Yes, I am using Blogger to write about Blogger. I have been using Blogger for several years and am beginning to realize the potential it has in a special education setting.Many teachers' now have classroom blogs used to disseminate information to students, parents and administrators. Some educators are figuring out that a classroom Blog has a real place in instruction can be interactive!
I recently read an article from Closing the Gap, an Assistive Technology magazine. The article highlighted an inclusion program where students are paired with undergrad/graduate teacher education students from Appalachian State University. The college students serve as good written language models for the students in the inclusion program.
The students also participate in a classroom blog. The teacher posts writing prompts at Virtual Authors and each student responds in turn. Their audience is not just school-wide; it also includes the ASU students and anyone else in the blogosphere. This teacher is "creating authentic purposes for reading and writing" (Wollak, 2010).
I will use Blogger in my future classroom because it promotes interactivity, empowerment, engagement and motivation. I will setup a classroom blog similar to Virtual Authors. In addition to writing prompts, I will also have students take turns formatting the blog. I will have a list of blogs for students to explore and they will be required to comment on different blogs (we will use Ginger for spelling and grammar checking).
The use of 21st century tools in the classroom is not only motivating, but it is preparing students with "multiliteracies" (Koppenhaver, 2010). Embracing these tools will prepare students to thrive in our technology-driven world.
References:
Wollak, B. (2010, April/May). Technology supported literacy: students in an inclusion program e-mail, blog and twitter. Closing the Gap, Retrieved from https://www.closingthegap.com/solutions/articles/1787
*Note: Blogger is not compensating me for this review.
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