My Blog Literacy in the Upper Grades

This week I started university classes to work on a master’s degree. WOW! have things changed since I was a student. I have had to learn so many new things this week. I knew that I would be introduced to new content material in my classes, but learning that material is only one of the new challenges I face.

For one, I am commuting to the university via mass transit. I had to learn how to take the shuttle to the train station, the train to the bus, and the bus to the campus. That was very stressful… worrying about being late for class or getting stranded after the last train had gone.
In addition, my classes are taught using very modern methods. My teacher refers to materials that I can find on ereserve and I scratch my head. Luckily, I am sitting next to a young and hip student who helped me out with that.

One of my classes is online and that teacher is requiring me to start a blog. A blog of all things… I didn’t even know what it was, so I asked my teen. “It’s like keeping a journal online, but everyone can read it,” she tells me. Well, I don’t know how comfortable I am with that idea!
I love to talk with people or write through email, but blogging is different in one very significant way. I cannot address the audience one by one. When I interact with people I wear different hats so to speak. I use different tones and discuss different topics. I would not have the same conversation with my grandmother as I would with a peer or a colleague. I would not discuss the same topics with my boss that I would with my neighbor. So how would I write a blog that each of these people might read? I would probably feel the need to remain very superficial. My writing would lack the personal feel that my dear ol’ granny would miss. I definitely wouldn’t tell all.

What makes a quality blog? I really find people’s vivid descriptions of what they ate for breakfast, where they went, how hot was etc. a bore. That is not a quality blog to me. Unless, of course, the writer is on a vacation or trip. A good blog for me would be one in which the author tells about an experience or gives information which I would like to have but have not been able to do or attain at this point in time.
So, I guess a blog must be written with a specific audience in mind. My blog will be written for my classmates and all educators who are interested in learning ways to improve student literacy in their middle school or high school content area classes. Not that I am an expert myself. I am studying this right along side them, but I will be summarizing a great book written for just that purpose.

Until next time,
Penny

p.s. One blog I found that might become a favorite to literacy students is:
blog.readingapprenticeship.org