Using blogs in a media center can open up an entirely new world for our students. Blogs can be an invaluable learning tool. It can teach things that we, as librarians would not have thought or have been able to teach without the use of blogs. As one of the videos mentioned, blogging truly does open up the four walls of the classroom, or in our case, the library. As a librarian, I would create a blog for library students, allowing students to suggest or recommend books for their fellow peers based on their interests or upcoming assignments. I feel that when other students recommend books to their peers it might hold alittle more weight than having a teacher or librarian recommending a book. By having the library media center students commenting on other students blogs from other states or countries would even further their interests in other books and subjects that they would not have even considered previously.
Too much of a good thing?
1 week ago
Denise,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think! In my post, I didn't even think about the global ways blogs could be used, but it certainly is a fascinating idea. Booklists are also a good idea--I wonder if that's how the LibraryThing site evolved?
I agree with you 100% on using blogs for book reviews! Students love to read books that their peers have suggested and having to go online to find out about them is even more exciting for them.
ReplyDeleteDenise, you said that so nicely. I totally agree. My daughter blogged in her fourth grade class. Her teacher had the students blog to the troops in Iraq. He also made a good point when I observed his class. He said the excitement factor of the kids increased as soon as they were going to do a writing assignment in their blog.
ReplyDeleteBlogging books that students will read is a great way to incorporate writing with technology. It will also allow instant feedback and motivate certain students to read books and feel encouragement from peers. You could also use podcasts for this and avatars or do them both! -Erin
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that blogs could provide a great way for increasing student motivation when it comes to reading. It's very true that students (especially high schoolers) respond more to the recommendations of their peers than those of the school librarian, so a blog would be a great way for students to be introduced to new books or topics recommended by their friends.
ReplyDelete