I was reading Cool Cat Teacher Blog and it got me thinking about success and failure in the classroom. While I love technology and enjoy encouraging my student to blog it is not a panacea, nor will it be everyone's cup of tea.
As far as my class's blogs are concerned they've brought mixed results, with few of the students contributing regularly. I had hoped that if I showed them how to blog some would "get it" and continue under their own steam. Unfortunately, that has not proved to be the case. The contribution of the students reflects my emphasis on blogging in the lesson. As I stopped asking them to do stuff on the blog so they stopped bothering to add posts.
In my private lessons the results have been better and some of my students have really taken to blogging and produced some great work. On the other hand others have resisted it with a passion.
Moral of the story: Explain, explain, explain. What for you is self-evident is not at all obvious to others. Yes, blogging is a wonderful form of self-expression. Yes, it's a great way to practice your English in a natural setting but these benefits need to be explained and justified to a sceptical audience.
I need to work a lot harder on this if I want the results I initially expected. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
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