Keeping Up

I'm amazed when I see these people who have time to post every day to their blogs. (Should I say "guys?" Is it just me or does it seem like men just have more time in general??) Wow . . . that could start a whole other discussion.

Sticking to technology, I was just reading about Jakob Nielsen's studies on literacy and the web, how younger kids AND teenagers lack reading skills to have as much success on the web as adults assume. A success rate of only 55 percent was measured for the teenage users in a study (success rate indicating the proportion of times users were able to complete a representative and perfectly feasible task on the target site, with anything less than 100 percent representing a design failure and lost busienss for the site. ) The study said teens' poor performance is caused by three factors: insufficient reaidng skills, less sophisticated research strategies, and a dramatically lower patience level.

The following features, which are interactive all worked well because teens are allowed to DO things rather than simply sit and read:

Online quizzes
Forms for providing feedback or asking questions
Online voting
Games
Features for sharing pictures or stories
Message Boards
Forums for offering and receiving advice
Features for creating a website or otherwise adding content

These features allow teens to make their mark on the Internet, to express themselves - becoming not just consumers on the web, but producers of the content.
(Reference: David Warlick http://davidwarlick.com/blog/

Why Blog?

I found a great post from a student talking about all the potential of blogging:
http://wwforums.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=6636029721&f=3376092371&m=548105713

Also, there's a short comment from another student with the opposite viewpoint. Very interesting comments!

What If . . .

What if every student had a voice? Had a place for his/her voice to be heard? Had a place to develop the "voice" or his/her writing? Let's look at the pros & cons of blogging with students.

• It's a great motivator.
• Encourages students to write more.
• Encourages students to write more carefully and proofread before they publish!
• Could be dangerous if they give out too much personal info - TEACH them how to set it up safetly.
• (Use school email address; never give full name or full personal info, dates, addresses, etc. Pictures should be less personal - my dog, something I drew or designed, my "logo" designed with Word drawing tools, our whole class, etc.)
• Time management issues for teacher to read all student blogs.
• Everyone has a voice, a story to tell.
• They might come across another person's blog site that is not acceptable. Teach them how to handle this - log off - you don't have to read it just because it's there!

Try it - maybe set up a "class" blog site first and give everyone the username/password info. Teach them to respect each others' writing. Set up the ground rules & consequences & follow through early.

Give students a place to write! The benefits will outweigh the pitfalls if you set the stage with good preparation.

SS

P.S. Important Questions:

1. How often will students blog?
2. How are you going to assess your students' blogs?
3. What will the rubric look like?
4. What is the most convenient and meaningful way to respond to students?