Blogging Experiences

Hi all!  I have created several blogs over the course of my career as a student and teacher, so setting up this blog was fairly straightforward.  I must admit: I really liked perusing the new backgrounds!  I think some of the new ones are fun and visually appealing.  Several years ago, I used blogging in my English classes, and found it to be an interesting way to engage students and extend their learning environment.  They especially liked the surveys that linked thematically to what they were reading.  Last year, we adopted a new curriculum in my school, and learning that was all I could manage.  Next year, I hope to use blogs again in my classroom.  Each quarter, my students read a literature circle novel and have a "book club" meeting once a week; I think a blog would be a great way for the students engage with each other outside of the book club time.  The biggest challenge with this is equitable access for students.  The reality is that some many students just don't have access to technology in their homes.  To me, this is where the library is so important for student learning: it provides access for all.

One of my colleagues, Michael Christensen, uses blogs to great effect in his classroom.  He has a number of different tasks, sometimes where students are blogging with each other, and sometimes with students from other schools and around the world.  Here is a link to his blog, if you are interested:

http://mchristensenteacherman.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure how I will use blogging as a librarian.  Perhaps it would be a good way to keep a running commentary of new books I read.  A blog would allow students to post comments, and be another way to engage them in literacy outside of the school day.  Another way I could potentially this in the library (or my classroom!) is as a sort of newsletter / current events page.