Digital Pedagogies Assignment 1 Embedded Task 1

Utilising effect ICT tools in an educational environment is a sure-fire way to improve the learning outcomes of the students who engage with the tools. Blogging is one sure tool that when utilised correctly are a great pedagogical tool, as well as a fun way for the class to interact with each other online.

What is a blog?

Editing in a screenshot of my blog after it has already
 been posted to show the functionality. 

A blog is an online space that anyone can create and access, blogs will usually focus on one topic or subject and will contain many posts or entries about that topic. One advantage of using a blog rather than a traditional website come in the utilization of the comments feature. By using a blog in the classroom, the teacher will be able to review and give feedback to the students instantly by commenting on that students post. A is far harder to edit or make quick changes to in comparison to a blog which would be helpful as from my experience as both a student and preservice teacher last minute changes are a common occurrence in the classroom. However, blogs are not without risks, utilising blogs within the classroom can open new way to bully other students with the comment on posts and teacher need to take the time to impart upon the students the proper procedures or as some call it the netiquette that should be followed. The risk is minimised greatly when the teacher is using a safe blogging tool and is monitoring the blogs for any issues, Victoria are using Edublogs within classrooms and New South Whales access online sites through the Links for Learning initiative (Birt, 2018).

Effective usage in the classroom

The SMAR model Popularized by Dr. Ruben Puentedura (Schrock, 2018)

Blogs are a tool that when used within a classroom can allow for certain students to flourish and feel much more comfortable with the work and feedback. Many students who are self-conscious or shy will find blogs to be a way to express themselves in regards to the topic in a much more comfortable manner. In order to evaluate the efficiency of blogs in the classroom the SAMR model is applicable, I feel as through blogs are at the redefinition tier of the SAMR model as a blog will allow for the complete redesign of some task with the added benefit of instant feedback from not only the teacher but also fellow students blogging can open up new ideas within the classroom.

Blogging about History

Blogging open ups many different teaching opportunities with schools, I feel that blogging can be particularly usefully within my own subject history. As history is a very in-depth subject with many tangents and options for learning, the difficulty in teaching can be extreme. With blogs there is an opportunity for peer teaching within the classroom, students being able to research the aspects of the topic that they find interesting and post the resulting information on their blogs for their classmates to read and give feedback that could be more information from a new perspective to links that can be made with other blogs. History is such a large subject that it is impossible to cover every aspect of a topic within a classroom lesson and most students will not be looking forward to doing homework on topics they do not like. By using blogs within the subject students can research aspects pf the topic that they do find interesting and post those facts onto their blog for other to read with the whole class doing this all the students will be researching what they enjoy while still covering the bulk of the course material.

References

Birt, K. (2018, January 01). Topic 3: Digital Tools 1- Web spaces. Retrieved from CQUMoodle: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=580102&chapterid=39128

Schrock, K. (2018, January 16). Resources to support the SAMR Model. Retrieved from Kathy Schrock Guide to Everything: http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
Minayev, A. (2018). What Is a Blog? Retrieved from Blog Basics: https://blogbasics.com/what-is-a-blog/