Blogging as Collaborative Reflection

I really appreciated the Boss article on reflecting through the use of technology. I can't even count the number of times my students have rushed through reflection activities after a project or unit because they just wanted to the project/unit to be over. They had already been thinking about the work for a number of weeks. They'd read about it, written about it, spoken about it with partners. Now I was asking them to reflect on their process, and most of them either responded with one word answers or with hurried responses that they thought were in line with what I wanted to hear about their experiences with the unit.

I've used blogs to respond to reading in the past, but never thought about the possibility of letting students keep year-long blogs as an electronic portfolio. What a great way to personalize the portfolio experience even more, not to mention increase student engagement. Students could alternate between video and written responses to their work throughout the year. Additionally, having the student portfolio online allows students to access all of their entries from any computer. No longer is the portfolio a file folder locked away in a closet somewhere, only shared with students when they are being asked to add a new response. Instead, it is a living piece of work that students can constantly re-read and reflect upon.