Ideas to Inspire

The other day my husband commented that with all the emphasis on web 2.0, at what point do the students learn to craft on paper and get to experience the physical nature of writing? Writing on the computer is not the same as writing on paper.

That’s true, but whether students write online or write on binder paper, they still need to learn how to craft their writing, and good writing instruction is still good writing instruction.

Therefore, having a student respond to a blog with “nice,” “good,” “great job,” is just as bad online as on someone’s paper. So how do teachers push the learning connections and stretch students to use their critical thinking skills to make a difference in each other’s thinking and learning, thereby expanding the universe and creating a classroom where teachers are mere facilitators and the students are teaching each other?

Students can create very thoughtful responses if they just get some modeling and some kind of framework from us. These comment starters are very old. I’m sure you have them in your files too, and they were created for critiquing someone’s writing, but it works just as well as a way to respond to a blogged topic or online writing piece too.

• This made me think about…….
• I wonder why…….
• Your writing made me form an opinion about…….
• This writing (post) is relevant because…….
• Your writing made me think that we should…….
• I wish I understood why…….
• This is important because…….
• Another thing to consider is…….
• I want to know more about…..
• I can relate to this…….
• This makes me think of…….
• I discovered…….
• I don’t understand…….
• I was reminded that…….

How do you teach students to respond? Leave a comment and let us learn too.

Kapua and Amy have their students respond on their blogs, so check out their blogs for some ways to push learning and thinking beyond the classroom. In this division we are even more blessed to have Kerry as our tech guide and speedy problem solver. So take advantage of using your blogs not only as a “teacherly” site where things like homework, daily agendas, and due dates are posted, but as a dynamic site where students can interact with you and each other, where students can learn from others even if they are not in the same period, and ultimately, students can get feedback and mentorship not only from our classroom teachers, but from the world of experts.