In this blog, we will be looking at how student in Secondary Schools can write and comment on blogs and how it will benefit them. We also looked at need for students to be aware of the difference between these “social comments” versus academic commenting.
What Is Blog
A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries. Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. Student blogging describes students in secondary who are using blogs in some way in a formal classroom context. Blogs are digital platforms that provide students with a medium for sharing knowledge and experiences that go beyond the traditional means of reading and writing in classrooms.
What is comment?
Comment is a written remark expressing an opinion or reaction. Commenting is a great introduction to student writing on blogs. It does not require planning to write an entire blog post. Commenting can be used as a stepping stone for students to “earn” the right to author their own blog posts on a classroom blog or before they get to be administrators of their own student blog.
Read: Student Blogging Management System
Powerful Benefits Why Students Should Blog
- Blogging Exercises Student Creativity
One of the best benefits that come as a result of blogging is that it allows people to express and hone their creativity. This can turn a boring paper into a fun creative process.
Bloggers always need to use their creativity and thinking to:
- Develop unique and original content
- Solve problems
- Express their perspective and personality visually trough custom themes, headers, layouts, designs, and pictures.
- Respond to their follower’s feedback and comments.
Besides, it’s also a fun and innovative process in which they can combine much of what they have learned.
- Regular Writing Sharpens the Brain’s Performance
The development of a student’s thinking may be the most important benefit that comes with blogging. Many specialists talk about the phenomenon of how daily writing (content, thoughts, experiences, fantasies, or anything you want) improves and sharpens your brain’s performance.
Blogging helps you connect the dots better and faster. You should encourage each of your students to develop their personal blog and create a portfolio around it and help them in big time when they seek their first jobs!
- Promote Expression of Self
In the traditional classroom, the student’s audience is mainly the teacher and perhaps, sometimes, parents and the classmates. If a student was to blog regularly, she’ll reach a broader audience, and can receive constructive feedback.
Blogging gives students purpose, this being a crucial aspect of every person’s motivation. Also, when a student starts a platform, he’ll feel the need to consistently provide his audience with good information. These are aspects that truly can’t be found in the traditional classroom learning system.
Read: Online Assessment Benefits in Schools
- Blogging Boosts Confidence
People/ students that own blogs report critical changes in their lives.
In fact, what most students want to say is that their confidence levels have improved. They are no longer afraid to speak what they hold in their minds, and they feel less pressure to conform to the standards.
- Improve Communication Skills
Writing, after all, is simply a type of communication that people use in order to exchange thoughts and feelings. Let’s keep it simple: if your students write something for their blog every day, they’ll express their thoughts and feelings on a consistent basis. The more they practice through blogging, the better communicators they’ll become.
- Earn Income!
Are your students aware of how much money can be made with blogging? Are you?
Indeed, writing is a skill that never goes away. Just like you learn how to drive once, your writing skills will stick with you no matter what. Many bloggers find outside work by writing for extra income.
How student can become a quality Blogger/ Commenter
- Model blogging/ commenting
- Read Blogs to learn to distinguish between poor, mediocre and quality blogs.
- Model blogging to your students by leaving QUALITY comments on their blogs
- Avoid comments, such as “Great job”, “Way to go”, or “I really liked what your wrote”…
- Commenting is about continuing a conversation started in a blog post.
- Commenting is about helping to (potentially) push the author of the post in a new direction, give a new perspective or connect them to new resources.
- Commenting is about relating the thoughts, ideas, experiences or resources of the blog author to your own. Sharing them will paint a better picture of the issue, perspectives, or research.
- Ask yourself if your comment CONTRIBUTED to the conversation, the learning of the author or other readers?
- 21st century skills include critical thinking, problem solving and QUESTIONING. The comment section of a blog is a great place to practices these skills in an authentic environment.
Read: Improving Students Learning via School Management App
Model writing
- Use traditional writing conventions (grammar, word choices, audience appropriate etc.)
- Add digital writing conventions (linking)
- Integrate reflective writing
- Compose and publish comments together as a class by projecting the blog
Take the time to discuss and reflect on Blogs/ comments left by others
- It is the perfect time to upgrade and replace traditionally taught lessons.
- Teach writing in an authentic setting.
- Engage in conversation with an authentic global audience.
- Deliver “just in time” mini lessons, as teaching opportunities pop up unexpectedly
- Model by responding to or continuing a conversation
Know the difference between academic and social Blogging
- Students are most likely accustomed to blogging/ commenting via text messages on their cellular devices and on friends’ Facebook
- students need to be aware of the difference between these “social comments” versus academic commenting
- Recognize when students are falling into social blogs and coach them to academic commenting.
Conclusion
Student need to know what blog writing and commenting is all about, to enable them know how to interact on but social and academic blog platform with their follow student, this will enable them have confidence in their self’s whenever they are interacting with their follow student.