Today I will begin working with a teacher on how to develop a blogging culture in his class.  He has followed my advice and already created a class blog using Edublogs as well as Gmail subsidiary accounts so that he can moderate all student comments through one email address and avoid the hassle of students having individual accounts.

Now we can enter this adventure with all of the technical pieces in place, forcing us into the real challenge.  How do we create and maintain a learning environment in which students engage in conversations rather than just respond to a teacher posed question?

I have sifted through many existing blogs, each claiming to have the “secret recipe” for how to establish a blogging culture in a classroom.  I even sent out a plea to my E-PLN (Electronic Professional Learning Network), which generated some great feedback.

In my continual state of reflection I have determined that a classroom blogging culture can only be as strong as the existing classroom community.  The classroom blogging journey began before the teacher even considered the integration of classroom blogging.  It began when the students entered that classroom and formed a community in which they learned to listen to as well as respect each other.  When their similarities and differences were celebrated, evolving into authentic engagement and learning.  When the students learned just as much from each other as they did from the teacher.

I have also realized that the “secret recipe” I was searching for does not exist.  Each classroom’s recipe will be different which is part of what makes classroom blogging a powerful experience for all involved. Therefore, I will not enter today’s planning session with a step-by-step plan.  Instead I will focus on the existing classroom community and how together, we can develop a blogging culture within that community.