Beta Blogging

While too much discussion about 'blogging etiquette' makes me a little uneasy, two recent blog posts from Silvia Tolisano and Sue Waters set out some useful tips for improving your blogging experience.

I only say that an emphasis on 'blogging etiquette' makes me uneasy because I worry that instead of a socializing experience, we run the risk of normalizing the blogging practice, which runs counter to being reflective and creative.

Therefore, any advice offered up about blogging should probably be viewed as a helpful 'guide' rather than a 'given'.

Mrs. Del Tejo Delivers

I want to give a huge shout out to a teacher who has impressed me greatly this year. We have had a deluge of technology usage, which has been terrific for the school, but probably a little disconcerting for some teachers.

Mrs. Del Tejo is someone whom I would describe as 'resigned' rather than 'reticent' when it comes to adopting web 2.0 tools for teaching, and she has every reason to roll her eyes or raise her eyebrows at the mention of integrating a new application in the classroom. Not that she does so.

Her years of experience in the classroom would normally justify her dismissing tech integration as a time-consuming fad, but she has just plugged away quietly to the point where this 'closet blogger' has become the most prolific publisher in the school.

Her posts stick to a formula, but taken collectively they provide excellent scaffolding for a unit. The blog doesn't really feature any bells and whistles, as the engagement is derived from her obvious reflection about what it means to be a good reader or writer.

I really appreciate a teacher who can mesh years of experience and excellent content knowledge with the willingness to adopt new methods. This is what lifelong learning is all about.

Beta Blogging

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Even though student blogging is still in its infancy at I.S. 339, the improvement in the students' thinking and writing is apparent already. Sure, some students are taking longer to get into it than others, but the progression for many in focus, elaboration and organization from the first few posts to the sixth, seventh, eighth, etc is obvious.

It's also good to see students taking ownership of their blogs by including widgets with personalized avatars, or designing their own mastheads for the blog title. We can also witness the pride that some place in their presentation, with careful consideration of pictures or color.

Blogging also highlights students' needs, such as re-training on the importance of proper referencing to avoid plagiarism, or including text details for elaboration.

We can also sense students' thirst for recognition, as they acknowledge recent comments, or lack of comments. Hopefully, we can start to transform some of these posts into ongoing conversations.

Google Reader is, of course, so great for monitoring the students' work. You can see some of the students' blog posts in the Shared Items on the sidebar of this blog.

Practicing what we preach by publishing our thoughts

There has been a massive push of late, of which we are all a part, for students to engage in writing on the web. Whilst this is great, there needs to be an even bigger push for teachers to embrace this type of interaction.

It has taken me some time to develop any sense of being a 'blogger', and I'm sure that I still have much need of growth. As I become more comfortable with this mode of communication, self-reflection and learning though, I realize even more the need for teachers to engage in blogging, or other forms of web authorship.

We have been pushing very hard for teachers to include professional development reflection posts in their own eportfolio blogs. Little by little this is starting to happen, and the posts are slowly developing more substance. By the end of the school year, those who have invested fully in this activity will have a tremendous timeline of their own development.

In addition, it really helps when the Principal and the Dean of Instruction lead by example with their own blogs.

There are also teachers who have launched class blogs - despite having low levels of 'tech comfort' themselves. It will be interesting to see how they encourage and enjoy the students' writing, and whether or not they develop as well in terms of their own posts.

The bottom line, I guess, is that we have to go beyond our own levels of discomfort when it comes to using technology or publishing our thinking in order to enrich our own experiences and provide positive role models for the students.