Research Process Post 7: Reflection with Focus on Blogging

   

Usually, when I have had to do research, the product must be in the form of a paper.  I do not enjoy formal writing, and long, uniform looking papers.  On occasion, I had to do a tri-fold or a regular poster board, which was more appealing.  But, I the blog really suits my style.  I have been fascinated by blogs for awhile, and have even blogged myself, on occasion.

     Blogging allows me to write in a more informal way, turning my product into a narrative instead of a report.  Blogging has a conversational feel to it, without the interruptions, while allowing the reader to ignore or read, and respond or not, as they choose - and none of the choices are inherently rude.  I can also add pictures to each post, and change the appearance of my site, satisfying my creative and visual sides.

     Prior to taking these courses, I had never considered having students create blog posts.  I am now seriously considering doing so.  We do have heightened requirements around internet access for our students, but with the privacy settings available in Blogger, and careful supervision, we should be able to pull it off at our school.  From the student perspective, I think they will be more cooperative with writing assignments.  Almost all of the students at the school where I work are at-risk, with below grade level reading and writing skills, and many are behind in school.  The constant struggle to get students to write, could be aided with the use of blogs.  Generally, the students are excited about using the computers and tend to participate more when technology is used.  While not perfect, when the students are able to type, there are fewer spelling errors and the writing is legible.


     Blogging also lends itself well to class discussions.  I need to explore it a little more, but Blogger does have options to set up private groups, which would allow the class to read and respond to each other's posts, while not allowing communication to and from the outside world.  Blogging would allow everyone to participate, including the students who don't like to speak up, and the ones who can't get a word in during classroom discussions.