Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....turn and face the strain.
This summer, amongst the suggested reading, times tables practise et al, my six year old has been asked to keep a diary. Whilst on holiday this was fairly straightforward, he had lots to write about as he enjoyed trips to the beach, Roman villas, castles, windmills and was lashed with ice cream and over indulgent treats. Not so easy now that we are home, the Olypmics has ended and he tries to find ways to occupy himself as I bury myself in work. His motivation is waning, particularly as I make him correct spelling mistakes and nag so that his handwriting does not look like an arthritic spider dipped in ink has limped across the page.
Reflecting on what I have read in various blogs about the success of blogging in primary schools, I thought I would try an experiment. In my son's report it mentioned that he needs to practise his creative writing as he doesn't feel that he is very imaginative. He is and will quite happily babble away and make up a story whilst walking to the shops but struggles to remember what he has thought up and get it all down on paper. I tried to persuade him to hand write some stories but after the work he has put in to his diary I was met with full scale rebellion and a mutinous stares. This was one particular battle that I thought would be prudent to let him win. Rather than pulling rank and making him do it anyway (because I said so) I suggested that he created a story blog in which he chronicled the adventures of James, am imaginary friend who lives next door. I was taken back by the enthusiasm of his response. He has seen me writing my blog and wanted to join in. After setting up my old creaky laptop and a couple of hours cursing and rereading the idiot's guide, his blog home page was ready and he was sitting quite happily typing with one finger James' forays into Chess Land. ( A strange land where they are always at war and populated only by animals who are black and white, namely magpies, pandas, zebras and piebald ponies.) Progress is slow as he is unfamiliar with a keyboard, but he is making progress and he is utterly absorbed. He is intrigued by the fact that his blog could go online and people from all around the world could see it. In fact, this has been his main motivator, the excitement that another little boy living thousands of miles away whom he has never met before would be able to look at his work and make comments about it. He can't wait to publish (under careful supervision) and is bug-eyed with excitement. By setting up a blog he has learnt that you can use more than one tool to commit your thoughts to paper. Both can be exciting and engaging and both are valid.
The success of this experiment has made me consider where and how I could use blogging at school to help the pupils I teach. I will definately consider exploring ways in which blogging can help GCSE Product Design students capture their "tell the development story" thoughts before they are forgotten, something they find very difficult to do. Blogging could add an immdediacy to what they are doing and the opporuntiy to benefit from a collaborative approach between lessons.
Reflecting on what I have read in various blogs about the success of blogging in primary schools, I thought I would try an experiment. In my son's report it mentioned that he needs to practise his creative writing as he doesn't feel that he is very imaginative. He is and will quite happily babble away and make up a story whilst walking to the shops but struggles to remember what he has thought up and get it all down on paper. I tried to persuade him to hand write some stories but after the work he has put in to his diary I was met with full scale rebellion and a mutinous stares. This was one particular battle that I thought would be prudent to let him win. Rather than pulling rank and making him do it anyway (because I said so) I suggested that he created a story blog in which he chronicled the adventures of James, am imaginary friend who lives next door. I was taken back by the enthusiasm of his response. He has seen me writing my blog and wanted to join in. After setting up my old creaky laptop and a couple of hours cursing and rereading the idiot's guide, his blog home page was ready and he was sitting quite happily typing with one finger James' forays into Chess Land. ( A strange land where they are always at war and populated only by animals who are black and white, namely magpies, pandas, zebras and piebald ponies.) Progress is slow as he is unfamiliar with a keyboard, but he is making progress and he is utterly absorbed. He is intrigued by the fact that his blog could go online and people from all around the world could see it. In fact, this has been his main motivator, the excitement that another little boy living thousands of miles away whom he has never met before would be able to look at his work and make comments about it. He can't wait to publish (under careful supervision) and is bug-eyed with excitement. By setting up a blog he has learnt that you can use more than one tool to commit your thoughts to paper. Both can be exciting and engaging and both are valid. 
The success of this experiment has made me consider where and how I could use blogging at school to help the pupils I teach. I will definately consider exploring ways in which blogging can help GCSE Product Design students capture their "tell the development story" thoughts before they are forgotten, something they find very difficult to do. Blogging could add an immdediacy to what they are doing and the opporuntiy to benefit from a collaborative approach between lessons. 
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