The benefits of blogging

With all the privacy issues, I never ever thought of using blogging as a way to teach and improve writing skills for young children. Although I feel that blogs for young children should be privatized, I love this idea! It might be fun for teachers to have a "classroom" blog where each child is a contributor. The blog can easily be closed to simply the educator, students and their parents. My mind was going at a thousand miles per hour as I watched this video. Here are some fun ideas for all you educators out there:

1. Story-chain: Have 1 student start out a paragraph and have each student add on to that story with their own postings. At the end of class, the teacher can put together the whole story and read it aloud to the class. You will be amazed by how the story twists and turns with fun and innovative writing.

2. Opinion posts: Have students write posts about different current events and what they feel and think about it. It's a great way for each child to read about their fellow peers' opinions. Encourage constructive commenting. Teachers should always oversee commenting so as to make sure disruptive comments are put at bay. It's a great that blogs offer tools such as comments that first need to be reviewed by the administrator before it's posted officially.

3. Post a random picture on the blog and have the students write a funny/sad/laughable/horror story about it. Go crazy with the genre!

4. Use the classroom blog to post assignments. This way all the students and their parents will be on the same page.

For parents, a fun thing to do might be to start a private family blog that's accessible only to your immediate family. It will be fun for family members to have their own "white space" their own opinions. This will also teach your child valuable typing/writing skills as well as to teach your child how to form their own opinions and allowing their voices to be heard. I think this is a skill that many kids lack nowadays. Parents are becoming more protective over their children. It is still important that your child learn to voice their opinions, make their own decisions, and learn how to be independent in their own right. As they grow up to be teenagers, this trait will come in handy as they will not be pushed around or influenced easily by bad company. Instead, they will learn how to look at both sides and decide what is right and what is best for them.

Thoughts?