Play Tech 1 - Use of Blogs in Math

Having students write about math is something I've considered before.  In a book I recently read, "the fundamental 5" suggested that students who do not write or reflect on math struggle to rise upward on blooms taxonomy.  It suggested to have the students reflect on their learning in topics or courses beyond the language arts. 

Many times students are asked to think about experiences or seek out math related examples in real life and a blog posting can serve as a way to document and share their findings.   It also requires the students to describe what they found out in a way that others might understand.   This can be a challenge for most, particularly if they are a little weak on the content or procedure.  

One exercise in particular is for them to find right angles or triangles in various areas.   They might be charged with finding 3 or 4 different environments where a right angle is applied.  They could also identify how they would know that the angle is 90 degrees. Pictures could be taken and uploaded as proof and they would have to explain in a paragraph what is in the picture.

One of the challenges to having students use this method is to make sure they know what is required for posting.  A use of a rubric and some examples can help.  Another approach might be to ease them into answering questions or prompts and providing them constructive feedback so they can better understand what is expected of them.


I found a web site called kidblogs.org which makes hosting the blog site rather easy.  It doesn't require a gmail account for blogger.com and it's designed for the educator and student.  It even has a app for a smartphone to allow for easy review and assessment.  It might be possible that the school would include blogging as a "corporate tool" provided to education organizations as they do with gmail and google docs.  At which point, the login would come with their school account.


The blog can also be used to post summaries of content and provide links and extensions of lessons.   It would also be a way to communicate with parents so they can help engage their learning, or at least support it.

Some obstacles with the tool is access to a computer or internet.   Although this is becoming a lesser problem with the proliferation of smart phones and internet in the homes.  With some creativity this problem can be mitigated with time in the classroom or library.   There might also be a concern about students being "published" on the internet.   Posting by only using their first name or by hiding the link from search engines (if possible) can guard the privacy of the students.  I imagine full transparency of the project and documented actions that are taken to manage this concern should be used.