The Benefits of Student Blogging – Alphabetically Speaking

The Benefits of Student Blogging – Alphabetically Speaking

I want my students to blog. I believe that the benefits and opportunities for learning are simply amazing.
If you had been a fly on my classroom wall last week you would have heard me talking about many of the benefits of student blogging with a colleague of mine.
Here are a few of them … alphabetically speaking.
Cheers,
Ally

The Benefits of Student Blogging

Authenticity – authentic writing for authentic audiences
Affordability -  kidblog.org is for example is free
Builds confidence as students shine, share & respond
Carries across the curriculum
Collaborative discussions as students respond to & learn from one another
Communication skills – writing for an audience necessitates & builds effective communication skills
Connections between students & classes, between home & school
Develops higher order thinking skills (as students write, read, reflect & respond)
Digital Age – learning about, creating and leaving positive digital footprints
Digital Citizenship – students learn about proper etiquette & cybersafety
Editing skills development – undertaken in manageable, bite sized chunks
Facilitates constructive criticism
Focus
Flexibility
Fun!
Improves typing skills
Introduces, interjects & integrates technology into all subject areas
Learning styles are put into play that might not always otherwise be
Provides a medium within which to apply learning
Motivates independent writers & readers
Organic (not static)
Peer mentoring
Reading skills development
Reflective thinking / practice
Responsibility & awareness – provides an authentic opportunity to teach & monitor both
Sharing ideas, understanding, etc.
Student driven (teacher facilitated)
Writing skills development – skills include writing for meaning, organization, sentence structure, spelling, grammar, etc.