Russell Street School in Palmerson North, New Zealand is an excellent example of the possibilities for communication, collaboration, and authentic audience inherent in blogging. While the website contains good information about the school and programs, it is the Thursday Notice Board page that shows the vibrant life of the school. Kindergarten classes posted videos of their learning, with occasional instances of student voice. The second grade blogs were full of examples of student work at both the formative and summative stage. Some even had specific invitations for comment. Older elementary students had their own individual blogs, with both public and private pages. Individual blogs showcased student work or student reflection.
The thing that most strikes me about the blogging at RSS is the openness. Student faces are shown. Student names are used. Learning activities are chronicled. It’s a very different mindset than I’ve come to accept as the norm. Many teachers are concerned that blogging (or any other sort of documentation of what is going on in their classroom) is a potential liability. Many parents worry about their childrens’ images appearing online. And yet when you see a school that is doing it so well, those concerns seem a bit unreasonable. In theory, most educators seem to agree that transparency is one of the best ways to improve teaching and learning, and I think RSS validates that belief. In my district we are starting to talk about personalized learning, and it is clear through both teacher and student posts that RSS is living that vision.
On the down side, I now have a phrase stuck in my head -“wachoo eachoo are”. And the line “Vegamite. Or might not” cracked me up. If that makes no sense to you, visit this post and crank up the volume!
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