Journal #4

"Five Don'ts of Classroom Blogging" by Julie Sturgeon

This article talks about the benefits of classroom blogging, aka, on-line journaling, but also warns us about what could happen if it's not properly monitored. Five things to avoid are:

1) DON'T just dive in - Basically, it is important to do your research before you get your students started. You need to let them know what the rules and regulations are. The teacher, the students, and the parents, need to all be informed and involved. Blogging can be so effective if performed in the right way.

2) DON'T confuse blogging for social networking - Academic blogging is all about coursework and collaboration within and about that subject. It is not for mingling about the upcoming weekend.

3) DON'T leap at the freebies - Be careful what blog sites you use. Free sites may not be as trustworthy, and they may be too broad for the teacher who is looking for a limited, more controlled classroom blog.

4) DON'T force a sequential style - Blogs should not have a mandatory forced format, but should rather be posted according to the intentions that the blogger is trying to convey.

5) DON'T leave the blogging to the students - The teacher should be just as involved in the blogging as the students. It should operate like a community.

Questions:

I. Do you agree with classroom blogging? Why, or why not?

When referred to as blogging, I'm a little skeptical. But when I hear it referred to as online journaling, the change in connotation alone gives me a more positive image in my head. I don't know if it would be successful for every school subject, but I do think that it would offer many opportunities helping students with their writing. Kids don't really write these days. Journals and diaries are obsolete, and if we didn't have computers, I doubt if kids would ever want to pick up a pen to jot down an idea. And it really doesn't matter what they're writing about(clean of course), as long as they are writing, they are practicing, and they are learning.

II. Out of the five DON'TS, which one do you feel is the most important and why?

I think number one and number five are equally important. Everyone needs to have a start, and number one lies out the foundation. It we didn't have rules, the democratics would be absent and this could lead to chaos. But once everything is situated, number five would be of the utmost importance. The teacher needs to be involved. It is called educational blogging for a reason. Even if the kids are mature, it can still turn into social networking. I personally would be disappointed if my child's teacher was not involved in their classroom blogging.