Teaching with Blogs
Teaching with Blogs
Barb shared with them the wiki called Social Networking versus Blogging and asked them to address the difference as they posted on the blog. For some reason (I can think of a couple which I will address later), there have been more blog posts with inappropriate language. One of the reasons is probably that Barb wasn't able to set the tone from the beginning of the class because of her arm and leg injury at the beginning of the year. Also, I think part of the problems (not really problems, just issues that every teacher will need to address) is that she is working with freshmen at the very beginning of the first semester. These two things combined can create difficulties.
One of the most interesting conversations and writing that I heard and read stemmed from Barb's conversation with them about about audience and humor. She asked the question, "What do American teenagers find humorous?" Their answers were kind of appalling--we think fat and ugly people are funny was the one comment that sticks out in my mind. I blame that on the media--t.v., movies, etc. This is something that needs further research. But really she was trying to get them to think about what comes across as funny face-to-face may not be so funny on the blog. In fact, what some thought was funny was really racist.
After this discussion, she asked students to freewrite (on October 26), and I have copies of that writing. I have been reading Fire in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students. The book is based on interviews from students. I felt compelled to begin organizing my writing around these student perspectives--what rules do students think are important when blogging? What do they see as the difference between educational blogging and social networking? There is a difference, and that difference must be stressed in order for blogging to become a school-sanctioned writing activity.
Barb shared with them the wiki called Social Networking versus Blogging and asked them to address the difference as they posted on the blog. For some reason (I can think of a couple which I will address later), there have been more blog posts with inappropriate language. One of the reasons is probably that Barb wasn't able to set the tone from the beginning of the class because of her arm and leg injury at the beginning of the year. Also, I think part of the problems (not really problems, just issues that every teacher will need to address) is that she is working with freshmen at the very beginning of the first semester. These two things combined can create difficulties.
One of the most interesting conversations and writing that I heard and read stemmed from Barb's conversation with them about about audience and humor. She asked the question, "What do American teenagers find humorous?" Their answers were kind of appalling--we think fat and ugly people are funny was the one comment that sticks out in my mind. I blame that on the media--t.v., movies, etc. This is something that needs further research. But really she was trying to get them to think about what comes across as funny face-to-face may not be so funny on the blog. In fact, what some thought was funny was really racist.
After this discussion, she asked students to freewrite (on October 26), and I have copies of that writing. I have been reading Fire in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students. The book is based on interviews from students. I felt compelled to begin organizing my writing around these student perspectives--what rules do students think are important when blogging? What do they see as the difference between educational blogging and social networking? There is a difference, and that difference must be stressed in order for blogging to become a school-sanctioned writing activity.
posted by Keri at 8:11 PM
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