The 21st century classroom has seen a massive shift in the manner in which we deliver our lessons and communicate with our students. Initially, I dug my head in the sand and attempted to ignore this sudden influx of technology in my classrooms. However, with the introduction of 1:1 programs and the appearance of digital whiteboards throughout the school, my ignorance was futile. Students and their new ‘appendages’ or devices became the focus of lessons and pedagogical practice. Staffroom dialogue and staff meeting agendas focused on how we as educators can better utilise the technology to enhance the learning opportunities for our 21st century learner. As a result of recent study and the pressures of engaging with technology when teaching, I have been subtly guided towards the world of blogging. An arena of which I am a complete novice. Even as I write, I am still unsure if what I am writing is appropriate, or relevant. However, after a very brief survey of my students, I have discovered that the majority of them engage with some type of blog regularly or they have created their own blogs in an effort to participate with their world.
Survey of Students into Blogging
Number of Participants – 60 (males: 21, females 39)
Ages – 12 - 16
(Infographic, author's own)
While the results of this survey are based purely on four of my classes, it was clear from the results that they were participating in this blogging culture and developing a range of communication and digital literacy skills. It is these digital literacy skills that now effectively allows the youth to navigate the multitude of ways that information is created, communicated and consumed in the 21st century world (Wickens, Manderino and Glover, 2015). It seems logical then, that as a 21st century teacher that I endeavour to harness the technologies that have driven the need for digital literacy through more innovative pedagogical practices doesn’t it? So, while I acknowledge the need for and the value of technological enhancements in education, can blogging be beneficial in the classroom, and if so, how can I use it???
Blogs are defined as online public writing arenas where posts that are generally opinion based and/or topical are listed in reverse chronological order and contain a range of links to other blogs, articles or online sources (Ellison and Wu, 2008). The most interesting aspect of blogging, is the ability to interact with the intended audience. It seems that this ability to participate and engage with others from the comfort of your own environment appeals to the youth as reports indicate that 39% of internet users engage with blogs on a regular basis and 57% of these bloggers are under the age of 30 (Ellison and Wu, 2008). So initial investigations provide sufficient evidence that blogs are a popular reading and writing tool for the youth. In order to engage with the content of a blog, one must be able to read, comprehend what they are reading and then write in order to formulate a response in the comments section. All of these skills are also vital in the English classroom and prove beneficial to one’s success. On the surface of it, the subject of English and the world of blogging seem to work hand-in-hand.
As mentioned earlier, the whole idea of blogging was new to me until recently and the very thought of attempting to use this technology in the classroom sent me into a tizzy. However, the blogging genre is no different to the genres used traditionally in English. It is simply the platform on which it is delivered. The depth of skills that students can develop that go beyond the scope of general literacy skills are reason enough for us to begin to embrace this technology (Morgan, 2014). Through the context of a blog, students have the ability to interact with an outside audience, one that is virtual, but is very real. For example, Howard (2011) connected her students in the US with students in Australia which allowed them to address a specific audience. This experience motivated students to improve their use of grammar, word choice, spelling and punctuation as they were very aware that their audience was real, and were engaging with their writing (Morgan, 2014). The exercise of writing an essay to submit to a teacher, which is valuable doesn’t provide the platform of a real, tangible audience, as a blog does. Students may become more aware of their writing, and in turn, a newfound respect for their audience and the skills required in order to appeal to them. Furthermore, the critical skill of writing is fundamental in the process of blogging (Ellison & Wu, 2008). When writing a blog, students are required to engage with attitudes and opinions that may oppose their own, which can therefore enhance their own critical and analytical skills when writing as they learn to include or omit as they compose (Ellison & Wu, 2008). When teaching English, the value of writing and reading skills is always promoted. However, the manner in which we teach these skills hasn’t changed dramatically to suit our modern audience. The act of writing formal essays, while integral to those gaining tertiary entry, is not viewed as valuable to the masses that we are teaching. A blogging experience in the English or other subject classroom, would provide a more relevant and worthwhile writing experience for groups as a whole. An experience that they can then incorporate into their everyday lives.
The value of blogging in the modern classroom is clear and now that most students come to class armed with a technological device, changes need to be made in order to accommodate their skills in the digital world. But how do I integrate blogging into my classroom learning in order to be a rich learning experience? According to Wickens et al, ‘Classroom blogs can be a powerful platform to develop disciplinary habits of thinking, including reading and writing about a range of disciplinary texts’ (pg 25, 2015). And there are a range of valuable learning activities that can incorporate blogging that will enrich students learning opportunities.
(Morgan, pg 380, 2014)
As outlined by Morgan (2104), the scope of blogging in the classroom is endless. Specifically, in the English classroom, the value of blogging can be seen through the lens of a text. Blogging lends itself to textual learning beautifully and allows the students to engage with the text on a much more diverse level. Students are able to take on various roles as they read, interact with and respond to the various textual dimensions that critical analysis requires. Further to this, the ability to develop personal relationships with fellow bloggers their participatory relationships become apparent as they share their experiences, understandings and even their reasons for blogging. Through these relationships, students begin to share more about themselves with care and attention (McGrail and Davis, 2011). As they come to understand and know their audience, they construct a sense of community and belonging stimulated by active participation (McGrail and Davis, 2011). The care in which they write with also provides an opportunity to consider what they are writing and how they are writing in an effort to connect with their audience. This aspect of blogging encourages a depth and complexity to the writing stage that the composition of an essay or even a narrative in the English classroom has never been able to foster.
As I work towards the end of 2016 and begin the process of planning for 2017, I will endeavour to utilise this newfound respect for blogs, blogging and bloggers in an attempt to enhance the writing skills of my students. The act of ignoring technology is obviously a passive aggressive one, and one that is not benefitting the learning of my students. The value of writing is fundamental to learning in English and always will be, but as my students and I venture into the technological world of learning, it is clear that writing is one that has and will continue to evolve. The first step to embracing this technological, popular world will be to blog.
References
Ellison, N., & Wu, Y. (2008). Blogging in the classroom: A preliminary exploration of student attitudes and impact on comprehension. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia,17(1), 99-122.
McGrail, E., & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25(4), 415-437. doi:10.1080/02568543.2011.605205
Morgan, H. (2014). Taking advantage of web 2.0 technologies: Classroom blogging basics.Childhood Education, 90(5), 379.
Wickens, C. M., Manderino, M., & Glover, E. A. (2015). Developing disciplinary literacy through classroom blogging. Voices from the Middle, 22(3), 24.