As future teachers, we used to have our students write their own reflections on a piece of paper and share them with the classroom as well. Today, twenty-first century educators have the chance of incorporating blogging into our classes since it is a good way to change our activities in order to make them more interesting, insightful, funny, engaging, and dynamic so students can easily share their thoughts, reflections, and opinions with others as well as the teacher. Therefore, in this essay, I will be emphasizing on the benefits of using blogs or blogging in the classroom with twenty-first century learners.
To begin, we must know that the Internet in these days is constantly updating its web sources to provide a better service with the community around the world. Many families and friends are now using blogs to write their personal experiences, stories, or anecdotes to share them with their beloved ones. It is the same thing that educators are trying to do. They want students to start using this collaborative web tool that will enhance their writing skills and will improve their vocabulary as well. Obviously, you will not expect students to write perfectly crystal clear with no grammar mistakes, misspellings, or punctuation. In fact, you must let them be creative using this tool for their special needs.
Firstly, student writing is improving by leaps and bounds. When a teacher read their blogs, he does not find himself pulling his hair out over the careless mistakes that they make in formal papers. As I said before, not every post is perfect, but the majority are well written and free of grammar and usage issues that I am so familiar with seeing in their other work. If they become sloppy, all you need to do is politely comment about it on their blog in order to give appropriate feedback and suggestions. Additionally, their improved skills transfer to formal work. Integrating quotations in literary papers has become simple now that we have so much practice with smoothly embedding hyperlinks. Additionally, student response to texts has improved. Some of the posts they must write are based on stimulus texts of their choice.
Secondly, students have the opportunity to practice writing and analytical skills in their own blogs that will transfer into essays and other writing endeavors. Likewise, they are able to see their own writing as something “real” with a practical application. Indeed, creating a blog can be a bridge for students between the familiar digital world and what is being asked of them in academic essays, projects and other assignments. Thus, blogging can be seen as a gateway experience for students who will be using digital technologies and media in their future endeavors despite their discipline.
Thirdly, blogs can serve for collaborative participation between students and the teacher. They provide a space where teachers and students can work to further develop writing or other skills with the advantage of an instant audience. Furthermore, teachers can offer instructional tips, and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make online mentoring possible. For example, a class of older students can help a class of younger students develop more confidence in their writing skills. At the same time, students can also participate in cooperative learning activities that require them to relay research findings, ideas, or suggestions. Creating a class blog requires teamwork and collaboration. Students and teachers learn and share together. A real sense of classroom community can be developed through blogging and establishing a class identity.
Lastly, blogging can used as students portfolios so that they can write their own reflections after learning new stuff or having the experience to create a story, an anecdote, or even a short article about their favorite topic they would like to discuss. Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. Additionally, as students realize their efforts will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce better writing.
In conclusion, blogging can improve students’ writing skills and build their confidence as writers. By blogging, students can take ownership of their writing, become better observers of others’ writing, and develop a more immediate and powerful understanding of audience. Blogs encourage experimenting and risk-taking, seriousness and play, and they foster an increased awareness of private and public writing. Therefore, a class blog can help foster a feeling of community among the members of a class, especially if learners are sharing information about themselves and their interests, and are responding to what other learners are writing. In that way, they will contribute to a better educational environment that is completely modern and updated to the latest technology that anyone can use it for good purposes.
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