When Am I Ever Gonna Use This?

For many educators, web logs (blogs) are a new, misunderstood, and sometimes frightening prospect. However many of our students have been using blogging, in the form of social networking sites, for years. The idea of including a useful blog in the classroom can be a daunting task.

In a sophomore level Biology class, a blog can become an amazing tool for student engagement and learning. In my classroom, I plan to utilize blogging for a variety of tasks. The simplest use of my blog will be to update students and parents about what goes on in the classroom on a weekly basis, including examples of student work. This will give parents a window into what their child is studying, and it will give absent students at least a basic form of what content they missed. The more exciting aspects of my blog will include class discussions regarding some of the current issues surrounding life sciences. In the first semester we get to study the newly forming antibiotic resistance by bacteria. The students will have the opportunity to discuss what they know, what they have researched and what questions they still have about proper use or misuse of antibiotics. This will lead to a cooperative style learning and give every student the chance to be “heard” equally. I am also going to post links to websites that have online laboratory exercises, videos or review games that go along with the content we are studying. The Biology blog will allow the students to expand their learning outside of my classroom walls.