement and engagement is important and possible through this format.
ReplyDeleteIt really is about communication and this format provides a great option for getting learners to see the communicative nature of language -- to write for an audience other than a teacher, and to read others' output in order to respond to it in some way. The more we can encourage language use in the service of communication the better.
We are beginning a partial Chinese immersion program and we have traveled to China on three occasions. We created a blog during two of our trips. This blog was available to teachers, parents, and students. Their comments while we were traveling were awesome---very indicative of support and interest. And you could tell the students were learning things from our postings.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the point that Dan made about learners writing for an audience other than the teacher. This is a great motivator. My students are always more interested in learning about each other. I also like the travel blog idea -- I wish my son had done one when he went to Ireland!
ReplyDeleteEverything I have learned so far this week has been enlightening to me even though I consider myself very "techie"! I'm excited to go back and try these at my school as well as train the other teachers that I work with! Thanks for great info!
ReplyDeleteI can see using blogs in my class by posing questions and having my students respond to them and starting dialogues with others in the class.
ReplyDeleteThis would also be a great way to engage parents on certain topics too.
I like the idea of using blogs in the classroom to allow students a venue to process what we are doing in class, and to give input regarding activities that were enjoyable, meaningful, and educational for them. I continually remind my students that I am also a learner who is interested in reflecting on my teaching and improving. I value their input, and they may feel more comfortable giving me feedback (about their learning style, activities that they connected with) through writing rather than face to face.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of providing a tool for students, readers, citizens of the world to comment on a thought or an idea can be a powerful cognitive process while adding insights from a variety of perspectives. Equipping students with a Web 2.0 tool certainly can empower students to truly reflect and comment on a thread of particular thinking. My one concern with a blog centers around appropriate, respectful communication.
ReplyDeleteI see blogs as one more in a list of possible activities that we can suggest/assign to our students, to reinforce other work which has been done in class or which has been done as homework. I agree with Rachel that this type of exercise can be a way to expand the notion of "participation" in a traditional language class. "Participation" was/is often equated with "speaking", but a student could be actively involved in participating in blog-related activities, yet still not "speak" much in class.
ReplyDeleteIn the best of all possible worlds, students would critically and politely read each other's posts and offer feedback, insights, and reactions, and offer points of agreement and disagreement. Again, this would offer yet one more avenue for participation, and language production and interaction.
There is certainly room for this technology in a classroom. The teacher can post a scenario in the target culture and ask students to respond to it, without reproducing what others might have said. For college students, it would fit very well within Study Abroad Programs especially where students are assigned different families. They can share their experiences within a set time frame. Obviously the teacher would have to set parameters so students do not use identifying features of their host families.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter used a blog in 6th grade language arts and she really liked it. I don't remember exactly how it was used, but the teacher posted some assignment on the blog, like write a short poem or something and the students were supposed to respond to other student's blogs. They did it over Christmas break, so it was an innovative way for the students to remain engaged in school over the break. She really enjoyed reading other classmates' writings and really enjoyed hearing from her classmates on her own writing. It was a unique way to keep the students thinking over the break. I'm not totally sure how I would use this in my own classroom, but it could be a way to provide practice in the language over vacations or even when students are absent.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for anyone who is currently using blogs in a language classroom. Do you carefully select a topic for discussions? Do you require a certain number of postings? Do you require that all postings be in the target language? Do you assess blogs? If so, how? Do you use rubrics?
ReplyDeleteLet's see... how could I use this in class? How is this different from posting on the D2L website Discussion Board? Is this more public?
ReplyDeleteI don't think I can post a video clip on D2L (what is the limitation of time for a video clip?)
For me, blogging does have a very natural, authentic aspect to it, which I would like to bring into my classroom. I've often been interested in how students who struggle with poor hand-writing also struggle with expressing themselves in writing. I know highly intelligent individuals who are much more likely to express ideas if they are able to do so without struggling to have others be able to read their handwriting.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Rachel in that blogging "evens the playing field" for students who fear expressing themselves aloud, especially students at the middle school level. In a language class, communication is at the essence of what students do. Through blogging, the communication can still be interactive, but it is now more "safe".
I have only adopted the use of blogs a couple of years ago. It is one of the features of an elective course I teach in the high-school, called CURRENT AFFAIRS IN SPANISH.
ReplyDeleteI am currently using Moodle, with my school's technology support. I find it an excellent tool to pose provocative questions for the students to answer and discuss both among them and with myself. We also post photos and have successfully created a glossary, which remains an ongoing project for the duration of the academic year (I nominate a student per semester to feed the glossary section of the blog). The blog also contains my syllabus.
Although I am not married to the use of blogs, I can see its convenient features in a language classroom. Blogs facilitate communication and collaboration, which are key to become fluent!
A blog could come in handy for an administrator. It would be easy for a group of instructors, who may not meet regularly, to communicate with each other... even do some problem solving.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of good thoughts posted on this blog. I really like this type of collaboration. Each person will provoke a thought of someone else, and it adds up.
ReplyDeleteI personally have never used a blog but it sounds like a great venue to reach more students int he classroom. A student who otherwise would keep his/her comments or questions about classwork could possibly use this tool to participate.
ReplyDeleteThis provides a lot of food for thought. I agree with the comments already made and look forward to reading about other applications of this tool.
ReplyDeleteAs a secondary language teacher, I can see many uses for blogs. After presenting information on a particular topic, students can post their reactions to the lesson and their blog would provide feedback for me. Also, students can post their reactions to a piece of literature which would allow the class to learn from each other.
ReplyDeleteAlso, reading the blogs of former students who are traveling the world is a special treat for me. Their growth as world citizens makes me proud of them!
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