How could I use blogs in my art room? I could see setting up a blog for my students to create e-portfolios. I envision these portfolios not only displaying student art work but also reflective comments about their work and the work of others. I currently require students to share their work in a whole group setting and make oral comments. They love being in the limelight and becoming the expert. It is a wonderful teaching strategy but often it falls to the way side because we are so busy making art we run out of time. I believe a blog may allow my students to participate in this activity on a more consistent basis and learn quite a lot from each others comments.
I have seen examples of wonderful blogs set up for this very purpose but most of them were in a middle or high school setting. Can my elementary students handle it? Are they as motivated as middle and high school students by the whole social aspect of blogging? I believe that when I begin to use blogging, I will start it with my fifth graders and work my way down.
I believe that it is vital to spend time teaching the ground-work for this new experience in order to be successful. I recently read a fantastic post about introducing blogging to elementary students called "Blogging is Elementary!" by Kim Cofino. Even if you don't teach elementary aged students I think it is worth looking over. Kim breaks down her three years experience with introducing blogging into five lessons. They cover everything from becoming familiar with a blog, to safety and responsibility, and of course how to write good comments. All this is covered extensively before the student even gets to pick a user name.
I also recommend a look a series of posts made by Silvia Tolisano under the Top Ten Posts section of her blog. She also offers an extensive series of lessons for introducing good practice using blogs.
I feel with elementary students setting the stage for appropriate and responsible blogging is well worth the time and effort it will take. Start the good habits now. That is my impression.
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I like your idea about using a blog to display the artwork of the students. However, I don't think that younger children will understand what to do or what a blog is used for. I think that only older students will be capable of using these blogs. Your idea about using the fifth graders first is a wonderful thought and I hope that works.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great way to introduce blogging to young students while they are learning how to appreciate art and positively interact with each other at the same time. In addition, they are practicing their keyboarding skills. In our district, students do not get an opportunity to take a computer class until they are in middle school. However, they are required to type certain assignments before that time. I think it's important for students to start learning how to use a computer and a keyboard at a young age. I don't blame you for starting with 5th grade. It will probably by challenging for elementary students, but I think if you guide them through the process one step at a time, they can be successful.
ReplyDeleteKaren, your ideas for blogging with art are excellent! Students could even add podcasts and or voice threads showing and describing their artwork and the methods they used. You would still use your method of oral comments in this way. This could even be done at the lower levels such as kindergarten, with your guidance.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your words of encouragement! I currently have a discussion board on a closed network site but I have not required my students to use it. I post discussion questions and some of my techno savvy students will post comments. I want to utilize this feature more in my classroom but I am now torn with using a blog instead. Through using this blog, I have seen how much more creative one can be with this format compared to the discussion board. The factor I like about my discussion board is that it is within a very controlled and secure environment. Do we have to sacrifice security to gain creativity? Do we lose some of the "blogging experience" if we do not expose ourselves to a world-wide audience?
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