Observations and Lessons in Using Blogs with IE students

The students in my Advanced Writing and Grammar class set up blogs this term, and since it's the first time for all of us, I thought I'd write down some of my comments and lessons learned here. (The class blog can be found at http://ievcc.blogspot.com).

1) Set up was easy. It's a small group and it went very well. I had a tutorial ready for them, but ran into technical problems with the LCD projector, so I gave the students the URL of the class blog so they could look at some examples of student blogs (Buthaina's students). The next thing I knew they were logging on to Blogger and creating their own blogs. I gave up on the equipment and just moved around the lab monitoring and troubleshooting - it was great.

2) I'd been prepared for the students to forget the URL of their blog and made sure they all wrote it down for me before leaving the lab. What I didn't stress enough was that they also needed to write down and keep safe their USERNAME and PASSWORD! Argh! It was there in the directions, and I did tell them, but not strongly enough. When we started to work on the blogs again the next time, two students lost 1/2 their time trying to remember this vital information, and in the end had to create new blogs.

3) Don't be fooled by the ease in set up. It's taken a few more sessions in the lab for the students to get the hang of posting. They need to know about the draft feature, previewing, editing and publishing, as well as how to post. I want to make a vocab sheet with an explanation of each function for them. I think they've all figured it out now, but a hand out would be a good way to fill in the gaps and reinforce the vocabulary. Another good thing would be to actively encourage them to help each other. They do this, but not as readily as I'd assumed.

4) Two things I did right that teachers should know. First, set up your own blog and try it out before asking the students to do it. This is a point that Susanne Nyrop stressed with me, and it can't be said too often. Second, start a class blog and have it ready for the students to see and for you (teacher) to add the URLs for the students' blogs to. It's such a great feeling to see the students' names listed in the sidebar and be able to click back and forth among their blogs.

5) I've twice suggested the students comment on each other's blogs and been surprised that they haven't really gotten into it. Is it because they've been too busy working on their own blogs? Probably. But I've also realized that they need more structure - suggestions about what to comment on, and again, I can't assume that just because they act like they know what they're doing, that they really do. They've got gaps in their knowledge just like I do. Better to do a demonstration comment and make sure they all know how it's done. Seems obvious to me now!

6) What about keyboard skills? This was one of the things I was worried about. That the one finger typists would find it too slow to do any serious writing on the blog. So far, so good. These are international students, and most are pretty comfortable with email and surfing the net. Of course, they've done it in their own language, but I think they've had practice on English keyboards. Anyway, it's something to watch and be aware of with any class, and I have asked some of the students who haven't posted much if they are okay with typing.

7) What are the students using their blogs to do? My idea was that they would open the blog with a short introductory message, and after that I would ask them to post the final drafts of some of their class writing assignments. Any extra work they chose to do on the blog would be encouraged and rewarded (I've adapted Bee Dieu's rubric, so they'd get better marks in the end). I've been very pleased to see that many students have posted journal type comments, others have started writing about their home country - but am surprised to see so little "class" work. It's at this point that the Internet gave out and we haven't been back to the lab (about 10 days).

I've decided to keep it loose, at least in this class. There are some things I'll ask everyone to post, but they're all working at their own speed and I want them to feel that the blog is theirs, so I'm not going to push too hard. We're going to look at the rubric this week, and talk more about evaluation. But mainly I want them to use the blog for practising their writing, and to create something they are proud of.

8) What about correcting their writing? I've decided to keep it simple. This is the perfect class to start blogging in because it's an elective. They don't have to take tests in order to go to a higher level, so I can be more relaxed than usual. I have started by printing a copy of their posts and offering correction on that. They can then go in to the blog and edit their posts. I want the students to know that this is serious writing practice, but if they choose not to go back and edit, that's up to them - again, I have the rubric to fall back on, because it makes it clear that the blogs will be evaluated, and on what basis.