Reflection: Feelings about Blogging?

The whole idea of blogging is new to me, and it has been quite a learning experience! When I first began teaching in Hilton I created my own website where students could read and write book reviews. They enjoyed getting their writing "published", but the only feedback they received came from me. Using a blog would provide them with a tool to actually communicate with other kids about books. As a result of what I have learned from this online course, next year I plan on having my students not only put their book reviews on a blog, but also write their comments about what strategies and skills we are learning in group. For example they could also post writing samples, poetry, etc.. Hopefully this will motivate them to read as well as write more, and it will also provide me and other educators with ideas that we can use with our struggling readers.

One concern with blogging is the time involved. Due to the fact that I only have a small group of students for a limited amount of time, it will have to take the place of writing a response etc... I feel that it will be worth it because writing on a blog will be much more authentic than just writing their thoughts into an empty notebook. My biggest concern is how to reach students from other schools so that they are aware the blog exists. I created a blog last spring called Book-a-Blog where educators could go and comment about books that have worked well with their intermediate students, and I'm sorry to say that it has only received 3 comments. How do you let others know so that students get feedback. The comments from other students will be what generates the enthusiasm to keep reading and posting. My only thought is to contact reading specialists from other districts and see if they would be interested, but again they might not be lucky enough to have the resources we have (laptops, etc..) Any thoughts would be appreciated?