Ask any teacher and they will tell you that they usually have 7473623 things on their plate.
How many of you actually tried to read that number? 😊
How often do you take the time to read your students' blogs?
When you do read them, do you notice any patterns? such as what they often like to blog about?
When I read my students blogs, instead of trying to understand who they are and what they are interested in, I find myself checking: Did they start their sentences with a capital?... What kind of vocabulary did they use?... Did they spell everything correctly?... Did they add enough detail?
Yes those things are important, however, I think I'm missing a huge opportunity to understand who they are. Know thy learners right? When I stop to reflect, I realise that when I read their blogs it is more about assessing me. It has become a tool to view what their blogs say about me as their teacher more so than what their blog says about them.
Make it more about them Lesa and less about you!
I also wonder how my students might view blogging.
Do they see it as a great way to express themselves? Like a digital journal/diary?
Do they see it as another task that their teacher is asking them to complete?
Do they only see it as a way to blog what they learn at school?
What is the hook that I can use to engage my learners to blog more?
It shouldn't just be about their learning in the classroom but also about what they are learning outside of the classroom.
What are they learning through the relationships they have with others?
What they are learning in terms of what is happening in the wider world?
Are they even aware of what is happening in the wider world?
What are their thoughts about the experiences that they have, see or hear?
Do they feel safe enough to share? or are they worried about how it will be viewed?
I continue to work on how I can give feedback so that it doesn't discourage them. Genuinely getting to know my students on a deeper level is important and a goal I would like to set for myself. Reading their blogs is one way that will help me to achieve that.
The question is, how do I do this without spending ALL of my time reading blogs?
Something to definitely think about.
7473629 things that need to be done. Yes, if you checked the previous amount of things I had on my plate, you'll see a few more things have been added since I've been writing this post. A teacher's job is never done. I am still learning.