Some of the online references that students use for research are blogs, which may also spark an interest in budding creative writers and journalists in the classroom.
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Although many children ages 12 and below are already attuned to the use of the Internet and social media, and there are several notable child bloggers as well, they’re exposed to more risks that come with online socialization.
At least with teens, they’re more developed at navigating current linguistic and cultural trends of their peers, yet can still be monitored closely by their parents, teachers, and guardians.
How can blogging benefit students?
- Improve writing skills
- Improve communication skills
- Sharpen visual communication abilities (photography, design, illustration)
- Allow them to safely to socialize online
As a personal hobby, it can be a good creative outlet in which the child can express their thoughts and ideas through images, words, music, and videos.
Read Also: How to Start a Blog?
Here are basic guidelines by which you can help students get started on blogging.
1. Start with a group blog.
It could be either a class or family blog. This will help encourage fresh bloggers to contribute to a project without the intimidation of being the lone author of an empty blog (we all know how discouraging that can be, even for experienced bloggers).
2. Integrate meaningful topics as prompts.
You can use regularly updated classroom subjects, the child’s favorite hobbies, or highlights of the day or week.
3. Start with a small audience.
If you can’t want to public author, you can also start with a password-protected blog with a limited audience can help make young authors feel less pressured to produce content, and it will help make them feel at ease while they’re still learning the basics of blogging such as writing and publishing posts, embedding links, images, and videos, posting and moderating comments, content management, and internet etiquette and safety.
4. Set regular but workable long-term goals.
It will be easier for budding bloggers to go about their posting routine if they’re working within a structured system. For example, you can have each of them create one 100-word post a day, with a goal to publish at least 10 posts a week as a group, for one semester.
5. Practice Internet safety.
I cannot stress this strongly enough. Young bloggers need to actively practice the guidelines of Internet safety, such as protecting personal information, interacting with different personalities online, and spotting red flags. They also need to understand the importance of being monitored by a trusted adult, and the need for communicating their concerns clearly if something seems wrong.
6. Invite an expert.
If you yourself are still learning the ropes of content creation and management, then you can work alongside someone who’s well-versed in the field. When your young charges see that you’re enthusiastic about blogging, it will also motivate them further.
7. Teach the importance of quality commenting.
Blog commenting is a skill in itself, and this would be a good opportunity to teach young bloggers how quality comments can affect a blog’s integrity, as well as speak for the comment’s character. Basic commenting rules, commenting etiquette, discussion threads on comments, and comment management are some of the key lessons that need to be focused on.
8. Involve the family.
it’s in a classroom or family setting, getting kids’ loved ones to join them in blogging will help increase their feelings of self-worth, because it communicates to them that their input matters as much as their family’s does. It may also help increase camaraderie among family members, and will give them significant memories to look back on. Be sure that the family members are also regularly informed and educated on blogging and Internet safety, and that they can collaborate with you on monitoring the kids’ online activity and behavior.
9. Impart conscientiousness.
Blogging is also a great venue to teach the importance of thinking before you post. Now this deserves a special section because not only does it cover the value of prudence, but also of authenticity, and of ethics (wherein the blogger both respects another’s material and protects their own content).