Using Blogs to Improve Writing, Especially for Students with LD

“Writing is a social practice that takes place in the context of ideas and relationships,” says Sarah Jones (Indiana Wesleyan University) in this article in Teaching Exceptional Children. Jones recommends using blogs to make writing a more interactive experience and suggests the following steps to help students with learning disabilities become more proficient:

• Step 1: Choose a website that hosts blogs. She mentions three free platforms: Google Blogger – http://www.glogger.com; Word Press – http://wordpress.com; and Edublogs – http://edublogs.org. Jones stresses the importance of getting students comfortable with the platform using school computers and providing computer time before and after school for students who don’t have access at home.

• Step 2: Create a writing community. “In order to get the most out of the blogging experience, student writers will need frequent, substantive feedback from an interested audience,” says Jones. The best way is to set aside time for students to choose, read, and comment on one another’s blog posts. An additional possibility is opening up students’ posts to parents, community members, and pre-service teachers at a local university. 

• Step 3: Choose meaningful assignments. Teachers should zero in on important issues in students’ lives and discuss them in class before suggesting writing topics.

• Step 4: Teach prewriting strategies. “Before setting students loose to post on blogs, teachers should instruct them in using graphic organizers, composition strategies, and computer-based planning programs to improve their writing success,” says Jones. 

• Step 5: Support students’ composition. Students with learning disabilities tend to have difficulty with unspoken expectations, and they need explicit guidance on the conventions of the blogosphere. Showing students exemplars of good posts will show them the best length, depth, and voice to use. Students should also use word processing software to improve their spelling and perhaps a word prediction program to make full use of their vocabulary (for example, Co:Writer http://www.donjohnston.com/products/cowriter/index.html). 

• Step 6: Help students put comments to work. Students will make best use of this key feature of blogging if they get explicit instruction on how to put comments to work improving their writing.

• Step 7: Maintain the blog. Teachers need to keep track of students’ progress over time and keep tabs on the frequency of student posts and how the technology is being used.

“Digital Access: Using Blogs to Support Adolescent Writers with Learning Disabilities” by Sarah Jones in Teaching Exceptional Children, November/December 2012 (Vol. 45, #2, p. 16-23); Jones can be reached at sarah.jones@indwes.edu. 

From the Marshall Memo #458