Teaching through blogs

Being literate in the twenty-first century means much more than knowing how to read and write. It means being able to download, burn, chat, save, blog, Skype, and so on. Students should be able to use modern technologies in the classrooms because that is part of the digital world they grow up in. They should have enough skills to know how to use these latest technologies. In such a technological world, educators are responsible for better preparing students to become citizens of a global digital society. Learning through technology tools, gives students several skills. Through blogs, students can learn in a very informal way. How can blogs be used to teach English? Blogs can be great resource centers, where teachers and students post materials. Students can show their projects on blogs. Parents can keep track of their children’s learning processes and finished products through blogs. Teachers can host online discussions. Through blogs, students can also work as contributors, authors and editors. Teachers can post class information, news, events, classroom calendars, etc on the blog. Teachers can also share lesson plans and exchange ideas with other peers. Teachers can post daily homework on blogs. Students can post questions for following classes on blogs. Students can post drafts for peer, collaborative editing. Blogging is a great way for students to share their thoughts and opinions about various class topics; they can exchange ideas in a daily basis. Teachers can post lecture summaries of their classes on blogs. Teachers can have team projects posted on their blogs, and so on. Presenting lecture-like classes and using chalkboards are characteristics that belong to the past. Nowadays, teaching means being part, knowing how to use, incorporating and instructing our students technologies of our current world.

3 comments April 1, 2009