EduBlogs Insights: More True than Ever
Posted by: Paul Beaufait in B4B/B4E/LwC, BloggingCommentary, TeachingPractices, blending… Blogging has helped me view each of my students as constructors of knowledge who need frequent opportunities to be involved in the process of creating meaning. Blogs can be short, quick writes that give them the practice they need to learn from putting their thoughts down and then engaging in the dialogue about the process, both online and in the classroom….
Davis, EduBlogs Insights,
Blogs and Pedagogy, 2006.05.31
Now that I’ve spent a year with students in a blended learning environment for whom blogging was the primary course activity, I must say that those choice words from a Blogging for Educators workshop reading ring more true than ever.
One activity that I will continue to assign next year will be quick-writes at the beginning of face-to-face class meetings in order to encourage students to develop fluency in written thought production. This activity will continue to challenge them not only cognitively, but also linguistically – as they write in a language other than their vernacular, and typographically – because they may be better at text input with a thumb or two on cellphone keypads than than they are on keyboards with four fingers and two [one or both] thumbs.
In order to engage them further, in dialogues about the process of writing in English as an additional language, I am seeking to adopt and adapt or develop activities that both promote and facilitate reflective, meta-cognitive and interpersonal writing. I’ll be looking in particular for activities like that as I view cristinacost’s November 2007 SlideShare, “Practically Speaking: A ‘How To’ Approach and Practical Examples on Blogging in the EFL Classroom.”
Tags: edublogpractice, writing
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February 14th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Once again, a year after doing the same reading in the Blogging for Beginners workshop, I discover a slightly new perspective on what the authors of the readings were writing about. For comparison, see the quotation of Davis in this Comment on Best Blogging Practices from the B4B Blog.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Paul,
We even tried to find better, meaningful readings, but they are still effective pointers to what we should focus on while blogging. We added a new text, but kept the other ones as reflective practices for our participants.
As for your plan in the beginning of the semester with the quick-writes, you might want to take a look at the wonderful job Barbara Gainley is doing with her class. Really inspiring.
Her blogging activity is listed on our pageflakes. If I had a group of students now, I’d certainly try it out, of course, adapting to my EFL context and time frame.
You mentioned that one of your goals for this year is “seeking to adopt and adapt or develop activities that both promote and facilitate reflective, meta-cognitive and interpersonal writing.” I’d love to read the follow up on what you’ve tried in your class in this direction and how it worked.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Carla,
As I hoped to suggest in the title of this post (Edublog Insights: More True…), your choices of readings is impeccable. Each has so much to offer in the way of stimuli that it feels good to come back and review them when I can. If I’ve missed any new texts that the B4E team has added this year, it is not for lack of quality in selections on your part, but rather a matter of haste on mine.
Thank you for pointing out Barbara’s blog among the pageflakes for Week 5. I’m looking forward to browsing all of the example blogging activities that you’ve highlighted there.
I’d love to write a follow-up on what I’ve tried doing to “promote and facilitate reflective, meta-cognitive and interpersonal writing,” but I’m afraid that will have to wait till after I finish course grades, and lay/refresh the groundwork for next April’s courses.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts.
Cheers, Paul
February 19th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I’ll be waiting for your reflections on how blogging goes with your classes. Will you be posting here, or on another blog of yours?
February 20th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Though it’s lunch time, I’ll put something up here for an appetizer.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Great, I love appetizers!
February 20th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
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