Alex Mitchell, from the Communications and New Media Department, has been getting his students to blog as part of their assignments. Kevin Lim, down the road at SIM, does likewise. A few days ago, I came across a Pei Hwa Secondary School group project blog: The Jalan Kayu Trail, via yesterday.sg.
The secondary students from 3E3 seem to be doing a good job of documenting personal accounts regarding the Seletar area, with interviews and photographs.
What's the idea behind student learning blogs?
At the most basic level, it's about getting students to organize their thoughts, to share findings and to reflect on progress.
Through the blogs' RSS feeds, facilitators can easily keep track of the latest submissions.
It is motivational when students find out that people are reading their work. That can lead to further conversations and insights, especially if the content is compelling.
Further along, students who consistently blog about their interests and areas of expertise might even stand a higher chance of getting employed. Think of the blog as an extension of resumes.
However, there is a caveat about classroom blogging. Both Alex and Kevin have found that the workload for themselves and their students increases dramatically with weekly blog assignments and other assessed work. Kevin suggests that peer review might be the way to go. (Sorry, I can't seem to find the link to this, nor do I know if Kevin has gone ahead with his suggestion.)
Nevertheless, directed student blogging can be an invaluable tool in the classroom.