Class Blogging at RDS ... why do it?

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"Blogging is about WRITING and READING not about a technology platform ... " 
We have seen at RDS, in the last week alone, the motivation that the students have to post and to comment. Reading and Writing underpin so much of what we do and want to achieve.  However, blogging is not just about reading and writing. It is about CRITICAL THINKING, PERSPECTIVE and most of all PUBLISHING ideas and thinking to the world. Commenting is about understanding another person's viewpoint and being able to apply thinking to what has been written in the post.   So it's really a no-brainer that we need to tap into this motivation and facilitate great blogging skills. 

Blogging should be a part of every aspect of what we teach. Children can blog at any time - at school and at home. It doesn't have to be a timetabled event. Parents and the wider family can also be involved in the commenting as well.

Here is some reading that's well worth looking at. There are some very good exemplars that can use as well. 
BE CAREFUL - there is so much good stuff on this blog that you will easily be side-tracked!

Learning about Blogs for FOR your Students 
Part 1 - Reading
Part 2a - Writing
Part 2b - Student Writing
Part 3 - Commenting

There is more, but this will do for now.

I received an email this week from a university student, which asked me what I thought of the course work for a degree in Multimedia Journalism. As I read through the course work, I was clearly reminded about what we are trying to achieve here at RDS. The work we are doing in READING and WRITING, using tools such as blogging, is the very beginning of this course in Multimedia Journalism.