Blogging in the Classroom

I am very interested in blogging in my future classroom. One idea I had was to do a question or questions of the day and then have the students write back via the blog their answer. One example could be: I am looking for a good book to read. Tell me your favorite book and author and why it is your favorite book. Why should I read this book? This gives students a chance to write a short "book talk". I also think doing a question of the day allows for all students to participate in hands on learning and to show their creativity.

I would also use the class blog to communicate with parents. Instead of sending home weekly newsletter, I could just write on the blog to keep parents informed. I would need to make sure all parents had access, or I would make some hard copies to send home to those that didn't have internet access. This would be a great opportunity for students to write on the blog and explain what we did as a class.

I really like the ideas of using the blog for literature circles. Instead of having students write down on a role sheet their reflections on the book, they could use the blog. Using the blog would allow all students in the group to reflect and share their ideas on other students posts. This also may make students feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts on a blog.

Overall, I think blogging can be used a lot of different ways in the classroom. It may be more difficult for me starting out as a special education teacher because I will not see all of my students for very long each day and not at the same time. I will have to think of something creative I could do. The question of the day might work and students could each answer one question a day on my blog. Any other suggestions for a special education resource room would be appreciated. :)