Why Blog in Elementary School?

As a parent of young children myself I had to wonder-why blog in elementary school?  Blogging, and online social interaction, opens the door to so many potential problems (as referenced in the blog entry before this), that I had to wonder, are the benefits worth the risk?

After a bit of research my conclusion, as both a parent and an educator, is that with the right precautions and procedures put in place, absolutely.

As an educator in the No Child Left Behind era I have often, over the past decade, been frustrated by the emphasis put on testing skills.  With such a shift towards reading and Math there has been little time left over for other content areas or even some areas of the reading block, such as literature discussions or writing.  As most tested answers have required a formula type writing, writing for content and quality has been thrown by the wayside.  With the welcome shift back towards a more balanced educational system we are now beginning to recognize again the importance of these areas.  Still, time is limited and the time that should be devoted to writing is often not possible.  With the introduction of blogging, even at a primary level, we have the ability to both the time spent on writing as well as the dialogue and interaction amongst students in regards to writing.

Blogs can be used both at home and at school, thus extending the amount of time students have to work.  In addition, the online aspect allows more parental input and help as well as the ability for students to discuss their work with one another.  While we've always seen the benefit of student collaboration within the classroom, the time it takes for students to edit and discuss work can be cumbersome. 

Student collaboration is not solely limited to writing.  Through blogging students can discuss literature, work collaboratively on projects and assignments, and also get the valued input of others from other areas of the globe.  By opening up the world wide web to our students we are, with guidance, teaching them to accept and respect varying opinions and beliefs. 

The results of an elementary school case study (focusing on Southern United States 5th Graders from a Title 1 school) titled The Influence of Student Blogging on Elementary Student Writing, and published in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, showed that when participating in ongoing blogging activities students overwhelmingly developed a stronger sense of the audience their writing was intended for, more of a sense of empowerment in their writing (as opposed to simply writing because they had to), and more of a vested interest in the process.  Students forged true relationships with those involved in the blogging project, from those blogging to those commenting, and took pride in both their work and the process of helping others.  They developed a true sense of other people's opinions and how to respect those varying beliefs and how to respond to them accordingly. (McGrail & Davis, 2011)

Our job as educators and as parents is, ultimately, to prepare our children to succeed in a technology based economy.  By exposing our children to what the web has to offer, at an early age in a guided manner, we have the ability to not only better prepare them in the technological sense but in the overall educational sense as well.

McGrail, E., & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of student blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of research in childhood education, 25, 415-435. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5a2a439a-6bcf-4020-86f2-c98d7a382a50@sessionmgr12&vid=9&hid=3

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