Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Blogging in the Classroom

Guest post by Madalyn Stillman, EDU 222 student @ Murray State University
While blogging is something that has become popular in more recent years, it has become a huge hit in the classrooms. Do you remember in elementary school when your teacher would send you home with a list of announcements that may or not make it your parents? And sometimes those announcements were very important for your parent to read. Flyers sent home may soon become a thing of the past with blogging. Teachers everywhere have started creating classroom blogs that include posts about what the class is doing throughout the week, what announcements are important for you as a parent to know, and what you should expect in the upcoming weeks, not to mention students writing and projects! Blogging is a fun and creative tool used today that can be used for so many things. Blogs give you the chance to express how you feel about certain topics or to help keep people informed about what is going on in your life. And although blogging may seem like a no brainer there are some things that you should consider before creating your own personal blog or one for the classroom.
  • Choose an appropriate blogging site for your platform. Make sure that you are choosing something that is not only user friendly but that can be found easily for students and parents.
  • Think about how you will use the blog in your classroom. Discuss with parents what will be on the blog and get their permission to post about their child or possibly upload pictures of their child in the classroom.
  • Collaborate with your students and discuss what they think is most important for their parents to know throughout the week. As the school year progresses and the students become more familiar with the blog maybe incorporate an assignment where they post to the blog.
When thinking about what all your blog should include it is important to think about what your readers may want to see the most of. They will of course love to see what their child has been working on throughout the week, but begin to think outside of the box. Provide a tab that is all about the teacher. Parents love when they are able to know their child's teacher on a more personal level and will feel more comfortable coming to you with questions and issues. Possibly provide a link that provides some simple quizzes or brain teasers that students can work on at home with their parent. And lastly showcase what is going on in your classroom. Provide a link that shows what's been happening in the classroom, how the students are engaging with other students, and create a place where all important information that parents should know.  

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