Blog on: building communication and collaboration among staff and students.

An Annotation by Jeff Ayer

Poling, who is an administrator in Maryland, looks at the span of uses that blogs can have in a school environment, including:

• individual blogging,
• classroom blogging,
• collaborative blogging, and
• staff development blogging.

Her biggest statement is regarding increased motivation she observes in students who are blogging as part of curriculum:

“[B]ringing children and adults together in an online setting to build communication and deeper understanding, truly motivates children to learn and grow” (12).

She states that while individual blogging can be effective, blogging as part of a class is especially powerful because it “helps build communication and collaboration among students”(12).

In addition, she compares blogging to journaling with a positive edge to technology:

“Handwritten reading response journals allow students to communicate only with the instructor.  Students are motivated not only by the use of technology and the ability to type rather than use pencil and paper but also by the audience they have when writing online” (13).

Lastly, she cites growth as something an educator can observe over the course of a semester and/or school year.   Because the blog can become a portfolio of sorts, students can also observe their growth as writers, thinkers, and collaborators/debaters of ideas.

Poling, C.  (2005, March).   Blog on:  building communication and collaboration among staff and students.  Learning and leading with technology.  Vol.  32, No. 6:  12-15.