Growing Conversation Through Blogging

Growing a Conversation
This month a conversation about summer professional reading between Jill Fisch (Summer Reading), Laura Komos (Summer Reflection and PD) and me (What Are You Learning?) went a little crazy.  Before we knew it, we planned an event that would allow us to read Patrick Allen's book, Conferring:  The Keystone of Reader's Workshop together.  Our hope was that others might find the learning interesting enough to join in the conversation and, thankfully, that is exactly what happened.  During this conversation between blogs I learned a lot about improving the ways I confer in my classroom.  The conversation helped me to create some goals for the new school year, and also helped me to build a community of colleagues I know will be ready to help as I continue my journey.  For me, this event affirmed the significance of blogging with the students in our learning communities.

The Significance of Blogging
Last year, many of you followed my journey into blogging with my class.  One day I just decided I was diving into it, and I never looked back.

• Technology:  What Are the Questions to Ask?  
• Am I Crazy?  Blogging with First Graders! 
• It's Been a Year.  So What's Changed?

After a bit of coaching from Katie DiCesare, I decided I would use Kidblog.org for my students.  Though there were are other possibilities, Kidblog would be easy for my young learners to navigate, it would allow them to attach images and video, and it provided a variety of security settings.  

As we introduce new technology into our learning communities, I think we have to ask ourselves some tough questions.  For blogging I think we have to ask, how is it different from picking up a piece of paper and writing?  

Blogging builds conversations in learning through:

• Community:  Blogging provided an opportunity for me to reflect with others
• Thinking:  It required me to synthesize my reading and connect it with my world
• Sharing:  It allowed me to "listen" to the thinking of others without interruption
• Authentic Feedback:  It provided an opportunity to respond thoughtfully to the thinking of others
• Valuing All Community Members:  It gave everyone an equal voice
• Motivation:  It motivated me to keep up with my reading

So What's Different?
I've been following along with the learning at the Boston Learning Conference #blc11 on Twitter.  Yesterday Ewan Mcintosh tweeted this:

My reply:  

If we're just blogging and tweeting to say what we think, we are missing an important piece of learning. However if we are listening, responding, and building on the thinking of others we are taking learning to a new level.  It is in these interactions that blogging becomes more than writing on a piece of paper.