Blog 5, Blogging in K-12 & Adult School

At the secondary school level, I think students will be more receptive to doing assignments via blog over the weekend or due blogs two or three times a week this would be the case if I was to teach in high school also. I plan to assign blogging as a journal in which they can write about topics about issues or items of interest items that are either school related or of interests conducive to their passions before I start assigning online blogging as homework. I can also have them blog on current events so as to develop opinions on these matters. Moreover, I think it will make it more fun and engaging for students to write on a topic at issue or of interest and then see the electronic feedback on what they’ve written by their peers. I think it will give students a fresh and new perspective on writing. I would argue that it would help demystify the process of writing giving students therefore encouraging writing.

However, if presented with an opportunity to teach adult ESL classes I think it would still be productive and would love to have them blog sparingly. But I think it would be best to ease them into it maybe once a week or once every two weeks. Since they won’t be used to idea of writing online it would be best to assign blogs on informal topics so that they can familiarize themselves that would help them transition into writing on more formal themes. I also think this would be an environment where I would not grade to harshly on grammar or mechanics so as to give them a greater freedom to express them and therefore encourage them to write and familiarize themselves with the process.