It's the 6th graders first year officially exploring what online life is all about. We have a class blog through Kidblog, and they each have their space to create. Once I approve their blog posts (a time consuming affair), students are free to comment on their classmates' posts, which I also must approve.
The long term idea is to open up our blogs to other classes around the globe, but I'm starting small, and we're being very careful and safe. No real identifying personal information makes it into the students' blogs, and if I do see something, I simply don't approve the post or comment until it's fixed.
In order to make it a positive experience for everybody involved, we've set up some guidelines, 4 of them to be exact. While many more could apply, this is what seemed most manageable for my middle school students at this time. Special thanks to Linda Yollis who has so many great blogging resources for her elementary students. Link to her educational blogging wiki here.
Make a positive connection.
Our comments are designed to note the good in somebody else's post, whether it be their writing style or ideas presented. However, we try to make sure that we're more than generic in our praise. While it's nice to read, "Great post", or, "I liked your paragraph", I tell the students to be specific when responding to what they've read. I'm surprised when students who've been going to school together for years know very little about what is important to their classmates. Making that connection a positive one opens up continuing conversations that occur, hopefully building or beginning friendships along the way. I've seen great stuff from my 6th graders lately, like, "I didn't know you took dance lessons. I did ballet when I was little."
Add new information.
One of the things I want students to learn through blogging and commenting is to expand what they know about each other or about a particular subject of interest. A piece of new information could be something about themselves that makes a connection; it could also count for what's described in the paragraph above. What I really aim for here is a continuation of the conversation. Rather than having a few comments below the blog post relating to just one narrow topic, I want students to go beyond and add different angles or perspectives, even share (respectful) alternate viewpoints. This way the conversation can begin to go deeper. In middle school, I love to see the higher level thinking that occurs when students challenge each other.
End with a question.
This is the invitation. I really like to see this one done well because students validate each other's interests or concerns and ask clarifying questions about what somebody else has written. When on topic, it shows respect to a classmate's ideas and encourages them to share even more. One thing I advise students to note when they ask a question in their comment is how many other questions are already on the comment thread. Staying on topic (at least for a while) is important. If too many different questions arise, it becomes a random mess of fractured ideas. Students have enough distractions in their lives without adding to the chaos!
Proofread.
Oh, yes. This one. I had to make it official. In my class, students are graded on the quality of both their blog post and their commenting. I don't demand perfection, but I need to see care. On Kidlbog, when students struggle with grammar and language, I have the chance to sit down with them one on one to help them note particular issues before I "approve" their writing. If I encourage proofreading ahead of time, it covers over a multitude of possible mistakes. I also think taking great care in proofreading is a sign of respect to the others who will be reading and trying to understand their thoughts. And don't get me started on "text speak". The little i for "I" and the letter u for "you" will unfortunately send their comment straight to the trash.
And a couple bonus thoughts:
Keep your comments to 1 or 2 sentences.
I do this for a two reasons. Let's just say the main reason is so that the students learn to be creatively concise. I don't want their comment to be another story all in itself; it should be a response to some previous information. Arguably, if students know how to combine sentences and cut down ramblings, they can fit in all the comment requirements (positive connection, new info, question, proofreading) into a couple sentences. We all know that students will choose to read the shorter comments anyway. My second reason is that it cuts down on my approval time. Remember, I have it set up that I have to approve absolutely everything the students put online, original blog post and each comment. I can read a comment in a snap and decide to approve it, trash it, or help the student edit it.
Spread the Joy.
And what about the student who receives no comments on their blog post? They've been working hard to follow my instructions on commenting. They've blogged, and they've shared 5 comments on other people's posts, and they honestly love doing it. But they get nothing in return for their trouble. So I tell the students to spread the joy. I have them think about how they would feel if they saw no comments on their post, and typically they understand. I'm not necessarily into the self-esteem movement, but I am into my students showing a concerted effort of care for each other. Respect. Obviously, some students will have more traffic on their posts than others, but they know that it's more important to give than to receive.
So there you have it, my thoughts on blog commenting with middle school students. I'd love to hear what works for you! And don't worry, I won't grade you on whatever comments you leave...
Add new information.
One of the things I want students to learn through blogging and commenting is to expand what they know about each other or about a particular subject of interest. A piece of new information could be something about themselves that makes a connection; it could also count for what's described in the paragraph above. What I really aim for here is a continuation of the conversation. Rather than having a few comments below the blog post relating to just one narrow topic, I want students to go beyond and add different angles or perspectives, even share (respectful) alternate viewpoints. This way the conversation can begin to go deeper. In middle school, I love to see the higher level thinking that occurs when students challenge each other.
End with a question.
This is the invitation. I really like to see this one done well because students validate each other's interests or concerns and ask clarifying questions about what somebody else has written. When on topic, it shows respect to a classmate's ideas and encourages them to share even more. One thing I advise students to note when they ask a question in their comment is how many other questions are already on the comment thread. Staying on topic (at least for a while) is important. If too many different questions arise, it becomes a random mess of fractured ideas. Students have enough distractions in their lives without adding to the chaos!
Proofread.
Oh, yes. This one. I had to make it official. In my class, students are graded on the quality of both their blog post and their commenting. I don't demand perfection, but I need to see care. On Kidlbog, when students struggle with grammar and language, I have the chance to sit down with them one on one to help them note particular issues before I "approve" their writing. If I encourage proofreading ahead of time, it covers over a multitude of possible mistakes. I also think taking great care in proofreading is a sign of respect to the others who will be reading and trying to understand their thoughts. And don't get me started on "text speak". The little i for "I" and the letter u for "you" will unfortunately send their comment straight to the trash.
And a couple bonus thoughts:
Keep your comments to 1 or 2 sentences.
I do this for a two reasons. Let's just say the main reason is so that the students learn to be creatively concise. I don't want their comment to be another story all in itself; it should be a response to some previous information. Arguably, if students know how to combine sentences and cut down ramblings, they can fit in all the comment requirements (positive connection, new info, question, proofreading) into a couple sentences. We all know that students will choose to read the shorter comments anyway. My second reason is that it cuts down on my approval time. Remember, I have it set up that I have to approve absolutely everything the students put online, original blog post and each comment. I can read a comment in a snap and decide to approve it, trash it, or help the student edit it.
Spread the Joy.
And what about the student who receives no comments on their blog post? They've been working hard to follow my instructions on commenting. They've blogged, and they've shared 5 comments on other people's posts, and they honestly love doing it. But they get nothing in return for their trouble. So I tell the students to spread the joy. I have them think about how they would feel if they saw no comments on their post, and typically they understand. I'm not necessarily into the self-esteem movement, but I am into my students showing a concerted effort of care for each other. Respect. Obviously, some students will have more traffic on their posts than others, but they know that it's more important to give than to receive.
So there you have it, my thoughts on blog commenting with middle school students. I'd love to hear what works for you! And don't worry, I won't grade you on whatever comments you leave...
I understand why you chose to have your students limit their comments to only a sentence or two, but I would like to push back a little on the idea.
ReplyDeleteTypically a few sentences on a required comment (or maybe not required but encouraged) is good enough. But, what if the student really has more to say? I believe that a blog post is an invitation to a conversation and a comment is an acceptance of the invitation. When done based upon interest (very much like this comment on your post) it is rarely good enough to only leave one or two sentences.
Through the many years my students were blogging and commenting most of the comments they left tended to be pretty short, but the ones that led to some truly remarkable conversations were almost always longer. Anyway, it is something for you to think about ;)
William Chamberlain
@wmchamberlain
I love that idea, William; you have a strong point. I've been blogging off and on with students for just a few years, and the experience you share is a great perspective to consider with my middle school students.
DeleteI definitely don't want to hinder a student's interests, so writing a longer comment would make a lot of sense in that situation. In addition to some of my reasons for keeping it short, I would also say that it's more of a motivation for my beginning bloggers when they see that my expectations aren't so huge, at least in word count.
After reading your comment, though, it opens up more possibility for those students who are really into it. Thanks for that!
:Keith