Learning with Blogs: Bringing the Read/Write Web into the Classroom
Will Richardson
Wednesday 2:00
by Sharon Betts, Educational Technology Coordinator, Turner. Maine
Blogging a Blogger at NECC06
The word blog appears in over 30 titles and descriptions at NECC06 this year. Will Richardson is a name that comes to mind when even a beginner starts to blog. His many successes using blogging with students in his classes and connecting students to the world outside of school walls, are benchmarks for the rest of us.
Visit http://www.weblogg-ed.com/ to read about his students' many exciting projects.
Will brings the life of blogging down to reality when he discusses why he feels everyone should blog. Just some of the items that came out during his presentation:
Blogging gives everyone a printing press
Blogging allows large collaborations for influencing political decisions
Blogging is being used by major businesses in planning and visioning
Blogging gives an immediate larger audience Blogging makes learning authentic
All of these influence a positive shift in the models of learning being used today. If you would like to get a better feel for using blogs (as well as wikis and other web 2.0 tools), check out his book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
(http://www.1automationwiz.com/app/netcart.asp?setCookie=TRUE&MerchantID=76231&Produc
tID=2659843)
Will is a great presenter, and has a tremendous message as stated in his blog written on the way to NECC:
Still, we’re only talking about a small percentage of educators who really understand what’s happening here. And the percentages of parents and businessmen and folks outside of education who we need to support these changes now more than ever are just as tiny. (http://weblogg-ed.com/2006/off-to-neccwhats-next/)
Everyone left with a blog account and I believe many will try this tool with students next year in their classes.
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4 comments:
I used blogger with a group of grade 10 students to discuss the book Catcher in the Rye. You can see the result at
http://porathenglish10.blogspot.com/
I was surprised at how much more the kids wrote over the course of the unit - much more than if I assigned the writing on paper.
Very nice - I will be certain to use your site as an example for the teachers in my district. Thanks for your comment.
Hey Sharon- I am passing on the link to your blog to our New England DEN members. Thank you for keeping us up on what is happeneing at NECC!
-Dawn
Dawn - thanks so much. Sometimes, one wonders just who reads these. Although the writing is a great reflexion on all the sessions.
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