Last year, I wrote a detailed post about the process I follow for setting up student blogs. Click here to find it.
It is getting to the time of year where Kelly Jordan and I are thinking about which students will be the first to earn their own blog.
We are thinking of starting with four students out of our class for 43 grade twos. When they get their blogs going, they can help the next lot of student bloggers with some peer tutoring.
Last year we had 10 students earn their own blog (we started the process later in the year). Of those ten students, many of them are still blogging every now and then. Each week, we get a few of those grade three students to come back and help out our grade twos with blogging.
The star of that group of 2010 bloggers is Bianca whose blog can be found at http://biancasblog.global2.vic.edu.au/
A week rarely goes by where Bianca doesn’t publish a new post. She gets comments from teachers, students, friends and family members around the world and she literally writes back to every single comment. Bianca loves to have conversations with people and get to know her readers.
A large part of Bianca’s success is her family’s support and involvement. Her support now comes primarily from her family rather than the classroom.
As a teacher, it is so rewarding to be able to introduce a student to a medium that they embrace wholeheartedly and get so much out of. I just love being able to plant a seed, teach and support a student and then see them carry on on their own learning journey.
I hope some of my new student bloggers in 2011 continue with the same enthusiasm and dedication as Bianca!
Student Reflections
Below is a video Kelly Jordan and I used to show the perspective of student bloggers at our recent conference presentations. This is an unscripted quick reflection we recorded one lunchtime.
Remember, if you want more information about the process I go through for setting up student blogs, check out this post.
Dear Kathleen,
I really enjoyed your post and loved seeing the students reflect on their blogging.
I know that several people have their students earn their blogs and I can definitely see the merit in this approach.
I took a different approach when I started blogging in January 2010 with my grade 1/2/3 class. We began with a class blog and once the students had plenty of experience with making posts, leaving comments, and replying to comments we all started our own blogs.
I took this approach because I wanted our individual blogs to act as a portfolio of their work. I hoped that these blogs would, in my perfect world, follow them through their schooling and be a wonderful record of their growth as learners. Our blogs have been tools for reflecting on our progress, sharing our learning, and making connections. Because I teach my students for several years, this has worked out well so far. Do you have the students keep digital portfolios of their learning?
Thank you for sharing how you have the students earn their blogs. There is always so much to think about! I am looking forward to our upcoming break and the time to reflect.
Melody Watson
@ Melody,
Thanks for your comment. It is always interesting to hear what other people are doing. I’m with you, in a “perfect world” I hope my students will keep blogging too. Unfortunately, the blogging culture isn’t as strong in other classes at my school yet. Hopefully I can change that!
No, we don’t do digital portfolios. I’d love to but I think for me it is just a case of you can’t do everything. Your upcoming break will be fantastic! I bet you’re looking forward to it after another very busy year.
Kathleen
Awwwh they are so adorable! I like that they are so curious about the world outside their classroom.
Thank you for sharing this Kathleen. I’ve been given free reign in my English exam to write a series of lessons that utilize reading, writing, presenting, listening, viewing etc. and I’ve challenged myself to use only digital media so it shall be interesting to see what the lecturers think.
@ Stef,
Is is funny what the kids came up with. When we showed that video at the conferences there was a lot of laughter when one student spoke about “copyright infringement”. We really didn’t tell her to say that! 🙂
Good luck with your exam! I’m sure your lecturers will love it (well I hope they do!). I’m always so impressed with student teachers who are into blogging!
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen!
When I read your post, I get excited about innovative educators like yourself because I think about all of the students who blossom as a result. In fact, I thrive on that.
Your sentence, ” I just love being able to plant a seed, teach and support a student and then see them carry on their own learning journey,” really resonates with me. I thrive on planting seeds and allowing them to continue on their own.
I see the educators in my district as my classroom, and think about the growth of their learners. As I read your post, I ponder how I can make an impact in my district for students to experience the innovation yours have.
I definitely want to work along the side of those who would fall in love with blogging. My goal is for students to have the opportunity to continue blogging the following year either by having a vertical blogging path (i.e. 4th grade, then 5th grade, …) or for students to invest in their own blogs… which requires educators, students, and families to fall in love with blogging.
Once again you’ve inspired me. Thanks so much for the fabulous post!
Kind regards,
Tracy
@ Tracy,
Always nice to hear from you and I am so glad you enjoyed the post! I’m with you – I wish everyone (students, teachers and parents) would fall in love with blogging like we have. It is certainly full of benefits and is addictive!
I like your idea of the vertical blogging and I see this working really well if all teachers would jump on board.
Look forward to hearing how it goes for you.
Kathleen
Dear Ms Morris
We have recently established a blog site that we would like to share with your pupils. It has been instigated to generate an understanding of the day to day life on a family farm in Central New South Wales.
The target audience is infant/primary age children, and it is written from the perspective of our 4 year old daughter. The blog provides a chance for urban children to share the experiences of a farming child and too see it at a child’s level.
Our daughter loves the farm and we see it as only fitting that she share that love with other children.
We have viewed your blogsite and it appears that the blogsite is used by both parents and educators to stay updated on school happenings and new educational opportunities. We were hoping that you might consider adding our blog site as a link on your site.
We will endeavour to provide at least two blogs per week. We encourage comments and questions and will do our best to provide answers. Any feedback from you as educators would be greatly appreciated.
We have established this blog site because we feel there is a need to close the gap between city and country residents. We DO NOT have any commercial or financial gains to make from the promotion of the blog site.
There is no charge to view or subscribe to our blog and we have no commercial affiliations or interests other than sharing KT’s life experiences with others.
Please take the time to view our blog and we look forward to hearing from you.
http://www.ktsfarmlife.blogspot.com
Kind Regards
The Rutledge family
Hi Rutledge Family,
What fabulous idea doing a blog with your 4 year old daughter. I bet she loves it.
From personal experience, I find the best way to make connections with others is to just start commenting on their blog and show a genuine interest in getting to know them. It is also worthwhile to try to find blogs that are at a similar stage. You might like to read more about this here.
Keep doing what you’re doing with the blog, it is great and I bet you all get a lot out of it.
Good luck with your blogging journey!
Kathleen