reflection: Barrs and Horrocks: ‘Educational blogs and their effects of pupils’ writing’

“Good writing has purpose – i.e. it means something to somebody; it tells you something new about the world / contains original ideas; it is not just ‘correct’ – doesn’t have to be accurate and obey the rules”

Summary: How to be an effective blogger within the school environment and how the repercussions of this effect children’s ability to write within a literary style.

Link click HERE
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before i start talking about the importance of blogging and the impact this has on education it is first necessary  to note what a blog is. If you are unsure please watch the video below to help.

Some of the key elements to effective blogging that were made clear within this post refer mainly to the importance of being skilled in preparing for the blog; creating an environment that is so vague children will not be able to make sense of the activity asked off them, as well as provide a range of sources that allow them to carry out learning in different form to learn independently. Upon reflection is it clear to see that children love to work within new interfaces that they have not been provided before. As a result of this it takes pupils learning to a different level and is something we as practitioners should be encouraged to do.  While constructed learning not the most popular approach to teaching the curriculum, by providing children with the resourced to do so both within a classroom and at home could have the potential to make a substantial impact on children’s enthusiasm for literary writing and indeed learning in a general sense.

Following this I also read a report titled Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. (Find the link here) it mentioned that the use of technology gives learners a deep enriching, engaging and collaborative learning can scaffold education  to achieve the best and desirable outcomes. I personally feel that this comment is highly valuable to the importance of blogging pupils are immersed into a socially rich environment that can foster the curriculum in a new dynamic learning community. This is exactly what the intention blogging in education was created for and I believe that this really can be achieved. I not only have seen this effective in fostering learning but also a community that allows parents to feel more involved with learning. The teachers within this school blog regularly about the progress of the pupils in their class and parent can view this. (Check the blog out here)   technology is what we make of it and can only be effective in how we deploy it.

Lastly the implications on children’s writing structure while is not fully measurable due to the different styles required for both book and blogs, does show that these skills learned. While these skills are not direct relevant for criteria within the national curriculum, they are useful to develop both children’s vocabulary and create a positive change to children approach and understanding of writing.  Reflecting on this, there are a range of pedagogical approaches that can be developed within the use of a blog and it’s clear that these children have developed a love for learning and exchanging feedback. These also have a knock on effect of PSHE skills and allow children to improve their work according being active learners rather and empty vessels.

While I personally have not have experience prior to these educational reflections in blogging, I find that they can be important to seeing different outlooks and approaches to certain readings and consequently helps me to reflect on my blogs better. This is something that children are able to do with each other’s blogs. Given the opportunities to read and review paired work children can expand the zones of proximal development when a certain subject area within a subtle and non-direct approach.  Through this and my reading I can see a potential for blogging within schools and have a clearer understanding.

 

 

i-love-blogging

i urge you to watch the video below of a school in America blogging in school. I find it really inspiring the way the pupils enjoy it.

reference list:

  • Boulos et al. (2006). Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Medical Education. 6 (41), all
  • Dataunknown. (2014). Lev Vygotsky and His Theory. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOg_rS4s8Zk. Last accessed 05/05/17.
  • Mark K. Smith . (20121). What is pedagogy?. infed. 1 (1),
  • Myra Barrs and Sarah Horrocks (2010). Educational blogs and their effects on pupils’ writing. london: Caritas

2 thoughts on “reflection: Barrs and Horrocks: ‘Educational blogs and their effects of pupils’ writing’

    1. Yes definitely if given the right opportunities to do so I can defiantly see the benefits of these working in both a singular and collaborative way. of course i am worried about the implication these have on safety but completed in a professional way i do not see why this should be a barrier to learning.

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