Reading Post 4

HOT Blogging: A framework for Blogging to promote Higher Order Thinking


               Lisa Zawilinski discusses in her article the new trends of literacy on the internet that can be used in classrooms. I was really interested in this article because I feel that blogging is something that I will see in my student teaching experiences and use it someday in my classroom. I have seen the rise of the blogging trend in my college classes as well. I can remember when I first was introduced to blogging, I did not like it because it seemed impersonal to me. However, now there are so many blogging sites that are designed to give more personality to your writings. I feel that if blogging is to be used as a literacy tool in the classroom, a site that allows creativity to the blogs should be chosen. If students are going to be motivated to write, they need to feel comfortable and able to be themselves in their writings. It also makes it more interesting for the readers because they can see who the writer truly is. 
          "Classroom blogs bridge the ever-widening gap between out-of-school literacies and in-school literacies." I feel that this is the strongest statement in the article. As we discussed in class, technology and specifically social networking sometimes is viewed negatively in classrooms. I feel that as teachers, we can show how this type of technology can be used in a positive way. I feel that if students become aware of the correlation between in-school literacies and out-of-school literacies it makes the information learned inside the classroom more authentic. I also feel that the students may become more motivated because they have a real audience. With this being the situation, they may put more time and effort into their writings and view it more importantly.
             I like the acronym for HOT blogging (Higher Order Thinking). I feel like blogging subconsciously makes us use a higher order of thinking. Blogging not only gives us a real audience, but many different perspectives, critical thinking opportunities, and problem solving activities. As a future teacher, I want to master the steps of creating a successful HOT blog in my classroom.