During Weeks 4 – 7 of the Global 2 Challenge we will be looking at the opportunities that blogging offers teaching and learning, under the four strategies of Connecting, Communicating, Collaborating and Learning Collectively. For further reading refer to the white paper: Understanding Virtual Pedagogies for Contemporary Teaching and Learning.

Re-thinking Transparency

On Monday, we discussed at how the ease of online publishing, such as through blogging, changes learning. That students and classes are using blogging to showcase their learning and to reflect on their learning. That blogging enables students and classes to communicate not only with their wider school community but also with the global community.

So my question today is, how does blogging (and other online publishing) change what students publish?

Yesterday, we discussed how the publishing is no longer the end-point, that online publishing (through activities like blogging) results in responses and ongoing conversations with other web-users. And, if the nature of publishing has changed what does this mean for what is published?

When blogging provides students a wonderful opportunity to receive feedback and advice on their finished products, maybe students would produce better outcomes if their solicited online feedback and advice earlier in the process. Additionally, by blogging the learning process other learners will benefit from “seeing” the learning process rather than just the finished product.

George Siemens suggests that when students “make their learning transparent, they become teachers.” In articulating changes in understanding over time, including retracting previously held beliefs based on new ideas or experiences, the learner not only shares deep insight into the concept but also models effective personal sense making. These are crucial 21st century skills for our students to have, the ability to “make sense” in a world where knowledge is changing and new knowledge is created at a rapid pace.

Some questions for further thinking and discussion:

What changes when students blog their whole learning process and not just finished products?

What changes when students blog their failures and not just their successes?

What changes when student blog their learning intentions?

Are their any reasons why students, teachers or parents would be hesitant for students to transparently blog their learning journey?

What are the benefits for learners to blog the whole learning process?

What are the benefits for learners to share their failures and well as their successes?

Please use the comment space below to respond to any of these questions.

When blogging a response to any of these question, please use the global 2 challenge tag #g2c11 or link to this post so that we can find your content.

Next in the Global 2 Challenge

Next Week, We’ll explore the Collaborating Strategy and the implications for blogging and the Global 2 Community.

During Weeks 4 – 7 of the Global 2 Challenge we will be looking at the opportunities that blogging offers teaching and learning, under the four strategies of Connecting, Communicating, Collaborating and Learning Collectively. For further reading refer to the white paper: Understanding Virtual Pedagogies for Contemporary Teaching and Learning.

Re-thinking Publishing

On Monday, we discussed at how the ease of online publishing, such as through blogging, changes learning. That students and classes are using blogging to showcase their learning and to reflect on their learning. That blogging enables students and classes to communicate not only with their wider school community but also with the global community.

So my question today is, how does blogging (and other online publishing) change publishing?

Pre-blogging (and web with a number after it) publishing was the end point. Content was created by authors and consumed by readers.

Things have changed.

Online, publishing is not the end point, comments, trackbacks, links, social bookmarks, and facebook likes have resulted in publishing not being the end-point but the start-point or a mid-point, anything but an end-point.

What does this mean for student publishing?

Some questions for further thinking and discussion:

What are the conditions required for focussed online conversational publishing?

Do students need their own blogs?

With whom should students engage in online conversations?

How can schools and teachers assist their students in finding a voice?

How can schools and teachers assist their students in finding co-learners?

Are public or private spaces best suited to conversational blogging?

How often should students check their blog comments and update their blog?

What role should teachers play in commenting on student blogs?

How do students make their blog findable?

Please use the comment space below to respond to any of these questions.

When blogging a response to any of these question, please use the global 2 challenge tag #g2c11 or link to this post so that we can find your content.

Next in the Global 2 Challenge

Tomorrow, What does the Communicating strategy mean for what students publish?

Next Week, We’ll explore the Collaborating Strategy and the implications for blogging and the Global 2 Community.

During Weeks 4 – 7 of the Global 2 Challenge we will be looking at the opportunities that blogging offers teaching and learning, under the four strategies of Connecting, Communicating, Collaborating and Learning Collectively. For further reading refer to the white paper: Understanding Virtual Pedagogies for Contemporary Teaching and Learning.

Communicating

The web has made it much easier to publish information.

Blogging in particular is quick, easy and free to do. Anyone can easily publish content in text, audio, video and other multimedia formats. The easy of online publishing is not just limited to the original content author but also having made it easier for others to respond to the content of others. Many online newspaper websites now accept comments in the same that people can comment on blogs, to provide their own point of view, experiences and add value to the original content.

The benefits of Communicating:

1. Showcase work
2. Reflect on own work and, provide and receive feedback

With this strategy students are using their own blog as a Digital Portfolio (also known as an ePortfolio) to showcase their successes, through describing learning experiences and publishing exemplary pieces of work. Students share their own ideas, experiences, points of view and they respond to the ideas, experiences and points of view of others.

Other students may use their blog as a Reflective Blog, where they document and reflect upon their learning journey.

Some classes choose to have a Class Blog rather than individual student blogs. Usually, the teacher would write all of the blog posts with students and parents encouraged to share their responses as comments. Class blog most likely detail class experiences and successes rather than individual student success.

By using blogging to communicate, students begin to develop a sense of the Internet as a global communication platform.

How are schools and students using blogging to Communicate?

http://studentsofmitchhughes.global2.vic.edu.au/

The Students of Mitch Hughes, is a class blog that details the learning experiences of of 1/2MH, Watsonia Primary School.

http://2kmand2kj.global2.vic.edu.au/

This class blog, contains many detailed detailed posts around the learning that happens in the classroom. All posts are written by the teachers bu the students (and parents) are engaged through the comments which contain great interactions with the teachers and with each other.

Quoted from the blog: “Welcome to our blog! We are the children from 2KM and 2KJ at Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia. There are 43 of us and our teachers are Mrs Kathleen Morris and Miss Kelly Jordan. We use this space to share all the great things that are happening in our classroom. Please leave a comment!”

http://williamstownprimaryschool.global2.vic.edu.au/

The Williamstown Primary School blog, the grade 5/6 students respond to the teacher’s post, detailing their learning as comments.

http://jarrodsblog.global2.vic.edu.au/

Jarrod’s Awesome Blog, is a student blog where Jarrod presents his current learning and things he finds interesting. Jarrod receives feedback in the comment section from both his teachers and peers.

http://gre0008.global2.vic.edu.au/

Mango Madness, is also a student blog where the student uses both posts and pages, to present their learning experiences and report on activities, such as their favourite books.

How can we support and ensure our students are effective online Communicators?

Encourage our students  to add value to posts, but making support comments highlighting important or interesting elements.

Reach out to the wider school community through individual student blogs and class blogs.

Examine ways in which individual student blogging can be aggregated so that it presents a rich picture of class happenings.

Questions

When is it appropriate to use class blogs as opposed to individual student blogs?

What are the benefits of presenting and showcasing student work through individual student blogs?

What are  the benefits of presenting and showcasing student work through class blogs?

What are your experiences with presenting and showcasing through class blogging or individual student blogging?

When blogging a response to the activities, please use the global 2 challenge tag #g2c11 or link to this post so that we can find your content.

Next in the Global 2 Challenge

Tomorrow, What does the Communicating strategy mean for the student publishing process?

Wednesday, What does the Communicating strategy mean for what students publish?

Next Week, We’ll explore the Collaborating Strategy and the implications for blogging and the Global 2 Community.