Blog Post #1

 As discussed this week, a blog offers the opportunity for students and teachers to interact in a setting that mirror almost identically to the classroom using print or media platforms. With a focus on blogging for ELL students in this weeks readings, I came across the article, "How to Build a Culturally Responsive Community of Writers." This article covered ways to make writing an enticing concept for students. A way to do this is through blogging for students. This starts with giving students texts to read that are multicultural and culturally responsive. Once the articles are read, it is important to promote a learning environment that is interactive and promotes discussion. This is where blogging comes in to play. As Larry Ferlazzo states in his article, it is important to focus on "creating a space where we would become a community of writers-teaching and learning from one another" (2022). Students and teachers can use the blogging media to learn and respond from one to another. This connects further to the PLE: Personal Learning Environment. This learning environment supports students to use modern technology to create a personal learning environment, such as blogging. Overall, using blogging can bring together a positive personal learning environment to enforce a culturally responsive classroom.

When it comes to using blog posts in the classroom, there can be potential roadblocks that come with the successes. For example, using a new platform to complete the blog can be a challenge for students. Also, if informal language is fair for the assignment, ELL students may not be able to comprehend some language at first glance. However, as stated in the article, 'Blogging for English Language Learners,' ELL students can benefit from blogging through empowering their voice, providing an opportunity for reflection by students and their teacher, and building a supported learning community (Alrubail, 2015). In my classroom, I try to use blogging as much as possible. We use it during our informational text and Romeo and Juliet units. During the R&J unit, students are to add weekly blog posts as a character from the play. I believe this supports the theory of blogging and PLE from this week while also tying in create a culturally responsive classroom environment when it comes to writing. 

Reference: 

Alrubail, R. (2015, March 16). Blogging for English-language learners. Edutopia. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-for-english-language-learners-rusul-alrubail 

Ferlazzo, L. (2022, October 24). How to build a culturally responsive community of writers, Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-how-to-build-a-culturally-responsive-community-of-writers/2022/11


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