A Reflection on Classroom Blogging

When I started this class I didn't even know what a blog was, let alone all the benefits it could have in a classroom. Now I am definitely a fan. While I am not a classroom teacher, I think there are so many ways that blogs could be used in a classroom. As we have seen in the examples that we have looked it at, it is a great way to share student work with people outside of the classroom or even school. I think the suggestion of having parent volunteers enter the work onto the blog is will save the teacher time and make the parents feel even more useful.

We talk a lot in Hilton, and especially at Northwood about creating a sense of community in each classroom and throughout the school, and I think that blogging is a great tool for doing this. It could also be a great hook for students. Many of our students are more computer literate than our staff. The more technology we are able to integrate into our schools, the more interest we will create in our students. We have a lot of posters and various projects hanging on the walls to promote community and our character traits. I think that by integrating blogging into these projects we could extend the sense of community beyond the school walls, and allow students to feel connected even when they are not in school. Being that I am not a classroom teacher, I think that this a one way that I could use blogging as part of my job.

As a school psychologist, confidentiality dictates a lot of what I do. I couldn't necessarily create a Northwood special education blog, and make all the students with IEPs post to it. But I think that as our students with disabilities get older and more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, that blogging would be a great way for them to make connections with other students like them. It could be a great way for students with disabilities to share their strategies for success, and find support when they are having difficulty.