I started using web logs in class in June 2005 in my Electronic Newsroom 2 class. Back then, my ABMC 4 (Batch 2006) students were required to create their own web logs which I visited for checking of articles. The only thing I had in mind then was to have a clutter-free, paperless class. I thought every paper must be turned in online to avoid piling of yellow papers waiting to be checked on my desk. The response of the students to the blogging activity was positive. They seemed to enjoy it because most of them were Internet savvy. This response encouraged me to redesign my blogging strategy in 2006 with another batch of E-newsroom 2 class. I modified the activity by requiring the students to visit and post comments on each of their classmates' blogs. This way, blogging became more interactive.The students were conscious of what they wrote on their blogs knowing that their teacher and classmates were reading and making comments. This made the students became aware of "publishing with responsibility." Students didn't just write. They self-published with an audience in mind. This meant that they had to choose the words carefully so as not to hurt the audience's feelings.
This academic year, I don't teach E-newsroom 2 but that does not stop me from continuing to use web logs as tools in teaching and learning from my students.
My Introduction to Communication Theories class, which my students thought was boring, is now on the blogosphere! I created one web log where my students and I could post related articles every week. Posts could be any of the following: (a) reflection on our class discussion; (b) individual thoughts on current topics being discussed; (c) movie review -- focused on comm. theory; (d) articles on assigned readings; and (e) answers on our online quizzes.
Through this web log, I discovered that have I bunch of witty and responsible critical thinkers in class. My students made me appreciate the blogosphere more. And the web log made me appreciate my students more! I never knew everybody in this class has something sensible to say. I never knew students could be so open about how they feel -- at least in order to complete an academic requirement. I never realized the web log could make me "see" what my students have in their minds and in their hearts. I'm so glad they allow me and their classmates to penetrate what they cannot show on the four-cornered air-conditioned classroom marked PS 202.
This online discourse with my students gave way to the TOP 15 REASONS WHY OTHER INSTRUCTORS,TOO,SHOULD START BRINGING THEIR STUDENTS TO THE BLOGOSPHERE. Check them out!
1. The web log serves as the "great equalizer" between the "loud" and the "silent" type of students. In the blogosphere, the students have equal chances of airing their thoughts. Everybody, in short, has a VOICE! The fact that "no one is looking" when students express their thoughts, they get to express their ideas without any inhibition or fear of rejection or humiliation.
2. Students are able to reflect on class discussions. Class discussions don't end in the classroom after the class hours. While posting an entry on the blog, the students are "extending" the class hours trying to assess and reflect on the discussion that transpired at PS 202.
3. The web log allows the students to share their thoughts with each other. Gone are the days when only I, as the teacher, get to read students' articles. They, too, have a chance to learn from each other.
4. Aside from reading their classmates' posts, they can also comment on each of their classmates' entries. This is impossible with the paper essays due to lack of time. Besides, what kind of students would have interest in reading papers turned in to teachers?
5. Students who were not given a chance to recite in class due to limited class hours (three hours a week) finally have a way to "unburden" themselves with the thoughts which they failed to share in the classroom. They can post their supposed contribution to class discussion on the web log. Again, this means that the discussion doesn't end inside PS 202.
6. Obviously, the web log promotes a paperless class. Goodbye to the clutter created by yellow papers, folders, bond papers and any other kinds of papers on my desk!
7. Because the class is paperless, the students can submit their essays online. They don't have to go to the Faculty room to personally turn in their papers to me. Students can beat the deadline wherever they are as long as they have Internet access.
8. The web log also allows sharing of knowledge through links. The teacher and the students can post links leading to the web sites on selected topics. No need for handouts. Links are more handy and perhaps more friendly.
9. The teacher can make/post timely comments on the students' entries. The students don't have to entertain the idea that "teachers don't read their works." (Well, I do. I always do.)
10. Evaluation and grading can become transparent. Grades can be posted on the web log. No need to waste class hours announcing PG or MG.
11. The web log can give the class an identity. How? The kind of articles posted, the kind of language used by the student-bloggers, the links posted, and the kind of interaction that happened can all say something about what kind of students are in the blogosphere. Literally, the web design and the photos on the blog make up the physical identity of the class outside the classroom and beyond class hours.
12. The web log can also give the students and even the teacher a sense of belongingness. Nothing feels better than knowing that "we belong." Students can proudly tell their friends, "Hey, this is our virtual classroom. Come and visit!"
13. This also allows the students to enjoy the virtual class through regular interaction with the technology they love to use: the Internet.
14. The web log is open to all people who have access to the Internet. Their friends, parents and even strangers can read their essays/posts. Distance is never a problem.
15. The students are, in a way, being trained to be more Internet-literate. This is a literacy necessary for survival in their future jobs as communication specialists/practitioners.
This academic year, I don't teach E-newsroom 2 but that does not stop me from continuing to use web logs as tools in teaching and learning from my students.
My Introduction to Communication Theories class, which my students thought was boring, is now on the blogosphere! I created one web log where my students and I could post related articles every week. Posts could be any of the following: (a) reflection on our class discussion; (b) individual thoughts on current topics being discussed; (c) movie review -- focused on comm. theory; (d) articles on assigned readings; and (e) answers on our online quizzes.
Through this web log, I discovered that have I bunch of witty and responsible critical thinkers in class. My students made me appreciate the blogosphere more. And the web log made me appreciate my students more! I never knew everybody in this class has something sensible to say. I never knew students could be so open about how they feel -- at least in order to complete an academic requirement. I never realized the web log could make me "see" what my students have in their minds and in their hearts. I'm so glad they allow me and their classmates to penetrate what they cannot show on the four-cornered air-conditioned classroom marked PS 202.
This online discourse with my students gave way to the TOP 15 REASONS WHY OTHER INSTRUCTORS,TOO,SHOULD START BRINGING THEIR STUDENTS TO THE BLOGOSPHERE. Check them out!
1. The web log serves as the "great equalizer" between the "loud" and the "silent" type of students. In the blogosphere, the students have equal chances of airing their thoughts. Everybody, in short, has a VOICE! The fact that "no one is looking" when students express their thoughts, they get to express their ideas without any inhibition or fear of rejection or humiliation.
2. Students are able to reflect on class discussions. Class discussions don't end in the classroom after the class hours. While posting an entry on the blog, the students are "extending" the class hours trying to assess and reflect on the discussion that transpired at PS 202.
3. The web log allows the students to share their thoughts with each other. Gone are the days when only I, as the teacher, get to read students' articles. They, too, have a chance to learn from each other.
4. Aside from reading their classmates' posts, they can also comment on each of their classmates' entries. This is impossible with the paper essays due to lack of time. Besides, what kind of students would have interest in reading papers turned in to teachers?
5. Students who were not given a chance to recite in class due to limited class hours (three hours a week) finally have a way to "unburden" themselves with the thoughts which they failed to share in the classroom. They can post their supposed contribution to class discussion on the web log. Again, this means that the discussion doesn't end inside PS 202.
6. Obviously, the web log promotes a paperless class. Goodbye to the clutter created by yellow papers, folders, bond papers and any other kinds of papers on my desk!
7. Because the class is paperless, the students can submit their essays online. They don't have to go to the Faculty room to personally turn in their papers to me. Students can beat the deadline wherever they are as long as they have Internet access.
8. The web log also allows sharing of knowledge through links. The teacher and the students can post links leading to the web sites on selected topics. No need for handouts. Links are more handy and perhaps more friendly.
9. The teacher can make/post timely comments on the students' entries. The students don't have to entertain the idea that "teachers don't read their works." (Well, I do. I always do.)
10. Evaluation and grading can become transparent. Grades can be posted on the web log. No need to waste class hours announcing PG or MG.
11. The web log can give the class an identity. How? The kind of articles posted, the kind of language used by the student-bloggers, the links posted, and the kind of interaction that happened can all say something about what kind of students are in the blogosphere. Literally, the web design and the photos on the blog make up the physical identity of the class outside the classroom and beyond class hours.
12. The web log can also give the students and even the teacher a sense of belongingness. Nothing feels better than knowing that "we belong." Students can proudly tell their friends, "Hey, this is our virtual classroom. Come and visit!"
13. This also allows the students to enjoy the virtual class through regular interaction with the technology they love to use: the Internet.
14. The web log is open to all people who have access to the Internet. Their friends, parents and even strangers can read their essays/posts. Distance is never a problem.
15. The students are, in a way, being trained to be more Internet-literate. This is a literacy necessary for survival in their future jobs as communication specialists/practitioners.
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