We just wrapped up week two of a new school year, and I just introduced a new group of seniors to blogging.  Out of my 37 AP Environmental Science students, only about 6 have ever blogged before.  If you are not familiar with my work, I’ve been running class (not individual) blogs for the last three years.  In previous posts, I laid out the reasons I why I think every class needs a blog and shared how the blogs are used.  Here is a recap:

Why blog? Well, there are a number of reasons I might ask students to blog for the CLASS:
1. To remember or recount what happened in class that day. We call this a “scribe post.”
2. To offer a question about a confusing concept prior to the test. We call this a “reflection post.” Other students are encouraged to answer these questions.
3. To share something neat or a current event. We call these “on my mind posts.”

and other reasons to use a blog include:
4. To debate. Blogs allow a space for responses after each post, and sometimes I require students to participate in a discussion of a topic (like bottled water use).
5. To create a “positive digital footprint.” I think I have a responsibility to help these kids leave a more substantial mark on the WWW besides what they post on Facebook.

I also think this diagram by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano is a nice summary of the power of blogs:

Click to Enlarge

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/7850532162/in/faves-30965214@N03/

As the year unfolds, you will see my new group of students share our learning experience and their thoughts. You can check out either of my class blogs at these links:

APES 5th Period Class Blog 2012-13
APES 7th Period Class Blog 2012-13

*As I have done in previous blog posts, I must give credit to Class Blog-Jedi Master Darren Kuropatwa for this model.