I have never considered myself to be a writer. Expressing my thoughts or ideas, especially on print, has never been one of my strengths. Sharing my most intimate thoughts and ideas with others and allowing them to comment on these quite frankly scares me.
Blogging has been around for many years; however, until recently I never considered the benefits of blogging for classroom purposes. Blogging can be a great way to link the various stakeholders, to promote student success and to provide better learning experiences for the students.
A blog can be used to link parents, students, and the community to what is happening in a classroom and at the school. O’Keefe (2011) explains that when families, community groups, business, and schools’ band together to support learning, young people achieve more in school, stay in school longer, and enjoy the experience more. When a blog is used, it can inform the stakeholders of what is happening at the school. Needs can be identified, and they can be fulfilled by the stakeholders. For example, if there was a need for more things to do outside of school, then a community group might create an opportunity for the kids in the community. Or, if there was a need to buy technology, you could possibly secure funding from various community members.
Student success can also be shared and celebrated through a blog. A teacher can share a special project or an exciting learning opportunity with the public. Then the positive comments can be shared with the students in the classroom to celebrate and praise their efforts. This would help to motivate and engage them with future endeavors. Comments can also be shared with the staff members and could help encourage them to start their own blog. Additionally, by sharing the positives, more positives could arise. If a community group is closely tied with something that is occurring in the classroom, then a partnership could be developed.
Social media provides unique learning opportunities for our students. Various tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Weebly, and there are many more, can be used to provide better learning experiences. They allow the students to play a more active role in their learning and help to create more student-centered activities. Students can research topics that are of interest to them and can ask questions to various professionals from around the world. By using social media students develop skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, character, and citizenship. These are the global competency skills that our students need to be successful in the 21st century.
Today I have stepped out of my comfort zone and have created my first educational blog. I have given my thoughts and ideas a voice and have shared them with you - my audience. How have you used a blog to link various stakeholders, to promote student success or to provide better learning experiences for your students?
References:
Fullan, M., Quinn, J., Drummy, M., Gardner, M. (2020), “Education Reimagined; The Future of Learning”. A collaborative position paper between New Pedagogies for Deep Learning and Microsoft Education. http://aka.ms/HybridLearningPaper
O'Keefe, B. (2011, October 19). 5 steps to Better School/Community Collaboration. Retrieved March 03, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-community-collaboration-brendan-okeefe
Sackstein, S. (2015). Blogging for educators: Writing for professional learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
I have never considered myself to be a writer. Expressing my thoughts or ideas, especially on print, has never been one of my strengths. Sharing my most intimate thoughts and ideas with others and allowing them to comment on these quite frankly scares me.
Blogging has been around for many years; however, until recently I never considered the benefits of blogging for classroom purposes. Blogging can be a great way to link the various stakeholders, to promote student success and to provide better learning experiences for the students.
A blog can be used to link parents, students, and the community to what is happening in a classroom and at the school. O’Keefe (2011) explains that when families, community groups, business, and schools’ band together to support learning, young people achieve more in school, stay in school longer, and enjoy the experience more. When a blog is used, it can inform the stakeholders of what is happening at the school. Needs can be identified, and they can be fulfilled by the stakeholders. For example, if there was a need for more things to do outside of school, then a community group might create an opportunity for the kids in the community. Or, if there was a need to buy technology, you could possibly secure funding from various community members.
Student success can also be shared and celebrated through a blog. A teacher can share a special project or an exciting learning opportunity with the public. Then the positive comments can be shared with the students in the classroom to celebrate and praise their efforts. This would help to motivate and engage them with future endeavors. Comments can also be shared with the staff members and could help encourage them to start their own blog. Additionally, by sharing the positives, more positives could arise. If a community group is closely tied with something that is occurring in the classroom, then a partnership could be developed.
Social media provides unique learning opportunities for our students. Various tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Weebly, and there are many more, can be used to provide better learning experiences. They allow the students to play a more active role in their learning and help to create more student-centered activities. Students can research topics that are of interest to them and can ask questions to various professionals from around the world. By using social media students develop skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, character, and citizenship. These are the global competency skills that our students need to be successful in the 21st century.
Today I have stepped out of my comfort zone and have created my first educational blog. I have given my thoughts and ideas a voice and have shared them with you - my audience. How have you used a blog to link various stakeholders, to promote student success or to provide better learning experiences for your students?
References:
Fullan, M., Quinn, J., Drummy, M., Gardner, M. (2020), “Education Reimagined; The Future of Learning”. A collaborative position paper between New Pedagogies for Deep Learning and Microsoft Education. http://aka.ms/HybridLearningPaper
O'Keefe, B. (2011, October 19). 5 steps to Better School/Community Collaboration. Retrieved March 03, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-community-collaboration-brendan-okeefe
Sackstein, S. (2015). Blogging for educators: Writing for professional learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin