Journal 9: Yes, Kindergartners can blog, and so can their teachers!

Davison, S. E. (2103). Yes, kindergarteners can blog and so can their teachers!. Learning and    Leading: Leading with the Masses, 40(6), 26-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

Summary:
This article by a Kindergarten teacher talks about how the incorporation of blogs in her kindergarten class has made her classroom more exciting. The kindergarten teacher explains her concerns about the blogs before she had incorporated them in her classroom. One of her biggest concerns was whether or not her kindergarteners were going to be able to know how to use a blog and manage a blog at such a young age. Mrs. Davison has a couple of blogs that she has added to her kindergarten class. She has a class blog, this blog features day-to-day snapshots of some of the learning that kindergarteners do. It gives parents and opportunity to talk to their children what they are exploring and gives them a list of links to other blogs and websites they will use throughout the year. The Life studies blog focuses on the kindergartener’s natural and physical world. It also highlights the parent-organized science program but it has turned into a connective resource where students and parents are able to connect with things they discover in nature. The tiny bloggers webpage is a kidblog account where each student has an individual page. Students and their families are emailed during the summer so that parents encourage their kids to post summer adventures, funny stories, or favorite book or pet they have. It has become a great way of knowing her student before the school year starts. In connection with their own webpage, Mrs. Davison keeps a summer reading blog that provides opportunities for kids to connect with their peers and they are able to share what books they are reading. The cool thing about this blog is that children who have graduated Mrs. Davison’s class can still log in and talk with other children. Lastly, Mrs. Davison keeps a professional blog. This blog is used as her self-reflection as a teacher. It helps parents and other professions to understand the rationale behind the learning that takes place behind the blogging tool. Mrs. Davison states that the blogging tool has become so powerful because it has enhanced, engaged, enriched, and supported growth for her students and herself.
Questions:
1. Are kindergarteners able to use this blogging tool?
One of the biggest concerns that Mrs. Davison had was whether or not these young children were going to be able to use the blogging tool responsibly and effectively. However, Mrs. Davison explains that her kindergarteners have picked up on the tool very well. She states that many children started blogging by making comments to each other with their parents’ help. Each child introduced themselves and made comments to each other. Once school starts in the fall, the young students are able to look at each others blogs together and they have a chance to highlight their post. As the school year follows, the students become better and better at posting and they become aware of what they post and who their audience is at a young age. They are excited to post on each others pages and love getting feedback from their teacher and their peers. The blogs has really built self-esteem, confidence, and community in Mrs. Davison’s classroom.
2. Is it hard to maintain each blog site?
As a teacher, one of the most important things needed is time. Being time efficient will help manage your classroom in a calmly manner. Mrs. Davison assures that keeping a blog or multiple blogs is actually not very time consuming. It actually saves her time. Since the class blog is used as a parent newsletter, she assures that typing and updating a blog is a lot quicker than you would think. She states, “All I have to do is update the pages each year with my current students. I update this blog monthly and whenever we have a presentation.” Blogs can save time and paper in the classroom so it is not a chore to keep each blog site handy for your students and their parents.