As the number of class blogs continue to rise in Falkirk, I’ve been contemplating why it is that some blogs go on to be very successful … and some just peter out (a few more blogs could have been added to the ‘Falkirk Blogs’ list in my sidebar, but they didn’t survive beyond the initial ‘first post’ stage).
I produced a powerpoint presentation to demonstrate ‘reasons to blog’ with classes. I’ll try to include it below ….. true last minute edublogs style 
More recently, however, I’ve reflected on my own attempt at maintaining a class blog and why it has managed to survive successfully for 2 years now. I think it might have had to do with the fact that I had a definite focus for having a class blog? I wanted to use it as a vehicle to improve the children’s writing. Our original Blogger blog still has the ‘About Us’ statement in the sidebar – still accessible HERE
I’m glad that I still have access to the original class blog, because it reminds me of how important it became to give the children their own space to write. I wasn’t comfortable enough with the medium in the early stages to give them their own online space, so we shared a wiki. I set it up and we shared a common username and password …… an exercise in trust as the children were encouraged to log in at home.
It was from home that Lisa posted her Two Stars and a Wish post on her wiki space. We’d been experimenting with the idea of assessing our own writing and the writing of peers using the formative assessment strategy of awarding 2 stars and a wish
We even made our personalised ‘2 stars and a wish’ templates … I think this might have been Danni’s? (this link goes to her own blog …. I eventually found a comfortable way of doing this thanks to Don who pointed me in the direction of David)
One of the stories that Lisa peer assessed belonged to Jamie. Jamie was (at the time) a popular, quiet member of the class. He didn’t seem to ’shine’ when it came to writing …. until I saw his entry on his wiki page! If I hadn’t seen him writing it up in the computer suite, I’d have accused him of plagerism
Some of it is included here:
Laughing In The Face Of Death
His face shone dark in the moonlight, while his coat lay torn slowly floating in between the reeds. His shirt was dirty and wet. The dark waters that lay behind him gave him the appearance of a demon or a dark shadowy creature moving in the night. His sheath was well padded and worn away because of constant usage, it had three diamonds encrusted in it. It had a gold rim and a thin copper lining wrapped around it. This lay on his back but it never wieghed him down as it was as light as a feather. He had black boots on and they were half-covered by his camouflage trousers.
He walked on at a normal pace when he heard a purring noise, after a while he ignored it and carried on his stroll. He heard it again. He was watching a certain bush knowing that there was a creature behind it because of all the wierd purring noises. the world stayed as still as a stick insect as they lay eyes on eachother there was more rustling then the beast came out, a tiger that was as orange as sunset heading speedily at Kai. In reaction Kai drew his sword from his sheath and took a deep slash at the tiger’s leftpaw then stabbed it twice roundabout the same place the tiger had gave in to the pain and there it lay dead……
You can read the rest of jamie’s story HERE.
Before I press ‘publish’, I have to admit that going through the process of writing this post has raised some important questions for me.
Is my own qualitative research (a case study methodology was chosen) really less valuable than Jaye’s and Derek’s as suggested?
I wouldn’t know how to quantify my ’story’
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October 15th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Margaret
Get on the EdD and immerse yourself in the sometimes ferocious arguments around positivism and interpretivism, and qualitative/quantitative methodologies! In our post-modern times, many researchers mix methods.
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October 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Hello David!
Yes, I’m aware of the ferocious arguments around the methodologies – spent hours and hours pouring over such stuff in preparation for undertaking my own wee bit of research
After loads of thought, I decided that a ‘case study’ approach was the most appropriate for my chosen area of study. A couple of quotes below ….
“Cohen et al (2007) add that it is important for events and situations to be allowed to speak for themselves, rather than to be interpreted, evaluated or judged by the researcher.”
“Although a ‘Case Study’ approach is mainly concerned with qualitative data, Cohen et al (2007) state that, in order to probe beneath the surface of the school’s structure, to examine the less overt aspects of the school’s culture(s) and subcultures, it is important to combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies for data collection. The two methodologies are explained in this table:
QUANTITATIVE – – QUALITATIVE
APPROACHES - – APPROACHES
Numbers/statistics – – Words/illuminative
Pre-determined – – Open-ended/responsive
Measuring - - Portraying
Patterns/regularities - – Uniqueness
Comparing - - Portraying
Describing - - Explaining/interpreting”
So I did use a mixture of both, although most of the disssertation focused on the qualitative data.
I think that both Jaye’s and Derek’s research is (without a doubt) very important! I was bewildered, though, when Jaye wrote on her blog:
“I’ve been saying for a while now that the problem with much of the educational research produce is that it’s qualitative rather than quantitative. Not that investigating the so-called soft indicators is a bad thing as they do relate to achievement in its broadest sense, but being able to show by careful measurement and statistical analysis that an intervention has a positive effect on attainment for pupils of all abilities is, for me anyway, the more valuable of the two types.”
So much so that I cut short the post I was writing to ponder on the above …… I’ll need to create a ‘Take 2′ post on blogging reflections to complete what I wanted to say
[Reply]
October 15th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Hi,
I think you’re right about why your blog stood the test of time! I think the main reason (apart from the one you gave) is that you wanted to do it. Sounds simple I know but I think it’s really important.
I remember thinking at the start of placement “I’d never have time to do that!” and I think a lot of teachers might share that view. I’ve kept the blog as an online diary and I’ve kept it up as best I can. It does take a lot of time but I want to do it. It’s the sort of thing that if you didn’t want to do it, and you were doing it because you thought you should, you would never find time to do it.
Just a thought!
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October 15th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
p.s. Loving the slideshow, I may use your links to Curriculum for Excellence at some point!
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October 16th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Thanks for that, Cassie! It is simple but a very important point. Making time for blogging isn’t for everyone, but i think that the benefits it brings far out weigh the extra time involved. And I also think that, as time went on, the blog ‘ran itself’ as it became an important part of our class learning …. and as you also witnessed, the primary 7’s became the experts and ended up taking the lead
I’m loving keeping up with your own adventures on the 5L/W blog ….. the ‘adopt a pet’ idea is great
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October 17th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I think the point I was trying to make in that post was with regard to using technology to raise attainment. I do feel that with the optimist rhetoric from NGO’s rampant when it comes to the supposed benefits of ICT it is important to be able to quantify attainment gains and show statistically that these are linked to the intervention. As a psychology teacher, of course I recognise the value of qualitative research, and believe I made the point about this and its relationship to achievement in my post. When it comes to investment and best value, however, I do believe that good quantitative research is vital to support such investment and ICT in schools is a very good case in point. There is a plethora of qualitative research, but not much quantitative measurement in this field. I’m currently reviewing the literature in this area specifically again as it’s too lengthy for the journal we expect to publish in later this year…
I’m sorry if you felt my comments were critical of your own work – they were certainly not meant to be. They just reflect my own methodological ( and fellow psychologists might say, behavioural) stance and preference.
Jaye
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October 17th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Hello Jaye,
I didn’t think for a minute that you were being critical of my dissertation …. and wouldn’t have expected you to have read it
I had been writing my post and took a break to wander around the blogosphere. When I read the comment re ‘qualitative versus quantatitive’ research and the value of one over the other in investigating the use of technology to raise attainment, I typed my thoughts and pressed publish … then went off to have something to eat.
No offence was taken, and, of course, I respect your methodological stance and preference ….. and now I worry that you were offended by my mention of it in my post
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October 17th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Don’t worry I’m not offended, no reason to be…its a good debate. And I’m enjoying working my way through your dissertation…
Jaye
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October 17th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Phew!
Not used to (or comfortable) with debating …. yet
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