Bringing Students on the Blogging Journey

Blogging with students is becoming more common place. The workshop "Blogging in the Classroom" which I attended at the BCATA Conference and an upcoming one at the annual CTABC Convention "Build a Blog from Scratch" suggest interest on the part of educators to implement this Web 2.0 tool.

It was interesting to hear my husband, also an art educator, share at the blogging workshop last week that since he has begun blogging with his students he has noticed an improvement in the quality of their work. He cited the increased audience of (potentially) the whole world as a motivator which gives the content more relevance. This reminded me of a quote by Will Richardson from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts. and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classroom: "The idea that the relevance of students work no longer ends at the classroom door can not only be a powerful motivator but can also create a significant was in the way [educators] think about the assignments and work we ask of our students in the first place" (Richardson, 2010, p.27).

Here is a great video by a middle school student created on blogging, that gives insight as to why students enjoy the process.

I also appreciate the following resources on how to blog successfully with your students:
20 Reasons Why Students should Blog
8 Tips for Blogging with Students
14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging 
30 Incredible Blogs Written By Students

Question: What tips do you have for Blogging with students?

Works Cited:
 Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts. and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.