I’ve been thinking a lot about blogs these days. My inquiry is based on creating a participatory culture. One way I’ve been thinking about having my students participate in the literature together is through blogging. I have to really think about how this can be a more collaborative space rather than a collection of thoughts. One article I read mentioned the pitfall of when a teacher posts a question and students all answer it. Oops….I’ve done that before. No collaboration there. But I’ve also had students respond to each other’s posts and have seen some great connections. I guess I will have to keep figuring that one out. I just want to make it meaningful for my students. I had an idea about creating a blog for each book we read next year. Having one class blog will be WAY easier than me keeping track of 75 student’s blogs. Not sure how this will play out.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about how my voice might show up digitally. I really want to ‘practice what I preach’ to my students regarding how their digital life matters in and out of school. I had an ambitious thought the other day that I could create a blog to document the ways that I will revolutionize my IB curriculum. My dream is that other staff members at my school will read about my journey (and especially my student’s journeys) and they will also transform their student’s lives! (just like I will be doing!!)
Reading through what everyone has posted on this blog has showed me our varied, yet collective voices and how we are making attempts to trust in the process. So I will have to do just that, trust in the process that I’ll figure out what role blogging will play in my future.
Mary Magnusson
The really interesting thing about online interactions is that they make visible what is so often invisible in our classrooms. They also give us a record that we can come back to for inquiry and reflection. I know that the pattern in my class is often that I ask and students answer, but I don't have to see that the way it would become visible in a digital environment. The digital environment also compels participation in a way a classroom often does not. The collaborative writing possibilities go to another level. Technology is nothing more than fancier tools. Much depends on how we uses them. Like all education, they can be tools for liberation or oppression. Would love to keep up with your digital journeys next year.
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