Module 2

I was most interested in discovering that there is an incredible number of blogs on the web. I already knew about blogs for entertainment/social purposes (like Perez Hilton!) but it I can honestly say it never crossed my mind that blogs could be used for educational purposes.
I especially like reading through the blog - Weblogg-ed - The Read/Write Web in the Classroom. Much of what Will Richardson discusses rings true to the type of students that I work with and student learning in general. Some lines that really stuck out were:
"We’ve become so dependent on the test to tell us about our students that we know less and less about who they really are"
"Every student's brain is wired differently"
And most importantly - "It’s not about the grades they get, whether or not they “pass the test,” or even so much about what they “know” at the end of the year. More, I’m wondering whether they will love learning more next spring, be more patient problem solvers, understand more fully their place in the world, and embrace failure as opportunity, not defeat. None of that, however, will be reflected in their report cards"
This is so true in many schools isn't it? We become so preoccupied with getting all our assessments done, rankings, marking and all the rest of it that we don't really think about the bigger picture - will our students still love learning? Do high assessment marks really mean they love learning? Or does it just mean that they remembered a heap of information?
I think blogs would serve as a great way to get students to love what they learn. In this day and age where technology is becoming increasingly popular, why shouldn't we use blogs to engage students? Get them to start their own blogs as a way to show their understanding of content? It will give the more creative students a chance to display their talent and the students that hate writing in books (or have messy hand writing) something to take pride in.
However, I can see potential problems with using blogs and computers in general with the students at the school I work at - for those of you that know what kind of students attend my school you will understand! There is always the possibility of them "pretending" to do work yet go on Facebook or some other website they shouldn't be on or the possibility of them using the blog in the wrong way (leaving nasty/stupid comments on the blogs of other students).
This is not to say I wouldn't at least try to get them to use blogs in the classroom, it would just have to mean being extra vigilant and making sure they were not abusing the system.