Blogging in the classroom was a watershed discovery for me. I had such an acute need for a better way to manage my student’s writing. I was wary of blogging. There are challenges to helping student learn in an online community. Until I met Matt Hardy from KidBlog, I viewed these risks as too big to manage on my own. I believe that as a teacher I have to both innovate and protect my own professional reputation. When I heard Matt talk about how he created KidBlog to support exactly the kind of connected learning I want to happen in my classroom. In fact it is the type of learning I want to see in every classroom.
Learning that students are invested in; learning that students want to share. If I had a magic wand I would make writing its own subject at the high school level, and even lower.
So often we ask kids to write about literature and literature only. We confine writing to English class, and we don’t capitalize on the metacognitive power of writing. Since I don’t have a magic wand, I am thankful for all the great teachers who have helped me along the way. Blogs are becoming more popular than ever, and now you can get started on Kidblog through this great step by step guide by Jeff Bradbury. www.teachercast.net/kidblogbook
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