TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG THAT IS THE QUESTION

One of the questions I set myself this week after reading peoples blogs and analysing the readings was, Is blogging a practical way to educate the youth of today in a classroom setting.  Truth be told, I love the idea of blogs, I am sadly and too an extent proudly a weekly blogger on a variety of different websites.  This technology allows people to vent their opinions in a constructive manner where people can feel comfortable to agree or even disagree with what they have said.  One thing which I appreciate about blogs is that if gives the people a written voice.  The sad reality is, we all have the potential to be cruel to people based on what they look like.  Some people live in a world where it rains skittles and a taught by unicorns.  This world although imaginatively brilliant is a unhealthy reality.  I have seen so many people from all walks of life who have been ridiculed and bullied for how they look and so they stay silent.  One video which I promote which gives incredible examples of the power of words  is below.  This demonstrates that words can be used as a sword...but also a shield.  Blogs give people a voice.  A voice that can be read by millions of people.

One of the other elements of blogs which I find appealing is that it promotes social contructivism and connectivism.  The fact that other people can comment and give their opinions is one of the key elements of education.  As an ex lawyer, the more opinions or knowledge you have of a particular area, the more understanding you will have.  In this class we have over 100 people, that is 100 different brains sharing their knowledge on a topic.  That my friends is an incredible concept, the fact that people can share their thoughts and beliefs amongst their peers.  It is amazing how far we have come.

Another benefit to blogs is that students are blogging everyday, they may not realise it.  But blogging is becoming embedded in the youth today due to Facebook and twitter.  However, I believe a new form of blogging is among us.  Blogging through the use of pictures.  There are already numerous websites such as tumblur, imgur and the memes sites which offer people are new form of expression.  There is the Chinese proverb that a picture is worth 1000 words.  Well you guys tell me, look at the picture below, does it not stir something within you? 

There are no rules to tell us that blogs have to be just writing, pictures have a place in education.  In legal studies, one picture is viewed differently from 2 different people, much like the words on a page.  This merely summarises the beauty of blogs and the complexities of the human mind.

However, blogs are not as easy sailing as people may think.  One of the factors that we as teacher's need to realize is that, we must do as much preparation (Ruth Reynard 2008) as we can to understand the technology but also set parameters.  Blogs have the potential to fail if the students do not learn anything from the blogs.  The learning outcomes need to be established otherwise the content of the curriculum will be lost.  For me personally, I would try and allow content being discussed verbally before asking the students to blog so that I am aware that the student's understand the material.

Another issue is the correct time allocation (Ruth Reynard 2008), this is an issue which I sadly with all my research cannot answer.  I think it is one of those things which as teachers we need to get a feel for it.  Some people like myself love to talk and express their opinion, but others may not or may not understand the content.  A balance is in order to judge this issue as it comes because sometimes things do not go to plan.

I think one of the biggest concerns that schools have with blogs is misuse of the environment.  How do we know if the student's are working and not playing games? this questions seems to be the general issue and explains why a lot of schools do not allow students to use blogs during class.  I believe that this issue is simply blown out of proportion and embeds the idea that some IT staff and teachers are simply being lazy.  I am what you would call a nerdyish rebel, at school I used to play games during computer classes and muck around on the computers.  But from my experiences from working with three different schools, the technology is there to restrict such shenanigans but it appears people do not want to invest in the time to do it.  Some schools have a program which enables the teacher to view exactly what the student is viewing during class on the school network.  WHY DOESN'T EVERY SCHOOL HAVE THIS? I have used this technology and you can even write messages to students telling them to get back to the task.  I understand that some students use what is called proxy's which basically gives you a fake internet site so it hides them from playing games.  These sites can be found from googling them, so why doesn't the IT staff band them? also, there is no denying the fact that students will always find a way to play games during class, but if they do get caught, the website should be reported to the IT staff so that is restricted.  YET THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN.  This is why I strongly feel that this is not a real issue, this is a problem which can be constrained though reactive and proactive responses.   

So with all this information, how would I personally use blogs for one of my teaching areas, the best way to explain this is through the SAMR model.     

SAMR MODEL	LEGAL STUDIES
SUBSTITUTION	The blog is used to replace word or the MAC equivalent
AUGMENTATION	Students can now view the blogs and the bogs remain online
MODIFICATION	Students can now write on each other’s blogs and can be viewed by the teacher and the peers
Redefinition	Students can now embed videos or pictures to answer questions by the teacher

However, before the student's blog I would set parameters and make sure the content has been discussed before people blog.  I believe that blogs are a great way for people to answer questions for homework. Students use computer and there phones on a regular basis, this would actually make them want to learn.  People will argue that student's may not have access to a computer or a phone to access blogs.  I tell these people that this reasoning is just laziness on both the student and teacher's behalf.  There are library's, school computer's, the lesson could be done in a computer room.  If you want students to excel from the implementation of blogs, then we need to put the work in.    

To be continued..