So, recently I read a post talking about blogging in the classroom. At first, I was enjoying the reading. This person used wikis in his classroom and seemed to clearly “get” the so what factor of incorporating web 2.0 apps into the English language arts classroom.
But then I get to the end of the post, asking how to best use blogging in the classroom. Not directly quoted, but close enough so you get the point: “Yeah, it’s good for random student writing, but not really sure of any beneficial ways of using blogs?” Stop. Re-read. Then follow me….
Random student writing? Is that all blogging is thought of? I wanted to scream when I read this. Seriously. Does anyone else think about the term “authenticity” here? Or consider authentic writing as part of blogging? Or is blogging just random thoughts thrown down for no real purpose? OK, yes, I know I have a “Random Me” category now, and I’m the queen of blogging/randomness. BUT what does all of that really mean?
Think, key words: authentic, voice, personal, meaningful. Or perhaps brining the outside in, multiliteracies, multimodal learning.
Maybe it’s just me, but I see real purpose, real learning behind “random writing.” Maybe that’s why I have always liked Peter Elbow’s thoughts on free writing. Maybe I just like the connections blogging makes between the real world and the classroom or the simple fact that if students are writing that’s a good thing…
Literacy is changing as we know it. Learning is changing, too. Writing no longer looks like just pen and paper and essay format. And words are more than just random pieces put together; they are a personal reflection of who we are and who we want others to perceive us as…
English Teacher, too. 