Kim Pericles' article 'Happlily blogging @ Belmore South' provides tomes of ideas to incorporate the use of blogs within the classroom. Exciting, relevant and student-directed learning is possible if utilised in the right way.
For instance, in Years 4, 5 and 6 students conducted work on an 'Everything Football' blog where they distributed information and answered others' questions, others were involved in the creation of a Macbeth slideshow and another student worked solitarily, writing chapters of her own book to post online with the aim of receiving comments and feedback from other students all over the world.
In this way, the learning is done by the stduents themselves. The teacher can faciliate the learning but the content, processes and outcomes are decided upon by the students, providing them with higher levels of autonomy and responsibility which reserach has shown can increase self-efficacy and therefore performance in students.
Blogging, Kim states, is a useful tool that can be used to facilitate learning across all Key Learning Areas (KLA's). From English to Math, HSIE to Creative Arts, all of these KLA's can be explored using blogs.
Lastly, Kim writes that blogs are interactive. Communication channels are opened between students, schools, states and continents. Comments and feedback can be given on students' work which also allows students to experience a sense of responsibility and pride in their finished products.
To read the article, look for:
Pericles, K. (2008). Happily blogging @ Belmore South. SCAN, 27(2) 4-6
or visit:
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/hblog.pdf
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