Begin at the Beginning: Paper-Blogging with your Students

When I first began blogging with my students I made several blunders. But I didn't get it back then. To put it simply I really thought blogging was going to be a transition from paper to on-screen writing and not much more.  I was excited about the possibility of sharing and showcasing student writing with family but never imagined the places we could go or the ways in which we might connect.

Actually it wasn't until I began a parallel journey myself as a blogger along with pursuing my Master's and  researching about this particular practice that I began to perceive the potential for blogging and other social media in education.  I became more and more intrigued by the notion that there were "new literacies" being made possible by moving from the static of the screen to active participation with the Internet -Web 2.0.  I began to realize something had to change and it had more to with why I was doing certain things than just the activities themselves.

It was through reading Will Richardson's books, including Learning on the Blog that I understood the necessity of moving out of my comfort zone, of "unlearning" so many things I had taken for granted, and from absorbing what so many terrific blogging teachers had to say that I began to realize the importance of connecting with others in purposeful ways.

Pernille Ripp has been a source of inspiration and information when it comes to using technology to blog. Posts such as this and this certainly supported my changed thinking!  And when I read about Kathy Cassidy's work with Grade one students I was further motivated to expand what we were doing.

Which leads me to "one mistake" I have learned from.  I believe it is essential that students understand much more than Internet safety; they need to learn, through modelling and practice, how to communicate with others in the many online forums they now access.  Paper blogging is one simple but powerful way to do that.

But first show them this video from Mrs. Yollis Grade threes!

They give great advice that students really pay attention to...after all it's coming from their peers!

Once you discuss what a quality comment looks like, create an anchor chart with your class for future reference. 

Then pass out the paper and the colouring supplies so students can create their own paper version of a blog. Mrs. Ripp has explained paper blogging so well, why invent the wheel? (Isn't the sharing an amazing part of all this connectedness!)  After all she got the idea from Mrs. McMillan who first heard it elsewhere!  Read her post on paper blogging.

So I have started again... this year, I think, on the right foot.  My Grade Fives have done a round of paper blogging before setting up blogs with Kidblog.   

Learning to comment meaningfully and respectfully starts at home.  Building that sense of the other, the reader, is made more real when students respond to people they know before considering their invisible audience.

Carrying on conversations through threads of comments, providing feedback to other people's posts, even engaging in polite disagreements, will happen more readily by engaging in this important first step.

Have you tried paper-blogging yet? 

Something's Missing

Something's missing in our blogging!

 As I have been thinking about the blogging with  my Grade 5s (this is my second year) and reflect on recent reading from Will Richardson , Bill Ferriter  and Pernille Ripp to name a few, I realized what it was.

Conversation. Real talk.

My kids are commenting on each other's blogs and keep it going but the deeper reflection that I was hoping for didn't really materialize.

And it's my fault.

In trying to get and keep the flow going by frequently responding in and out of class - me, the kids and some parents, we  (well, me, actually) didn't seek out other student bloggers or spaces to engage in conversations or discussions about things that matter.

Things that might get the kids thinking and responding and arguing and digging deeper.

I didn't get around to availing of #comment4kids (the Twitter hashtag that invites connected educators to visit student blogs with or without their classes) this year to bring readers to my students' blogs. Readers whose comments could have sparked new questions, new thinking,  new perspectives.

That being said blogging did accomplish several things I had in mind...

I feel strongly that a sense of purposeful writing - for themselves and writing for an audience other than me -was established.
I know students experienced the creative buzz from working digitally with the features of Kidblog and embedding other tools they used such as Youtube, Photostory3, and other sites of interest.

I could observe the outing of 'experts' in the class as students called on each other for assistance and I had students teach each other and me how to accomplish what we wanted using various applications!

I was able to provide opportunities for collaboration as students worked together on our Learning Scrapbook blog.

Blogging also supported other observations...

I do believe that using the blogging platform engages more students than the paper-and-pencil route, especially many of the boys who responded to the techy nature of blogging!

I  do know that students who were shy in class found their voice when on the blog.

I do think that the 'social practice' of communicating with me, their classmates and very importantly their families is enhanced greatly through our blogging endeavours.


BUT

I have come to realize that I have to do some things differently when I return to class in September.

If I want their blogging to make a difference,
to have them begin to understand what it really means to be a digital citizen,
to make the most of the opportunities that connecting with others can bring,
then I have to have them get involved in the community of bloggers - develop networks -
and be part of the world in a more visible and interactive way.

From http://bit.ly/LSSiEk

Can't wait to get back.

Looking Back at Blogging

I have been thinking and re-thinking about blogging with my Grade 5s.  Most of them enjoy it. Many of them do it regularly. The majority of the kids chose to write on their blogs without prompting or poking from me.

But in light of some reading and re-reading I have been doing for my grad research, I am wondering if I have achieved what I wanted by having my students participate in this on-line activity.

Will Richardson  says that in-school blogging isn't really blogging, that due to the "contrived" nature of the task, students are not really engaged in blogging. That they are really only writing for the teacher, for the grade (that's another post topic, for sure!)

I get that.  And for some students, that is probably true. 

 But isn't that the case for writing, too; that despite Workshops and Author's Chairs and 'publishing' pieces of  student work, that many, most, will not choose writing as a personal activity?

Blogging: Assessment and Learning

My students blog.  Going to a computer to write a post was a regular occurrence last year;  often students worked on them at home "just because"!

Adding various audiovisual clips was something many undertook to enhance their piece.

Quite a few were able to use hyperlinks to connect other useful and interesting sites to their posts.




All of them provided feedback to each other and responded to the comments received, carrying on a enthusiastic conversation with other readers in other parts of the world.  In addition to their individual blogs, the kids collaborated on posts about topics of mutual interest (or just to share the 'work'!)

As the year went on and we became more comfortable with how and what to do, we had a discussion about how blogging fit in our 'photo album' approach to assessment:

~Not everything they do has to go in the album
~They have some say in choosing items to be considered for the album
~Some blurry 'shots' can be removed from the album
~Over time growth should be evident
~Sometimes pictures get taken that you don't necessarily want to be 'in' but you try to give your best 'smile'!]

By the end of the first term (September to November here) my kids are used to thinking about assessment in three ways:

Quick post about Quad-blogging

Not so long ago I was skimming my Twitter ( skimming 'because I was supposed to working on a grad course paper and having a quick look was my treat to myself!) and I noticed a post about blogging...which is coincidentally the thrust of my research! (more on that later perhaps).

It was a ReTweet ( RT ) ...about a variation of blogging called QUADblogging!  Coming from @coolcatteacher I knew it was worth having a look! : )

I immediately realized it had an added dimension that would build on the experience of blogging for my students.  I like to try something new each year!

In this activity, you sign up to be part of a group of four schools. For a week at a time, each school's class blog(s) will be the  center of attention! 

Collaborative Blogging, Sheep's Wool and Lots of Correcting

Ah, the reality of how I want to teach and how I am (sometimes) required to teach!  Two conflicting aspects of our teaching profession have both been quite evident today!

My students and I have decided to add another 'class' to our Kidblog site and use it to upload pieces they work on together.  They have lots of thing in mind: group book responses, our Beothuk projects, perhaps a 'newspaper' about our shared class experiences, Public Service Announcements, digital stories and so on. To walk around my room this morning and see the kids huddled at tables, on the floor and out in the hallway making plans is the kind of rewarding response I get in my classroom on a regular basis.  My kids are not expecting me to lead in all areas, to tell them what they want to learn about (all the time), nor do they think anymore I expect them to complete the same assignment on the same material.  And so I get things like this happening:

Feedback Is Fantastic

Thanks to http://comments4kids.blogspot.com/ and the Twitter hashtag #comments4kids I sent out and /or adding our blog URL to Sue Walter's & team's great site The Edublogger , our Kidsblog site has heard from other teachers! And I thank those two teachers who took the time to drop in and respond to my post and to some of the writings of the children.  I don't know who was more excited - them or me!

Making the Next Step

Well, we are nearly there!  After much talk, we are going to put it out there that we WANT comments!

To do that I am going to add our class blog to comments4kids.blogspot.com  and see what happens. Of course, as I explained to the kids, we may have to jump in and make the first move by commenting on another class's blog.  No problem!

Apparently another way to get the word out is to use a Twitter account and tweet something like the the following
  grade five class wanting comments #comments4kids.

Then anyone who is also interested in garnering followers for their class and sees that hashtag (that's the # followed by a group of words) will be able to make that connection!   And anyone who knows Twitter, knows that the word spreads by people retweeting that post!

 We should get a class commenting soon!

(Actually having a Twitter account is a terrific way to follow and connect with other like-minded teachers and educators! Or family and friends. Or a multitude of sources of information on any topic imaginable.  So you just might want to do it for yourself.)

The World Wide Web of Kidbloggers!

The other day, right in the middle of silent reading no less, one of my students exclaimed, "There must be other kids doing it, too!"  After everyone stopped laughing  : ), he explained how he was wondering what and where other classrooms might be ... who also blogged.  This prompted a great discussion on what would we hope to see in these other blogs:

• something about where their school/community is
• information about their school day
• examples of the type of projects they do~student work
• creative pieces
• book responses

The students then reflected on some ways we might build our blog to show similar things.  Several students are drafting independently chosen pieces to post.  Others suggested our recent Social Studies project on the Beothuk, including some of the snaps, should be a post.  Some work is going to be done about our town to be added.  This prompted another discussion ...this time about wikis.  

This blogging has been the inspiration for writing in a way that is sometimes more contrived and feels like an assignment. .

Needless to say that sent me back to the computer to look for classrooms that might be (actually I knew there MUST be) interested in such a relationship.   More on that after I make contact with these other learning communities!

Come on...Comment!

One of the goals of  having the students writing a blog is that they see a purpose in effectively communicating their thoughts, ideas, opinions and information.  Knowing that they have an 'outside audience', besides me, motivates them when they consider topics, organization, revision and editing.

Being able to comment on each other's posts has been a positive by-product of the on-line blogging process.  Seeing someone's words on the screen is a  terrific reinforcement.  Given that I can't provide feedback as often as I would like, enabling the students to respond to each other lessens this interesting but sometimes time-consuming task.  As well, the look on their face when they log on and see the comment number has changed is wonderful.

We have spent some time on how to provide feedback when commenting.  As we have already established the practice of constructive criticism in our writing circles/conferences, the students know how to look for positive (and authentic) things to say and how to ask a question that leads a writer to re-examine or clarify a point.

 "I really liked the point where you..."    "The part where you... worked well."    "I agree with you when you say ..." " If you tried...., this would be clearer to me."      "Could you tell me more about...."


So we are trying to build on that type of verbal, respectful response when we write to each other about our blog posts.

We are about to open up our site to parents who will have guest passwords.  I will be sending home, and posting, about how to respond  to their child, and others, in a similar manner.  The kids will know the difference between a real comment and the somewhat vacuous "good job!"

Though I am sure they will appreciate all the responses!

Learn As You Go!

Being new at something means you can try it, and revise it until you get closer to what it is you want to accomplish. This is true in blogging for sure! 

While the initial interest in blogging was high in my Grade Five classroom, it has not been sustained over the last few weeks, in particular. The level of participation has waned -only somewhat - but I want to re-examine what was happening, especially as it pertains to my classroom practice. (Many had been posting and commenting at home as well.)  Given that I had not set particular times in school for blogging but was letting it fit into the independent choices students could make was likely, I figured, to be the main factor. 

Getting Started with Kid Blogging

I chose to use Kidblog, a highly recommended site for elementary students.  It was quick (and easy) to set up and I used our school password system as their entry point.  You can create simple passwords for your students if there isn't something already in place. Once you’re in, the dashboard makes keeping track of who and what simple!

To link blogging to Reading Responses already being created by my students, I asked them (in a blog post naturally!) to blog about the books they were reading in our Independent Reading Program.   This then became a self-paced activity, although I asked everyone to post within the first week.  Students may compose and save their posts as drafts first if they choose; allowing them the opportunity to re-read and revise their work before setting it as ‘pending (my) review’.

One of the discussions we had about writing a blog was about its form.  The Book Responses I set as their first blog/task can be written in different styles –journal, informational reports, letters, lists, and poems - structures they had been introduced to and were comfortable with.  That made it a less daunting activity (though I don’t think children find much of anything related to technology daunting!)

 These blogs rule. It rules beacuse I can post and share my opinion about my books.

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

 As we moved into self-generated pieces “Hot Topics”, we discussed the tone- almost conversational -that would be more appropriate.

Bike helmets should be mandatory because if you didn't have a helmet on you could fall off and hurt yourself by cracking you skull and doing more damage.  But with a helmet on it could SAVE your life!!!  I had an accident one time I was flying jumps on paddle bike with no helmet and badly hurt myself:(

Understanding that the dialogue / comments they make on each other’s posts would also be made public generated a discussion about respect –on and offline.  We have worked throughout the first half of the year on the practice of “constructive criticism” but the students had to be made even more aware of their ‘cyber-manners’.  We talked about sharing our thoughts, ideas and opinions in a considerate way while being true to our purpose.

Great Post Emily!!
I was wondering if you would recommend this book for me. I saw you reading it so I didn’t want to distract you.I was also wondering what genre it is.
Keep Reading (:
Brianna


 As we move into blogs about our classroom activities, the notion of sharing events that are positive and respectful of all members of our classroom community will be revisited.

Kidblog allows you (the teacher) to view and edit all postings before they are ‘published’.  I asked my students what they thought of this feature.  They recognized and endorsed my role as ‘chief editor’ being important here, as their work would be shared with a much wider audience and it should look “polished”.  One of the things I like about using this platform is the easy access I have to pieces of work.   I can use this tool (from home) to leave quick comments and suggestions about editing, spelling strategies, word meanings and content like any other writing conference.   The students respond positively to seeing my feedback on their post (I often leave it in coloured font!) and they seem to be taking it in more readily than other mini-conferences I hold with them.

Hey there! I really liked the way you organized your thoughts about using bottled water in schools.  Remember the meeting we had about spelling there/their/they're?  You have two places where you could have used 'they are'; check that out and then we'll send this piece to the publisher!

It was made clear through discussion that the expectations for final draft quality would also apply to efforts in writing the blogs.  An ongoing concern of many (parents and teachers) relates to students’ use- or lack of- spelling strategies and using texting terms in their written responses.  Using Kidblog allows for a level of intervention that can be determined by the teacher.  You can leave it open; that depends on your comfort zone and the age of your students, I would think.  My intention is to use a model of gradual release as they develop that sense of ownership while learning/practicing effective revising/editing strategies (peer and independent).

Getting started is a little time-consuming but the results are definitely worth it!