Blogs: Useful Tools for Teaching
The use of blogs for educational purposes has taken place in the last years. The use of new technologies in education has motivated language professors to encourage students to use these websites as a tool for building their learning in the language step by step. Both students and professors are going to be benefited indirectly.
The following are some of the uses and advantages that professors might find if they use a blog with their students.
Language Professors can assess students to create a blog in which they have to participate one time per week writing their comments on readings that are assigned in the course. In that way, students have to apply an active reading and reflect on important aspects that will increase their learning. On the other hand, a blog is public, so students have to be careful and the way they write, the vocabulary they use, and in the logical reasoning of their arguments.
Another advantage that a blog has is how the feedback is accomplished. Students give it to each other. It is not only the formal feedback that they are accustomed to receiving from their professor, but also from their classmates and different people from different places of the world. For instance, professors can assign a group in charge of writing an essay and published it. Then, another group from the class should read it, and make good and bad comments related to the content, structure, language use and reasoning. In that way, students help each other to improve their writing abilities.
Also, professors can encourage student’s critical though development by making them analyze a topic, and then post interesting questions according to the most debatable points. The rest of the students will be requested to make their conclusions and establish a clear position about the subject, and share it by giving strong arguments to support their ideas.
Finally, an important aspect is the habit of reading. Students will need to be informed in order to write significant information on their blogs. They will do research, read, and analyze among of information which allows them to be prepared to face the real world and their current problems.
There are just few uses of blogs; it is possible to find a great variety.
