Quadblogging...
Here's my padlet for this assignment:
https://padlet.com/cgutekanst/myxionwq7qf6
Of course I've heard of blogging and participated in this activity with my students. However, I'd never heard of quadblogging. I would definitely like to try this program, even though it wasn't easy for Nicole to find other classes through the program (props to Nicole for being persistent! When we want to try something new, persistence is important!). When I last blogged with a class, our audience was within my school, and it was not too successful, because my students saw the other bloggers all the time. We didn't have a whole lot of new information to share, plus we were blogging about assignments and other topics that weren't very controversial and perhaps not that interesting to my students.
However, I liked the topics that these third grade students were sharing about: books and movie reviews. I can see how I can work in writing arguments with evidence into this topic. Argument is huge in high school and the more students have a variety of ways to practice and think about it, the more they will improve. The following link makes a good case for the importance of teaching how to write an argument:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/03/12/argument-writing-is-priority/
We use to call it persuasive writing, but I agree with Ryan McCarty, it's better to teach argument. The evidence is all-important in argument writing, and this is an area where my students have issues. Organization, grammar, even voice - these areas are usually not too challenging for my students. But coming up with enough well-thought-out examples and reasoning to support their argument can be tough. Posting reviews of movies and books they enjoyed and responding to others' posts can help to hone students' argument skills.
Plus quadblogging gives an authentic audience, something I have struggled with in the past as an English teacher. Whenever my students know we are sharing work with others outside of our immediate circle, I believe they go the extra mile. Here are some other ways to share student writing:
https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/writing-for-authentic-audiences
In terms of active learning, blogging can be a wonderful opportunity. Writing reviews and sharing them with others is a very social activity. According to the Mozilla Foundation Draft Framework and Rubric Document (October 2015), quadblogging encourages certain skills/knowledge of active learning: use of collaboration technology, communication, and creativity. Students display critical thinking in reviews of their books and movies, and can use various technologies (video, google slides, powtoons, etc.) to convey their ideas to others effectively. I agree with Tim Elmore (author of Generation IY Our Last Chance to Save Our Future, 2010) when he states that this generation loves to share their opinions and express themselves. Blogging is a great activity to allow students to do this. There are other topics students can blog about as well, that will help them connect information to their lives. On their blogs students can use the visuals and metaphors they love. Blogging is a way for students to "do the real thing", an activity that can resonate beyond the classroom.
