Blogging for All: Empowering Students through Authentic Publishing - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Blogging for All:

Empowering Students through Authentic Publishing and Community Building

Kailyn Kent Waldo Middle School Critical Educators Collective NWTSJ Conference 2017

Quick Write & Share:

What is your students’ relationship to the internet? How are they using it? In what ways are they empowered by it? Does it ever take power away from them? Feel free to write about particular students,

• r what you’ve observed in general.

In a few minutes, we will go around and share

• ur favorite line/s from our writing.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

What Inspired Me to Teach This:

• Search for high interest reading for kids based
• n very specific interests
• Memories of how I became a “wild reader”

(and more socially aware) via online reading

• Observation that not all middle schoolers know

how to type, use computers, or research using the internet

○ Myth: Kids today are self-taught computer whizzes.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

West Sylvan Middle School

West Hills, Portland

Waldo Middle School

North Salem

High observed rates of “alt-tabbing” or off task internet searches Recognize and find URLs (web addresses) Familiarity with wikis and wikipedia High rates of plagiarism and copy/pasting High familiarity with jargon like “URL” or “blog” Most students can copy/paste, and hit undo. Students know and pass along memes YouTube = most popular site Boys more likely to be

• ff-task playing videogames

(another discussion!) Kids stare at Google Image results for long periods of time without clicking on specific images or going to the original websites Low observed rates of “alt-tabbing” or off task internet searches Difficulty finding URLs-- dependent on search engines Students immediately click

• n “Image” results when

searching on Google, and do not readily visit actual websites. Little to no familiarity with jargon like “URL” or “blog” Minority of students know copy/paste, and undo.

Both Schools

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

More info about my students at Waldo Middle School

***Taken from 217 responses by primarily 6th graders. Survey given in both English and Spanish.

• 59% of students say they love using technology, while 25% like it,

and 11% are neutral

• 60% have a smartphone (weren’t always familiar with term)
• 68% of students have stable internet access at home.

○ 67% of kids use a smartphone to access the internet at home. ○ 40% access the internet through a computer at home. ■ 21% for students who took the survey in Spanish. ○ 38% access the internet through a videogame console (ie. Xbox) at home.

• 30% have home internet some or most of the time
• 6% report they do not have ANY internet access at home.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

From Pew Report, “Digital Divides 2017,” presentation for “Feeding America” http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/09/digital-divides-feeding-america/

• 81% of adults making under 30,000 a year

can access the internet using home broadband (53%) and/or wifi connected smartphone (64%)

○ 91% for adults making under $30,000 - $50,000

• Parents did not graduate high school: 71% have home internet
• Parents graduated high school: 84% have home internet
• Non-English home language: 71% have home internet
• 63% of Newcomer families identify as needing assistance for

accessing the internet at home

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

This is not just about preparing young people to survive or compete in a system that currently disadvantages them. This is about preparing them to disrupt and re-create this system via digital means.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Intro to Online Reading: Sample Lesson

Purpose: To introduce students to different types and purposes of websites, and encourage future online reading.

Learning Targets:

• Familiarize students with the internet.
• Introduce internet terminology like “blogs”

and “wikis”

• Differentiate websites on the basis of

authorship and purpose.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Follow Up Assignment

• Each student

chooses a topic.

• Student

identifies examples of websites about the topic-- at least one per each category.

By student Luis A.D. Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Follow Up Assignment Option A

• Create a Google

Slides presentation using information found from online reading.

• Students must

include the URL from the original information sources.

By student Luis A.D. Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Blog Assignment

• Students write a post about a choice topic.
• Students use an image from the internet and

cite the original image author.

• When not writing about their own

experience, students hyperlink their writing to the original source.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Blog Assignment Timeline

Session 1 & 2 Session 3 Sessions 4 Session 5 & 6 Sessions 7 Session 8 Online Reading Workshop Brainstorm Blog Topics Students begin writing Many students have less than a paragraph First publication wave of experienced writers 1-3 posts up per blog Revision Second publication wave-- friends

• f experienced

writers who have been peer “mentored” 6-9 posts per blog Created a conferring schedule for struggling writers Third publication wave-- mostly writers publishing second posts Around 15 blog posts Fourth publication wave -- writers who needed step by step support and did not receive adequate peer mentoring Around 25 blog posts Fifth publication wave -- writers who were chronically absent, and second or third posts Between 30 - 40 blog posts

• One session → 30 to 60 minutes
• Five major publication waves
• Three “camps:” Multi-posters, One Time Posters, and

Absentee Posters

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Positives

• High engagement with both reading and writing
• Apply critical thinking skills to popular culture
• Writing community -- students freely read the

posts of people they didn’t consider friends, and left positive comments when reminded to

• Greater care for conventions and grammar

○ Knew their peers (and the world) would be reading their work

• Builds organic research skills

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

“Growing Edge”

• Research & citing sources… including images
• Students needed designated time to comment

○ Comments were much more thoughtful and detailed after a mini-lesson using sentence starters ○ Digital citizenship needs to be periodically reviewed

• Allow students to be “blog editors” and log into the

blog to post their own material (big time saver)

• More publication waves-- they learn by doing.
• Inefficient use of writing time by many writers.
• EDITING. EDITING. EDITING.

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Future Directions

• Connecting students to local community

resources and organizations

• Establishing digital “blog pals” with other schools
• Creating a year-long student blog

○ Or, help students create their own blogs ○ Or, alternative to school newspaper

• Vlogging and Vloggers
• Addressing hate speech, radicalization, and the

“dark side” of online reading

• Conversations about reliability of authorship

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Blog Post Jigsaw

• 1. Each person reads a different blog entry
• a. If group members would like to read the entry off their

computer, tablet or phone (and even leave a nice comment!) they are invited

• b. If group members would like to read different blog posts

than the ones provided as print-outs, they may (using their computer, tablet or phone)

• 2. As a group, discuss your observations and

the guiding questions

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18

Blog Post Jigsaw

• 1. Each person reads a different blog post.
• 2. As a group, discuss your observations and the guiding

questions:

• 1. What topic did your author write about?

○ What did they want their reader to come away with? ○ What connections do you see to activism? Are there any?

• 2. What kinds of comments did other students leave?

○ Did the author respond to them?

• 3. Think about your current classroom. Which current writers

might be empowered or energized by the blog format? Which writers might struggle with it?

Created by Kailyn Kent, 2017-18