Top 3 uses of blogs in the classroom...

After reading the textbook, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (2nd Ed.) by Will Richardson, I really got a lot of ideas about what types of things I could use a blog for in my language classroom and with my students.

I think that since I'm just starting out, I can handle developing a simple blog in which I can list daily homework assignments, classwork, a brief review of what was learned, etc. The students and parents would have the link to the blog, and would be able to visit it each day to review homework, review how to do various things (conjugate verbs, etc.), or see what they missed if they were absent. I can also post links to helpful websites that my students can use to do review activities, play games, or enrich their cultural understanding of Spanish speaking countries. I could also post links to newspapers from various countries, and news articles about important things going on around the world. I'm thinking that eventually I would allow students to comment on each blog with their homework questions, questions in general about material, things they would like to learn, etc. Then, I can address these comments the following day in class. It would get the students interacting with the material, and would allow me to become familiar with blogging and using it in the classroom.

Once I become more familiar with blogging and its potential, I could see how it would be useful to use blogs to connect my students with other Spanish-speaking students, or with other students learning the language. As I was reading, I had a thought that I could get together with one of my colleagues who teaches in another district, and our students could each develop their own blog. My colleague and I could put together groups of students who would interact with each other on their blogs (this could be divided by ability, mixed groups, etc.). Each group of students would receive the URL of the blogs for the students in their groups. My colleague and I could then discuss what the topic of the week would be, for example, and our students would write their own blog entry, and then comment on the blogs of their group members. This could be done in Spanish or English, depending on the requirement for the blog post. This not only allows us to assess our students' abilities, but also allows the students to use the language in meaningful ways, and share their thoughts with others. My only concern is how to monitor what my students are posting, how or if I should correct the errors on their posts, and whether class time should be dedicated to posting, or if students should work on their blogs outside of class. There are a lot of logistics that would need to be developed, and I would have to be sure my administration was on board, but I feel like it would really be a motivational tool for my students, and educational at the same time.

I also was thinking of using the blogs to enhance student writing. I could have each student develop their own blog, or have them comment on my blog posts. Each day, or each week, I would give the students a "story starter" or something to blog about, and the students would be required to complete the story starter, complete the sentence, or blog about a specific topic (either in their own blog, or in the comment section of my blog). This would allow students to practice writing, and also let me see how each student is progressing. I am thinking it would be easier for me if I developed a separate blog for each of my classes, so that it is easier to keep track of who is and is not responding. If I tried to have all 5 classes comment on one blog I would give myself a headache trying to keep track of everyone.

I think that the use of blogs in the classroom has a LOT of potential. My only concern is how to get enough computer time each class period or each week to do a lot with them.