Journal # 4

This journal is called "Moderating and Ethics for the Classroom Instructional Blog," by Paricia Deubel. This article was interesting because it gave you the point of view from another teacher. Since we have learned about the blog and how to use it, I have grown to the point where I really want to try it out in one of my 12th grade classrooms. I think the students would enjoy something new and something that they could connect on. Deubel also writes about how she would structure her blogs. She writes, "I would set up discussion focused on just one or two essential questions at a time, and I would limit the time of each discussion, perhaps to the length of the instructional unit or a week." I think this is very important when dealing with high school students. You wouldn't want to make anything seem so overwhelming, because you want the kids to actually do the assignment. I also think it is a good idea to structure some sort of time length, because it would be important to have the students participate as soon as possible. I agree that it is very important to have posting guidelines and to have the students respond to other students as well. The only thing that concerns me, and is also mentioned in the article, is the safety of the blog. I would hate to get in trouble for something that I am attempting to use as a teaching tool. That is just a risk I would be willing to take.



Question 1: What can a blog be used for in an English class?

I think the most useful class to use a blog in, is an English class. The reason why I thought of this is all thanks to WebCt. I can not tell you how many hours I have spent on WebCt over my years writing and writing. English classes require its students to read, read, read, and write, write, write. I know that a blog for a high school English class would have so many positives. They students would not see typing and sharing ideas online the same as writing and verbally sharing ideas in the classroom. I think to a certain extent this is a good thing. Students will feel more comfortbale to share things they would normally not share face to face. Blogs can be used to teach any book by having the class be lead with discussion questions. I can also have my students create their own personal blogs like we did in this class and through that, submit work via the internet. Flawless.

Question 2: Classroom blogs or classroom wikis?

Classroom blogs are way better than classroom wikis. This is why. Wikis are collaborative. This means that people can sign on, read what you write, and delete it, or change it significantly. This can be detramental to a students development as a writer. Imagine working so hard to come up with some genius ideas, kind of like what i'm doing now, and then re-signing back on to see it all gone. Not a very good idea. But blogs on the other hand, those are editing proof. No one will be able to edit your blog but you. With a blog you still get the online classroom interaction, just not with the possibility of someone being able to mess with your work. What you write stays what you write, and will not get changed. This is why blogs are way better than wikis.