A couple of people have asked about the thinking behind the Primary 7 Writing Blog . I’m aware that you often read of ideas but there’s not enough detail to really evaluate whether the same idea would work in your own context so I’ve tried to include all the relevant practical details.

Earlier this year I played about with different blogging software to see how easy it was to use and to get an idea about how it might be used by children. I’d seen John Johnson’s work at Sandaig and was impressed. However, I’m an ICT Development Officer, not a class teacher, so I wouldn’t be able to do what John had done with a class. I wanted something that would have genuine educational benefit and wouldn’t just be using new technology for its ‘wow factor’ alone. I was sure that kids would enjoy blogging and that some teachers might enjoy exposing their pupils to something new and motivating, but I wanted something more than just a motivational activity. I’m not denying the importance of motivating pupils but the motivation must be to do something worthwhile. As I think one of the key things that education can do for kids is to improve self-esteeem, I wanted some sort of blogging activity that would make the kids feel good about themselves and, hopefully, encourage them to improve. I wasn’t sure at this stage what I wanted them to improve.

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