Blogging in 506

Through creating a blog of my own that I was required to add weekly posts and software, I have developed a new appreciation for blogs. The autonomy of personalizing my own blog was the hook that really drew me into blogging in 506. Having my own blog encouraged me to learn a little html code, get familiar with hyperlinks, add Clustrmaps (I saw it on your website James), and apply compatible open source software for attaching video, photo, and music to my blog and websites. In summary, blogging enabled me to combine multiple literacies to communicate. I also liked that we were required to comment on our classmates’ blogs. Reading other peoples’ comments on my blog gave me a real sense of audience. I think these practices could be very useful for developing literacy at the secondary level, but only if students are required, as we were, to participate through a certain amount of posts and comments.