When you think about blogging, what image usually pops up in your head first? A traveler on the move taking notes on his trips? A geeky coder from the Silicon Valley sharing his success story? A stay-at-home mom of a cheeky little boy that shares her parenting wisdom?
Those are stereotypes most people have about blogging. However, it holds much more in it than it seems.
In fact, blogging can be a powerful tool for students. They can benefit from it in different ways, and that is what we will talk about in this article.
Ways to Use Blogging in the Classroom
- They are used to post news for parents.
One of the most common purposes behind blogging is keeping parents informed. Students might forget to tell their parents about an upcoming event, a celebration, a trip or any other happening. However, with a simple tool like a classroom blog, parents can be kept updated. Besides, it saves the time of a teacher, because once he posts everything in the blog, he no longer has to inform each teacher individually, but rather have it as parents’ responsibility to check class’ news every now and then.
The only issue one has to bear in mind is that parents are often concerned about the privacy of the information shared. But this should not be a problem, as you can easily create a private blog that only a limited number of users will have access to. You need to discuss this issue with parents to ensure they feel secure about news being shared by such means.
- Blogging can be a way of giving lessons online.
Having a blog, both private or public can be an excellent way to create a special database to store lessons in. Let’s say you want to keep students that are sick or away from school for any other reason posted on the educational progress.
All you need to do in this case is post a lesson online. Depending on the platform you will use, you can add videos of a lesson, images, screenshots, and lesson plans.
Thus, such resources will not only be a huge help for students not being able to come to school on a certain day but also serve as a source they can refer to when preparing for the exams, writing term papers, etc.
Finally, parents will be able to help their kids if they have access to a resource like this. All they need to do is go to the blog, find the right lesson and see how they can help their children in their struggle with the material.
- Teachers can track students’ progress.
Thanks to the advanced technologies, both students and teachers can add articles to the blog. Moreover, each student can have his or her own blog to store essays at. This way, kids can post their essays and teachers can track their progress.
Just taking a look at what the student has written can be even sometimes to see how he has grown in his skills. However, we would like to mention that even though quality counts, because with your blogs you are representing your school, do not put too much pressure on your students – or they will hate your subject forever and will be afraid to write or say what they think on certain topics in the future.
- Blogging is a perfect way to practice writing skills.
Students do write a lot these days: they text each other in social media, create posts sharing their thoughts, send emails, etc. However, not all of these activities help them hone their skills.
Therefore, teachers can help them improve their writing by asking them to create long reads in their blogs. It is much more fun than writing regular essays, and they encourage students to express themselves and find their voices.
Maybe you have the next greatest writer in your classroom – and all he needs to discover his talent is a tiny push to action.
- Writing a blog can be a way to improve persuasive speaking.
Being persuasive is a powerful tool, and young people will need it so many times in their lives! That is why, if you help them realize how they can sound more persuasive, they will be forever grateful.
How can you do that with a blog? Offer your class to write answers to your questions as a part of a group discussion. Thus, some students will have to write some argumentative essays while others will have to offer their counter-arguments. It will be fun (as long as they do not take this too personal), and they will actually learn how to stand their ground.
- Students learn how to establish their online presence.
You know how people say these days that if you are not online, you do not exist to most people. That is especially the case for this generation. So, by encouraging students to strengthen their presence online with their blog, you are helping them to gain a better understanding of modern cultural references.
And also, they can create their own portfolio that one day they will be able to use for their career.
- Blogging can help teachers create a relaxed atmosphere.
Most young people are afraid to write because of all the expectations. However, with blogging, they have more freedom to share what they think. No pressure of educators, they are on their own territory so only their rules are applicable.
So, this is your chance to make them feel confident about their writing.
But don’t worry that blogging can decrease the quality of students’ writing because there is a factor of peer pressure to take into account. Young people will do their best to present only the most outstanding ideas they came up with. So, they will research the subject first, digest it, polish the text, – and publish it only once they are completely sure that this post will get proper attention. Peer influence is often teacher’s best friend.
- Writing articles can be a part of team work experience.
Finally, using blog writing can help you improve team work experience. Thus, you can ask a group of students to create a shared article, a review of a book, or a description of an event in history. They can share their ideas, take notes and collaborate as a team of journalists preparing their research for the general public. It is truly fantastic and unique. Thanks to modern technologies they can even work together via Skype or FaceTime.
As an educator, you need to move forward with the same pace the modern technologies do. Otherwise, your knowledge, methods, and teaching techniques will soon become dated and unpopular.
That is the reason why we believe that you need to use blogging in your classroom: your students will love this experience and will be able to benefit from it in so many different ways. Moreover, they will know that you understand their generation and keep up with the latest technologies. And that, my friend, is a real success (most young people view us as real “dinosaur”). So, just use our tips – and enjoy all the positive changes they will bring into your classroom.
And if you know some other ways blogging can be used in the classroom, don’t hesitate to share in the comment section! We would love to hear from you!
Lori Wade is a freelance content writer for DoMyHomework who is interested in a wide range of spheres from education and online marketing to entrepreneurship. She is also an aspiring tutor striving to bring education to another level like we all do. If you are interested in writing, you can find her on Twitter or Google+ or find her on other social media. Read and take over Lori’s useful insights!
