What's Next?

Blogs, wikis, and podcasts, oh my! There are a number of Web 2.0 tools that I have had the pleasure of being introduced to and now look forward to sharing with staff members.

The first Web 2.0 tool that I will “introduce” is blogging. With approximately 30 teachers at my school, the understanding and use of this tool is varied. We have staff members who blog and we have staff members who don’t know what a blog is. The initial step then is to identify where staff members are on the blogging spectrum and meet with those teachers who are already bloggers and who would be willing to collaborate on sharing this tool with the rest of the staff.

Why blogs? They are easy to create, can be used by teachers as professional development, and can be used to support student learning in any class. Blogs support learning through “their ability to 1) promote reflective thinking; 2) nurture collaboration and relationship-building; 3) increase perceived accountability and therefore quality of student work; 4) encourage peer support for one another; 5) increase opportunities for students to receive feedback; 6) extend learning outside classroom walls; and 7) allow and encourage interactions with experts and others outside of the classroom.” (MacBride & Luehmann, 2008)

How could blogs be introduced to other teachers? The most efficient method would be as part of a staff meeting as all teaching staff are in attendance or as school-based (and later district-wide) professional development. Defining blogs and sharing the video entitled “Why Let our Students Blog?” created by Rachel Boyd on TeacherTube serves as a great introduction and demonstrates the reasons for student blogging. This video can be followed up with samples of classroom blogs already created by teachers on staff, as well as other great online examples. Will Richardson’s book “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” (Richardson, 2009) could be purchased for individual professional development or for a book study. His comprehensive list of classroom uses located on page 38-40 of his book provides many starting points to choose from.

How can the creation and use of blogs be encouraged? The best way for teachers to “fully understand the potential of Weblogs as a teaching and learning tool is to become a blogger.” (Richardson, 2009) Teachers who choose to use this tool will benefit from trying it out on their own first but also need to know that they have support within the school and district if they need or want it. It is imperative to create a support network of teachers and technology support staff for teachers to contact as they incorporate blogging into their teaching practice. Sharing successes and resolving challenges both informally and formally can encourage the continued use of blogs. Individual class blogs linked off the school’s website is also a way in which student learning can be showcased and shared with the community.

Blogging is a great way to integrate technology into classrooms and there are other Web 2.0 tools that are also beneficial to student learning. As I see an opportunity for the use of these tools, I share them with teachers. This has been successful but does not provide knowledge of these tools with all the staff. Sharing one tool each month (or more frequently) during staff meetings and/or team meetings will ensure that all staff have the same opportunities.


References:

Boyd, Rachel. “Why Let our Students Blog?” TeacherTube. (April 2008). http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=be6ec9b852b0a542e2f3


MacBride, Robyn, and April Lynn Luehmann. "Capitalizing on emerging technologies: a case study of classroom blogging.(Case study)." School Science and Mathematics 108.5 (May 2008): 173(11).
http://find.galegroup.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/itx/start.do?prodId=AONE

Richardson, Will. (2009) “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.” California: Corwin Press.