Get Your Students Hired
Hello Kelly,
From your experience, do you notice that students are less likely to support their statements in blogs versus a formal paper?
Barb
Michelle,
Great post! I think you make a great point about disrespect. Students don't want to be disrespected but doesn't think about the words they say and how other feels. Professionalism must be modeled and taught.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I feel two types of guidelines that should be utilized in the classroom with regard to blogs are related to personal information and disrespect. Once something is online it can be accessed by many people even if a person doesn’t necessarily have the credentials or permission to access it. For safety reasons nothing personal should ever be listed or given out in this kind of setting. This can place the student, teacher, classmates, etc. at risk.
I chose disrespect for my second guideline since I feel it is “all encompassing.†Information posted should not be plagiarized, should not include derogatory or defamatory remarks, and/or should not include offensive language. Information presented should be dignified, factual, and respectful.
Steve,
You are so right. I tell my students I don't really care what you think. . . unless you can support it with facts. The Blog cannot be "puking on. . .paper". Ok not paper, maybe the keyboard? :)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Two really important points about blogging to me are:
1. Present facts and reference sources. If what I am presenting is an opinion rather than a fact, I make that clear.
2. Be respectful of people and ideas in the blog. Educators should be open-minded, yet so many of us make fun of ideas that are not mainstream ideas in our fields.
Students should be made aware of language guidelines as well as what is considered appropriate content relating to topics discussed.
Valerie,
Great post. Yes, you must have students follow protocol that respects people and property.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Two important ones is to understand that you posting in a public environment. It's important that you are using facts, being respectful, posting appropriate content, etc.
Another guideline is understanding both copyright and plagiarism. Use of some images and videos may be restricted, and students really need to understand citation basic before posting publicly.
Tonya,
It is a great tool that will exercise their writing skills. You can monitor their vocabulary that can be very specific in many areas.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The biigest benefit to using blogs in the classroom is the overall utlization of technology in the classroom. Blogging puts the student in a god postion to further develop their writing skills. It is a great tool for engaging the students.