A blog is a Web 2.0 tool that allows to user to journal and post on any topic they feel enticed to share. This online channel hosts the owner’s thoughts and opinions on topics they are passionate or maybe even learning about. I came to this conclusion as the author of two blogs, a professional and personal one. This is why I added that a blog’s contents could be about something you’re learning about. To learn more about blogs, I checked out sites like Blogger, Wordpress and Weebly to see what features they had to offer bloggers. Each site allowed the user to publish public, titled posts for others to read. Each site creates a unique URL for each post so that it can easily be shared with whomever you choose. Blogs are generally text based, as opposed to glogs that are image/poster based or vlogs which come in video form. While all of these things are hosted on the web, I feel they are more than just a website to visit and each have their own unique characteristics. For my blog, I have chosen to create a Weebly site that includes Blog pages embedded in it. Yes, I am more familiar with it, but I appreciate the easy to use drag and drop features that allows me to quickly customize added content. The biggest affordance I believe blogging offers is the ability to have the author’s voice published and heard for others who read it. A published web blog creates an audience of individuals (readers) who may learn something new or who may even be inspired because of what they read. A personal journal or diary that I write in at home cannot have the same effect because it’s basically for my eyes only. It is the technology that affords, or give us, a platform with the opportunity to reach a global audience with our words. A secondary affordance of blogging is the growth I have seen in myself as a learner. I believe I have become more articulate and comfortable when sharing the knowledge I have on various topics. Perhaps this is because I want to really make sure I understand what I’m talking (writing) about before I make bold claims for the world to possibly criticize. The only comparable technology that has come close to this affordance of blogging is using Twitter for professional learning. I think the biggest difference, though, is that it is difficult to share information AND be reflective in 140 characters or less. But, I do think they compliment each other, so I choose to share most of my blogs using Twitter to gain a bigger audience. To support learning in a secondary ELA setting, blogs would be a great technology to use during students self-selected fiction readings. For content purposes, all students must be able to identify and analyze literary elements such as setting, plot, theme, conflict, character development, etc. Because each student is reading a different novel, it is difficult to assess whether or not they master the essence of those elements.
In theory (pedagogy), it is helpful for students to read on their own, internalize what they have read, and then have the chance to talk about it with another student. Even though all novels are different in this case, students could be grouped together by genre to discuss the various literary elements. This interaction can be put to good use through a collaborative project where students critique one another’s thoughts on what they are reading. Students could use a collaborative Google Site to house their blogs where they share/reflect on literary elements present in their self-selected readings. Here is an example. This shared technology would allow students to see multiple examples of literary elements in a variety of different novels. This could even foster a student’s curiosity for wanting to read a novel their classmate shares about. The blog format provided the critique, or analysis, that the learning objective class for. Additionally, other students reading the blogs will be exposed to diverse opinions that they otherwise would not have been exposed to if it weren’t for the technology used. One main obstacle to using this tool is that it is dependent on each learner not only completing their assigned reading, but it’s also necessary for them to post and share as they read. Different reading paces could slow down the process. A public blog where the reader checks in and shares as they are reading will give classmates the opportunity to learn - even if there are those who choose to fall behind or not participate. Even those students will be able to check out what others have posted.
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