Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Blog Rubrics
Why are the characteristics in the blog rubrics you reviewed important for 21st century learning and teaching? Why are they important? Are there additional characteristics that could or should be included?
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I think it is important as students begin to utilize evolving online resources in a classroom environment that they think about what they are viewing. As they navigate blogs, rubrics can help them assess the quality of the content through specific guidelines. Additionally, as students move from consumers to producers on the web they need to be conscious of what a quality blog entails. As teachers, we need to alter our thinking when it comes to assessing students learning. We need to move beyond traditional assessment practices and look for alternative ways to assess 21st century learners as they move beyond the confines of classroom walls.
Certainly, having uniform assessment standards are important for any assignment, but especially for assignments implementing new technologies. Students who have just been thrust into a new means of communication need fairly rigid guidelines for how to be successful. I think that no matter what the assignment is (blog, wiki, scrapblog, wordle, whatever) the standards should always include a clear guideline of what it takes to effectively complete the assignment and what each aspect of the assignment is worth.
I think that students need guidance to help them distinguish the content of blogs and to create blogs (for classroom use) with meaningful content. Having rubrics will also satisfy those teachers/administrators who see technology as "soft" learning. Having clear expectations will establish the rigor the teacher expects and will guide the students as to how to be successful.
Rubrics in general are important for 21st century learning because we want to include more formative assessments to direct instruction. As more and more people use this tool as a method of communication, students need to be instructed to use appropriate and meaningful language when interacting through blogs. It is our responsibility as educators to teach effective communication skills and with this relatively new form of communication, there are more things to consider than with letters and memos of the "old days." These blog rubrics put students and teachers on the same page as to what is valued when blogging both with content and conventions.
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