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?