Jul 10 2009
Weblogs: Synergy and Pitfalls
Considering Blogs for educational use in primary and secondary :
Some affordances of blogs:
– motivation to produce quality submissions due to the accountability of public display
– fostering a community of learning including peer feedback of submissions
– engaging in academic discussions
– invites experts to weigh in, lending a genuine experience to the academic discourse
– record of discussions and learning
– many students are using them anyway
– extends the walls of the classroom
Potential pitfalls/ potential solutions:
– privacy issues/ private blog, parental consent required (limits the extent of discussions)
– cyberbullying / netiquette is explicitly taught and monitored
– extends the teachers role beyond the classroom/good or bad?
