One of the challenges I face as a school librarian is encouraging students to reed deeply. At the same time, many of them want to attract attention and entertain their peers. To this end, they are avid e-mailers and artists. Boys in particular are always doodling superheroes; girls are endlessly designing ball gowns and party clothes. There’s always one student who endlessly draws animals. It has occurred to me that I can tap into that creative energy and get kids online, communicating with each other and with folks who make their livings drawing. I have a scanner in my library – what if I suggested to students that they scan their best work, post it on a blog page and write about it? Suppose part of that activity is to read and cite at least one article or book that relates to their drawing, and to post comments on a classmate’s post.
I know that being on the computer and playing video games is the raison d’etre for some of these kids. In “Three Classroom Blogging Tips for Teachers,”Ferriter (2013) advises teachers just beginning to use blogs to create one topic that every student can respond to. What if I ask students to start an online magazine about video games? Student editors can keep the blog on track, and volunteers (parents, other teachers, grad classmates, etc.) can comment on the blog posts to get the ball rolling. I know my customers – they will want to have endless online discussions. None of them will post comments on only one blog – they’ll have to weigh in on every post with which they disagree, as well as the ones they agree with. In order to write thoughtful comments, they’re going to have to read a bit about their topic. They’ll probably want to read other blogs on similar topics. I’m pretty sure I can lay hands on some books about gamers – even in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Greg and Rowley have favorite video games.
If I am going to sneak this in as an assignment in collaboration with my teaching colleagues there will be a need for assessment. I usually use Rubistar to create rubrics because it’s easy to use and teachers often save their best rubrics for others to use. One of the commenters to the blog “Really? It's My Job to Teach Technology?” (Utecht, 2013) noted the importance of including rubrics to assess not only the writing task but also the content students are working with. As the blog develops, I could gradually incorporate Glogowski’s (2008) Ripple Effect graphic organizer to encourage students to reflect about their writing. I believe students do not get enough time to think about their learning because of our frantic focus on getting through the content. Using blogs might give them a strategy for reflecting on their writing.
Davis (2013) noted that collaborating globally is the important part of her students' learning and is the reason for using blogging. Teaching our kids to read and write more deeply with blogs gets to the heart of what I want to do as a school librarian. Technology is just a tool for information literacy. I can see this blog develop into a springboard launching some great young writers.
Blog Post Rubric for 4th & 5th Graders
CATEGORY | Needs Improvement (1) | Fair (2) | Good (3) | Excellent (4) |
Focus on Topic (Content) | The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information. | Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. | Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general. | There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information. |
Spelling, Capitalization & Punctuation (Conventions) | Writer makes several errors in spelling, capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and greatly interrupt the flow. | Writer makes a few errors in spelling, capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and interrupt the flow. | Writer makes 1 or 2 errors in spelling, capitalization or punctuation, but the paper is still easy to read. | Writer makes no errors in spelling, capitalization or punctuation, so the paper is exceptionally easy to read. |
Commitment (Voice) | The writer made no attempt to make the reader care about the topic. | The writer attempts to make the reader care about the topic, but is not really successful. | The writer successfully uses one or two reasons to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic. | The writer successfully uses more than two reasons to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic. |
References:
Davis , V. (2013, May 3). If Common Core Standards become our straight jacket, we'll hate what education becomes. Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Retrieved September 2, 2013, from http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/05/if-common-core-standards-become-our.html
Glogowski, K. (2008, February 4). Towards Reflective BlogTalk. Blog of proximal development. Retrieved September 2, 2013, from http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2008/02/04/towards-reflective-blogtalk
RubiStar. (n.d.). RubiStar. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Utecht, J. (2012, November 10). Really? It’s My Job to Teach Technology? The Thinking Stick. Retrieved September 2, 2013, from http://www.thethinkingstick.com/really-its-my-job-to-teach-technology/