An authentic and global audience of peers and professionals–what could be more exciting when it comes to students pursuing meaningful collaboration? Yet in the name of safety, many schools still choose to keep student blogs private, viewable only to students and their families. And while safety is an essential priority, these schools must understand the importance of digital citizenship, and its role in enhancing students’ online safety.
Meanwhile, for those teaching under such restrictions, the good news is that there are a growing number of alternatives available to still foster global connections. Here are four we’re sure your students will love!
Quadblogging
Meet the digital version of pen pals. This is a great compromise with an administration that is wary of public blogging–ask for permission to connect with just 3 other classes so they can learn about their peers in other places. Your class will become part of a Quad of four classes. You each take week-long turns as the focus class, meaning the other 3 classes visit and comment on your students’ blogs. The year I did this with my fifth graders, our quad included fifth grade classes from the U.S., the U.K., and China, and our students couldn’t get enough of seeing comments on their work from their quad friends across the globe.
The Wonderment
The Wonderment is a new creativity-sharing platform that makes me want to be a kid again. It allows students to share and connect with kids around the world using their WonderBots. Students can share their work, participate in creative challenges, and participate in discussions with other kids–all while filling up a WonderMeter that opens up the Wonderment to new locations in the world. “When we create things together, good things happen.”
Class Twitter Account
Twitter allows teachers to easily share snippets of student learning throughout the day in just 140 characters. A group just brainstormed phenomenal questions for a project? Just snap a photo and share on your classroom Twitter account with hashtags that will help their ideas reach beyond just the walls of your classroom (ie, #comments4kids, grade level chat like #5thchat, etc.). Invite parents to follow your class account to give them a window into your classroom, too! To see it this in action, check out Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade class account. (For more inspiration, check out “Unlocking Twitter’s Classroom Potential“).
MysterySkype
Can your class guess the location of another over Skype? Not only does MysterySkype give your students an opportunity to connect with kids around the world, but it allows them to cultivate communication, problem solving, collaboration, and organization. Before you launch a session, be sure to check out how other teachers have set it up, like fifth grade teacher, Paul Solarz.
Though none of these options allow students to create individual and flexible digital portfolios like student blogging does, they are a start. Meanwhile, maintain forward-moving conversations with your administration and/or parents by making the case for public blogging, addressing safety concerns, showing them how beneficial digital connections are for us all.
What are ways you help your students build an authentic audience?
Featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto
We are working on descriptive writing, so they do a “Sentence of the Week,” where they have to improve a bland skeleton of a sentence. I select the best 6 and send those out as a Google Form on Twitter and to everyone at our school. They get so excited when there are over 200 votes for the sentences (there are 28 kids in our grade), which makes them work harder the following week. My favorite is that those who aren’t chosen are often sure that they were #7!
What a fun way to give them an audience! What is your twitter handle? Would love to follow! 🙂