Traditional classrooms are becoming a thing of the past. There are more and more students who own a cell phone, computer or other technological devices that are making the way students get information different than the traditional way of going to the library and looking up journal or book references. If we as educators do not conform to the nontraditional way of learning we will be stifling the students of the technology age of a great education.
Blogs are no longer just a recreational past time. There are many uses for blogs in the world of education. Many teachers say that students learn best when they learn from each other. Blogs continue to play a role in a learning community. The student is able to reflect, summarize, and even expand on lessons taught. The student is able to follow fellow students and read post about what other students were able to take or learn from a lesson.
According to Richardson (2006) there are four things blogging allows the student to do. The first is reflect on what has been taught then write about it. Many times the student will not understand what has been taught until the student is asked to explain. A blog can be used to assess just how much a student understands of new concept that has been taught. Second, continue to write about the same topic over an extended period of time. Being made to focus on the same topic or subject mandates the student to delve deeper into the topic. Third, blogging allows the student to expand on what he or she has learned, but also the followers of that blog can continue the conversation of the topic by posting his or her views and thoughts on the conversation that can be agreed with or rebutted against. Consequently, by doing so, it can spark more in-depth and sustained conversation. Last, the student can demonstrate total understanding by relating the learned topic to his or her own life.
Using blogs can make the student go deeper into a subject or topic and therefore make the student demonstrate the level of learning he or she has obtained.
Reference
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Fantastic post. The "inch-wide and mile-deep" learning scenario doesn't quite fit with the test-taking frenzy we are currently stuck in - but it makes perfect sense - doesn't it? What will it take to make others see what you have explained so simply and so well? This is deep learning that will stay with the student. Great job!
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