BP7_2009102_Web2.0Tool_Blogger

As I discussed in my last post, it is extremely important to find ways to create ways that will exercise foreign language students' writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills in the classroom. One useful way to have students work on writing in French is through the use of a blog. Blogger is one such utility that allows users to create their own blog site and post their findings to the web. They can share these blogs with anyone and anyone can comment on the blog posts (Common Craft, 2008).

In my French courses, I currently have students write journal entries in French pertaining to their reactions on subjects that we have studied in class. Students write these entries in a paper notebook each night. It takes me a long to read and make comments on these journal entries and no one else is able to read these entries except for me. That means that students do not get a lot of feedback, and they do not necessarily appreciate or connect to the limited feedback that they do receive from me.

Blogging through a Web 2.0 tool such as Blogger could completely revitalize the journaling process within my courses.

(Blogger, 2009)

Using Blogger, I would have students create individual blog pages and share them with their classmates. Once students have created and shared their blog pages, I would have students write their thoughts on what we have studied in class as blog posts each night. In addition, students would read and comment on the blog post of at least one other classmate. This process will cause students to practice writing in French, reading in French, and having to think in French as they create and comment on blog posts. Hopefully, this will make the process of journaling more fun, more interactive, and more useful to students.

References

Blogger. (2009). Blog post images. Retrieved from http://kdavisfso.blogspot.com

Common Craft (2008). Blogs in plain English. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI