What is a blog?
A blog is short for "web log" or a personal online journal that is updated on a daily basis and reflects the author's personality. A blog has become a very important educational tool for many reasons. It expands the student's "learning space" exponentially.
This blog will become our learning community outside of class. Remember learning is not only what we do in class, it is not only the lecture or lesson that a teacher presents in class. Learning happens everywhere, in the classroom, in the playground, at the club, and at home. This blog will make our learning independent and will not limit learning to a certain time or place.
The benefits of using a blog in English class are many. We can all share opinions, and comment on each others' blogs. This will also be your "own" blog!! You OWN it -- so take good care of it. Make sure that the posts you create on it are of high quality and will be of interest to the rest of the class. All students in your class will be able to access your blog so you'll be greatly motivated to present your best work. You will also extremely get better at reflecting and expressing yourself in writing.
One of the major benefits of this blog is that it will keep all students updated with assignments and required work. I will make sure that all assignments, vocab, assessments, or presentations are uploaded on the blog so as to ensure that students always have the required material at all times. All your work will just be a few clicks away. In any case of school shutdown, this blog will also be a valuable resource to all of us, as I'll be posting assignments and using the blog as our online classroom.
This blog will also allow for the participation of all students. Shy students who lack the confidence to express themselves in class will be given the opportunity to express themselves freely in their blog posts. The blog will also give students a chance to be part of the teaching process. I will require that you comment on each others blogs, and also suggest topics and questions that the entire class will blog about.
