Blogs
can be used for many different reasons.
I use mine for professional purposes.
First of all, it gives me a way to communicate with those of you who are
in my online class…and models blog usage so you can see how it might be
incorporated in your classroom (or as a way to communicate with
parents/guardians if you wanted). It
does allow you to communicate with a particular group way more easily than
simply one-on-one. And who hasn’t been
tormented with many “dings” as folks reply to all to a group text?
In the
classroom, blogs will definitely help you to get your students to write. We know that whether we are teaching math,
science, social studies, language arts-any subject-we need to get our students
to write! Make no mistake; your students will be much more apt to write on the
computer than on paper. Another plus is
that since the new testing is done on computer, students need to get more adept
at writing (and typing) this way. I would start students writing on a blog very
simply, perhaps getting them to give a couple sentence response to some topic
that they are interested in and like to talk about. This way, they can get comfortable with the
process, rather than just school content.
Once they have the process down, then I would introduce blog posts for
their responses that relates to the content I am teaching.
Certainly,
there would need to be “teaching” to introduce blogs, along with some strong
guidelines as to appropriateness and good etiquette (not to worry, you can
delete inappropriate comments on your blog, but it still helps to put the onus
on the students!).
Please
comment on this posting by hitting Comment key below…tell what you think and
how you might be able to use this tool with your students for the content area
you are working on. I know blogs aren’t
for everyone, but please humor me for the purpose of this course. After you have commented, you can comment on
other posts…be sure to scroll down below to see other posts I have on this
blog-you might find some of them interesting!
A long while back I tried posting to a blog. I didn't care for it. I think that I felt obligated to post something mind-blowing each day when in fact, things were rather mundane. I prefer the quickness of social media, particularly Facebook.
ReplyDeleteOops, I'm signed in under my husbands account. :) This is really Liz @ elizabethmaria@gmail.com
Since I am not Julie (of Julie and Julia), I never feel compelled to post something daily...I try to do it when I have something to say...or have a class going. It can be an easier way to get info out to a group than emails or texts.
DeleteJan
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ReplyDeleteabc 123 testing
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ReplyDeleteI find myself in unfamiliar territory. I have never done anything with a blog before but I think it could be a good tool to be used in the classroom with high school students. We are always telling students to "put your cell phones away", or "no texting in class." Blogging allows students to not only publish their own work but comment on their friends. This kind of interaction makes learning motivating for students. I do think that rules, guidelines and social etiquette need to be taught first before blogging is used in the classroom for lessons.
ReplyDeleteIn the area of science, I could see students use blogs to post their findings when doing experiments, recording data and researching. Students could share information, offer suggestions and do further research or work based on those comments.
In my MD classroom, this may not be realistic because of the nature of my students' disabilities. What I could do is have the students verbally comment and I could post it for them. I could also write their comments down and have my higher functioning students copy and type. I would have to consider if this would be too time consuming or cumbersome, but I think once in a while it would be fun. If I see this as something the kids really enjoy, I would explore further options.
I love your idea about having students post findings from experiments. I can also see putting a math problem on a post, and have students reply to tell how they would solve it.
ReplyDeleteJan
Blogging is a great way to communicate and collaborate with others in your field who can relate. Students love when technology is incorporated into daily activities, and this is a great way to do so. I also like being able to comment, without the constant dings notifying us of someone else's reply.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth? I really, really try to remember to do a personal reply to those danged Group Texts, and yet I do send them :-(
DeleteI really like the concept of the blog being a formative assessment...
Student’s blogging has always worried me because what is put out there is forever. The students would have to understand this and would have to be carefully monitored when blogging. I can see some uses for blogging with my students. We now use a journal for our writing and use it across subject areas. They may write science observations, explanations for math problems, a response to a writing prompt or a brainstorming list. These are all uses for their journals. My students really struggle with writing and perhaps the idea of writing in a blog (where anyone can view the result) might be more motivating. It is certainly an experiment worth trying.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, that students need to be taught the "rules of the road" and be reminded that they must be polite, kind, etc. (so do adults!). The journal concept is excellent, and they just might love doing it on the computer. I loved the blog that was on Pow-Pak (some of you who have been in district for awhile will remember Pow-Pak) as the teacher had to approve or edit each post before it was published. I am still looking for another like that. I must go back and look at ClassBlogmeister again too...it may have it also...will let you know.
DeleteOne thing I absolutely hate is writing a post and having it disappear into techie nowhere land. I just finished a long one that has disappeared. To summarize, I am what others have jokingly referred to as a "lurker" I love to read people's blogs to keep up with what is being said and going on, but do not always feel the need to comment. I guess that is why I like FB so much. I'm lazy, I can just hit that like button. I had a student blog site a couple of years ago while working in a selfcontained cross-categorical unit and was a little worried about the student's responses and breaking the "rules of the road" I was a little surprised that I did not have any major problems. It ended up being a great opportunity for editing their responses to questions. I worked from a site that allowed me to approve or disapprove their comments before posting. Just like us, I found that some students loved the opportunity and that others had to be motivated to use the site.
ReplyDeleteI think blogging could be a great tool to use in the classroom. As an Intervention Specialist, I run into a lot of students who HATE to write. However, I sometimes think they hate to write because they may feel like they have no audience or purpose for writing. A blog will help motivate students to write because they know their friends and teachers will see what they wrote and can respond accordingly. The best thing about blog, is that you could use them in any subject area and it promotes writing across the curriculum! I could see myself using a blog in Math as a self-reflective piece. Instead of writing in a notebook about what they still don't understand, need to improve, or what they have mastered: why not Blog about it? That way students could form groups with other students to help teach each other specific learning concepts. I would love for students in my class to offer advice, give different strategies, and offer a helping hand to each other to make it feel like we are all working towards a common goal!
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