Module 1 Assignment 2 "Classroom Blogs"

Classroom Blogs

As a teacher in Henry County Public Schools, I am required to maintain a webpage that lists general information about my classroom.  The only thing I change is the weekly homework section.  After reading the article "Ten Ways to Use Your Edublog," I am convinced a classroom blog would be more beneficial than a website.  Out of the ten ideas the article provided, I chose 3 that I believe I would utilize if I had such a blog.  

1.  Replacing my weekly newsletter.  Updating a blog would be faster and much more practical than a newsletter that has to be copied.  (Plus it would save paper!)  I like that a blog is interactive, so that parents and students could respond, comment, and add to what I post.
2. Sharing news, links, downloads, and more.  So many of my parents ask for the websites that we use in the classroom.  If they are all listed on a classroom blog, these websites may be used more frequently!  Also, I would like to be able to share power points, Word files and other data that I use in the classroom.  A classroom blog would make that much easier than sending an email!
3. Getting my students to "blog."  I admit getting first graders to "publish" their writing using technology is quite the challenge.  However, if students knew their writings were going to be read on the classroom blog, I think they would have more motivation to do well.

One classroom blog that I visited that I found to be representative of a "good blog," was Mrs. Levy's blog from California.  This blog is maintained by a first grade teacher and illustrates some of the best reasons to have a classroom blog.  Parents could easily go to the blog and discover what their children did THAT day.  No more asking your child "what did you learn today?" only to be answered with "nothing."  On the side bar were links that parents and students could use--another advantage to classroom blogs. 

The only concern I have is posting all of those student pictures on the blog.  I realize the importance of having parental permission, but I still am leery of anyone being able to view the blog.  Otherwise, I'm all for "blogging" and find myself enjoying the experience!