The educated blogger: Using Weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom

Abstract

This article explores the role of weblogs in promoting literacy in classroom settings. Literacy remains paramount in learning, not only for language development, but also as the foundation of all academic disciplines including science and mathematics. Storytelling ignites literacy and remains an important part of life from childhood through adulthood. Weblogs resemble personal journals or diaries and provide an online venue where self-expression and creativity is encouraged and online communities are built. Therefore weblogs provide an excellent tool where storytelling and literacy advance for both individual expressions and collaborative learning. Furthermore, weblogs can be used across academic disciplines, making it a viable tool for educational technologists.

Los mapas conceptuales interactivos como recursos didácticos en el ámbito universitario

“…Entorno de trabajo del Mindomo: http://www.mindomo.com/ Los blog, weblog o cuadernos de bitácora, por su parte, se convierten en unas herramientas idóneas para crear, editar y publicar contenido en la red con un mínimo de conocimientos técnicos (Blood, 2000;Huffaker, 2005). Generalmente presentan una página principal que ordena las entradas de información-comentarios (post) en orden inverso a la fecha de su publicación (de lo más actual a lo más antiguo) y a la que pueden añadírsele nuevas páginas-pestañas para personalizar la estructura y organización de su contenido: documentos impresos, audiovisuales y enlaces web (Guenther, 2005;Llorente, 2009).…”

A Comparison of the Effects of Classroom and Multi-User Virtual Environments on the Perceived Speaking Anxiety of Adult Post-Secondary English Language Learners

“…Youtube and flickr are used to express creativity. Blogs and wikis are used to share knowledge (Huffaker, 2005). Lastly, interaction through Internet based videoconferencing, allows two or more users to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously (Plonczak, 2010).…”

“…Youtube, and flickr are used to express creativity. Blogs and wikis are used to share knowledge (Huffaker, 2005).…”

Using Blogs to Promote Student Interaction and Learning in EFL Classes

“…However, the number of studies indicating their usefulness is growing fast. For example, Huffaker (2004) suggests that the effectiveness of blogs in education is achieved by their promotion of critical literacy skills, including reading, writing, self-expression, reflection and creativity. Campbell (2003: 1) confirms the educational value of blogs by stating that 'similar to an open journal, the accumulation of writings and other content creates both a record of learning and a resource for others' .…”