Reactions from Chapter 2 Readings: Pedagogy and Practice from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson

Blogging is not new to me; however, as pointed out by Richardson, I probably fall in the category of the two-thirds of the population of posting every two months verses several times a week. (Richardson, p. 32)  After reading the text in Chapter 2, I felt empowered to begin blogging in my classroom right away.  I have been following blogs through RSS feeds and can’t wrap my head around the fact that as Richardson reports, there are “over 180 million people” participating in the Read/Write Web. (Richardson, p. 32) I wish there was more time in the day to search through content for more ideas! Fernette and Brock Eide, learning specialists quoted by Richardson, reports that “blogging in its truest form has a great deal of potentially positive impact on students.”  Further, they list various impacts blogs have on the student such as: “promote critical and analytical thinking; be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking; promote analogical thinking; be a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information; combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.” (Richardson, p.33) I have been brainstorming ideas on ways to incorporate this technique in my music classroom.  This year I am transferring my classroom into an inspired classroom, a process in which the computers are moved from the exterior walls to the center of the room to aid in an inclusive environment.  In addition, I teach over 700 students and often times find it hard to “get into the students heads”.  Through blogging I hope to allow students the opportunity to reflect on learning so that I can truly see what students are learning and find areas of weakness as well as strengths.  Richardson says that “through the unique process of blogging,… students are learning to read more critically think about that reading more analytically, and write more clearly.  And, they are building relationships with peers, teachers, mentors, and professionals within the Weblog environment”. (Richardson, p. 33)  If I am able to successfully transfer this concept to the music room, I will not only build relationships with my students, but also transfer music learning to language arts through the writing process.  I hope to pull from the plethora of ideas listed at the end of Chapter 2.  I can’t wait to get started!

Richardson, Will. Pedagogy and Practice from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin, 2010. 30-55. eBook.