Bringing Blog Articles into the Classroom

By Sean Scarpiello

As more and more forms of media are being created by the internet, schools are trying to keep up with fast paced changes taking place in the media. Many school administrators are pushing to get the latest technology in the classroom to keep up with the ever-changing trends. Although it may seem like a daunting task, incorporating the latest trends into the classroom does not need to be difficult. One of the most notable creations after the rise of the internet was the blog. Since blogs have been growing in popularity over the past few years, we can expect them to be around for a long time. Today’s students will be exposed to blogs for the rest of their life and at one point, many of them will write them in the future. So why not start writing them in school?

We have all had to sit through class with the teacher that assigns long and tedious book reports, especially in English classes. If teachers began to have students write daily or weekly blogs on their readings instead, students would definitely benefit. First off, by assigning blogs, instead of a book report, teachers can keep their students more involved in the class. Students can formulate their own opinions in their blogs, and discuss how they feel about certain topics, themes, or ideas in a class. Also in their blog, students can discuss what areas of the reading they found difficult, confusing, and even interesting. By having students write blog articles, teachers are forcing students to think critically about subjects. Often times, students will find themselves learning more than they thought possible because they entered a reading or text with a certain mindset.

Implementing blogs, instead of book reports can also be beneficial because students are learning to write in new ways. They are asked to write down their opinion or view on a topic -- something that has never been asked of them before. This new form of writing can help them in other classes where they need to write persuasive reports or analyze a set of bias data. Writing blogs is relevant life experience.

Teachers can also become creative with the blog assignments. They can have students focus on certain themes, topics, or characters in a book. Then students can focus on how an individual idea has evolved through the text. Some teachers may feel that blog writing cannot completely replace report writing. This is definitely true. However, it would be unwise to not implement blog writing because it may seem like less writing. If a class is reading a book over the course of a few weeks, teachers could assign a one page blog article weekly, or a half page blog article due every few days. Over the course of a few weeks, these pages of blog articles add up, and may even encompass more than a book report. At the end of a book or text, the teacher could ask the students to sum up all of their blogs and analyze the evolution of an idea or the course of a character throughout a book.

In all, assigning blog articles to a class would definitely be beneficial to students. It would keep students engaged in class and mix up the general routine of class time. In the long run, it would be even more beneficial because students can take what they learn from writhing blog articles and use these skills in the real world.