“Giving Reluctant Students a Voice”

I really enjoyed this article and love the idea of using a class blog to facilitate learning and discussions. I think it provides a terrific forum for students to all share their thoughts and bounce ideas and opinions off of one another in a constructive way. This is a terrific platform for learning and the students are not only sharing ideas and discussing academic concepts/answering questions, but they are also learning how to respectfully communicate with one another. They learn how to respectfully agree and disagree with opinions, give constructive criticism, and how to share their thoughts clearly to others through their writing.

I also really like that this provides EVERY student an opportunity to share and contribute at their own pace. Not every person thinks at the same pace, processes at the same pace, or shares with large crowds comfortably. Having a class discussion forum such as the blog allows them to share within their comfort zone, and may even give those level 3 and 4 students a bit of a confidence boost to share more in class.

I think another strong point with the blogs is that it provides students an opportunity to practice typing. Depending on the blog/assignment/teacher the blogging could even be part of a typing or writing grade. The submitted blog entries could have such requirements as having to apply spelling and grammar check before submitting. This would also have students practicing the utilization of word processing toolbars. It may also make them more aware of their spelling and grammar.