"I Feel Like I'm Part of Something"

Bud Hunt gets it right when in mentioning our recent blogging vs. journaling discussion he writes:

But I wonder how many students are actually participating in this conversation. Are adults once again making decisions for students without their input? Wouldn’t it be terrible if the decisions about blog use in classrooms were all made for students, instead of with them?

So what does he do about it? He asks his students. And they answer, here, here, and here (among others.)

But I also found their reactions to Bud’s class blogging “experiment” to be equally interesting. Here are some excerpts.
From David the Student:

man blogs can be useful to our school because it is out there letting us be big and connected to the world. yes there will be problems but only user problems and it is worth every bit of effort.

From Moe the Student

Blogging to me, is a place where you can post your ideas, and your thoughts on certain subjects. You can show the world what you are interested in, and link to certain sites, or other blogs related to your interest. Then the really awesome part comes along…people may comment, and help make your thought process easier. They may comment and tell you, “well, here is really great site,” and you will learn more, through the help of other people.

From Elle the Student:

I’m so freakin’ curious about this, y’know? And now I’m aware that people are out there listening/reading what I actually have to say. This class definitely makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than just a classroom.

And, from Mike the Student:

If this post and the comments on Bud’s blog are any indications, then the educational blogsphere may soon have all of it’s eyes turned on us. It may be up to us, the students, to decide the place of blogs in the schools.

I feel like I’m part of something.

Good stuff, and it’s very cool to read the way kids are thinking about the technology. Kudos to Bud for getting them started.