How Blogging Can Be Used in Today's Modern Classrooms?

Blogs developed in the late 1990s as a new web publishing resource. Earlier, blogging means maintaining diaries and individual people’s personal reflections on life. With time, people used blogs to build all kinds of beneficial as well as interesting things online. Now, edublogs are being used by educators all over the world.

Educational blogs or edublogs are being used by teachers to provide –

• Explanation on various topics or themes from modules or subject areas
• Student or tutor reflections
• Essays
• Creative learnings
• Project updates
• Class discussions
• News

And many more…

Usually, blogs comprise comments and hyperlinks, photos and other media provided by the writer. You can link from one blog to another and blogs are used as spaces for reflective learning.

Major Benefits of Edublogs

Following are the key benefits of edublogs ---

• Blogs are an informal way for you as well as your students to get content onto the web swiftly and easily.
   
• Blogs can empower learners to discuss topics additional outside the classroom in a more conversational and considerate way.
   
• Edublogs also open and widen the discussion to international audiences with similar interests.
   
• Needless to say, blogs can empower you as a teacher to sharp the levels of understanding prior to seminars/workshops/classes etc.
   
• These can be used as a personal educational space where you can retain notes, references, associations, thoughts or a CV. This is also providing valuable skills in managing information.
   
• Did you know you can turn your blog into an e-book using simple converters?

Globally, millions of blogs have spread over the past decades. Additionally, blogs are motivational tools that serve as effective podiums.

Top Tips To Use Blogs in the Classroom

Here are some helpful ways through which you will be able to incorporate blogs in your classroom ---

The How To of Remarking

Well, the comment segment of a blog post is where your students can share thoughts and opinions. They also can have a discussion about the published content. You can start off by writing the first two or three blog posts and have students comment according to your set of standards. Always monitor comments and deliver feedback.

Assimilate Classroom Curriculum

Educational blogging can be used across the curriculum. From math and science to history and health, blogs are a great way to take literacy across the curriculum. It not only needs subject knowledge, it also takes various other skills as well.

Be Constant

Regular blogging is something worth considering. If your blog posts are randomly published, reader base as well as your student’s interest will most likely decay. The idea is to keep building and growing. Try to set a goal of a blog post every two weeks per student and slowly increase submissions.

Get Connected with other Bloggers

Boost local and international association by having learners’ network with bloggers. Try to follow other student blogs. Even though it is significant to give schoolchildren a choice when choosing a blog, they want to follow, it is good to give them with a set of standards to help with their choice.

What Blogging Platform Should You Use? Well, that purely depends on what your goals are! However, a good choice to start with is WordPress. It is one of the most popular blogging platforms today.

The Bottom Line

Ensure to set up your blog with the appropriate tools, like spam monitoring systems for your comment section and so on. Research well before you start. As the 21st-century classroom is completely different, hence consider teacher training courses. Consider the world of blogging as an inventive and fun way to link literacy and across the curriculum and cover other learning standards at a same time.
 

Written By : Park Jin Ae