Post #3: Power of the Blog

I have many thoughts about the potential of using a blogging platform in my future class. My CT uses a blogging platform for her Spanish AP class to post comments and questions that she did not discuss in class or use the questions as homework. She asks that her students post their own thoughts and comments and also respond to their classmate's thoughts and comments. I think this is one way to potentially use a blog: incorporating student discussion outside of the class on a blogging platform.

Another potential way to incorporate a blog is for student creativity. The internet gives students a chance to create and innovate in ways that some cannot complete through written word or paper-based/materials based projects. Students can incorporate almost any element available on the internet into their blog, making their access to learning tools unlimited. Some students may prefer visual cues where as others may prefer audio, through youtube and images both of the elements become incorporable into both teaching and creating.

Personally, I see a blog as a great way to monitor growth. I have this idea that for my Spanish 2
students they would complete a unit of cultural immersion in the classroom. Using a blog as a way to document their experiences, students would be able to video/photograph their experience in the community, share their experience and also complete the project at any time.

I now prefer to type over writing, I still see the validity and importance of writing. Having worked in my placement now for a bit, I can see where tools such as "spell-checker" and "autocorrect" are helpful to students. I think it is unrealistic, especially in an language learning classroom to expect perfect spelling, but with blogging there are tools to help students try and spell how the words sound and then be corrected and see the correct spelling.

From my limited exposure I think that a blog offers more creative options. Parents can easily see what their child has been working on (big plus) and students can control many aspects of their blog with an easy layout, I always have a difficult time inserting images into Google Docs. In my opinion, a blog offers an entire realm of creativity and freedom to students that Google Docs cannot compare with.

Wrapping up my thoughts- I think that blogging has infinite uses in the classroom. I love the idea of the freedom and creativity it brings to students (and teachers).

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