Student+Blogging

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**HOW BLOGS CAN BE USED BY TEACHERS OF ENGLISH **


 * __Step Three: Encourage your students to start blogging__ **

Here's all you need to know about getting your students to blog.

14 steps to meaningful student blogging You teach your child to blog.. Common concerns with student blogging answered Student Blogging Challenge - an online project

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Create a context. Like the author facing a blank sheet of paper, a blogger will be perplexed unless given something specific to write about. Have students blog about a current issue, about a specific peice of writing, or some question that comes up in the course.

 Encourage interaction. Blogging should not be a solo activity. Encourage bloggers to read each other’s works and to comment on them. Encouraging students to set up an RSS reader with each other’s blogs will make reading and commenting a lot easier. Teachers, also, should subscribe to student blogs and offer comments, again setting an example of the expected practice.

Respect ownership. A student blog becomes important because it is a manifestation of his or her own work. However, to have this value, a student’s ownership of a blog must be genuine. While reasonable limits or[| codes of practice] need to be respected, student bloggers should have the widest latitude possible for personal expression and opinion.

Address issues immediately. The most significant danger to students online is posed by other students. In particular, [|bullying] (or ragging) is a significant problem. It is important to spot instances of bullying as soon as they occur and to take steps to prevent further incidents. Teachers should educate themselves as online bullying can be invisible and hard to address.