I mentioned in an earlier blog that
I was setting up a blog for my 6 year old son so he could detail his trip to
Hawaii. I was able to educate my father on how to set up this blog and my
mother helped my son update the blog on an almost daily basis. My son was
able to learn SO much from this process! It helped with his reading and
writing skills and allowed him to remain in contact with his Grade 1 class for
the entire month.
There were some trouble-shooting
items with which we had to figure out but for the most part blogging went
smoothly. The main problem was that his school's filter blocked his class
from commenting directly on the blog. His teacher had to email my son
the comments made by his classmates and my mom posted those comments along with
his responses onto the blog. My son really appreciated hearing his
classmates responses and vice versa. His teacher has mentioned to me that
her class misses the daily blogs and wishes they still had a blog to
view. She also mentioned how her students picked up on a spelling mistake
she made on the blog. I told her that she should say that she was just
testing them with that mistake and she was proud that they were able to point
out the error.
Overall, I believe my “experiment”
with blogging was a success. Throughout the process my son increased his
reading and writing skills, communicated with his classmates and family, and
created an online document that describes his experiences at Hawaii. His
classmates were able to communicate with him, which increased their reading
skills so much that they were able to spot an error made by their
teacher. His family members and classmates were able to experience his
vacation in real time throughout the blogging experience. The fact that
his classmates miss his blog show the benefits of blogging in a Grade 1
classroom. Blogging was a great way to increase student engagement in my
son's classroom and I encourage elementary school teachers to utilize this tool
in their own classrooms with the hope they will experience the same positive
response.
I am so happy your son's blogging experience was so positive. I loved getting to see his blog each 470 class. I think it is really interesting that you have seen an improvement in his reading and spelling in such a small amount of time. When I have my own kids I will certainly utilize blogging.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a great idea and am glad it was a success! As Lauren said I too loved getting to see his blog in each 470 class. I was very interesting in seeing the pictures that were loaded and hearing about his adventures!
ReplyDeleteThis is so great! I love how involved his class got in his blog it is a great example of the things a blog can do for a classroom!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like everyone got so much from this experience. Will you be starting a class blog or having your students blog? Did you learn anything from the experience with your son that plays a role in your decision?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be great to have a class blog! I would even enjoy having the students blog, especially if my classroom was technologically equipped to allow for it. I think the experience with my son showed me how students can become engaged through blogging and definitely played a role in my decision to introduce blogging in my classroom.
Delete