Up until a week ago, I did not find blogs very interesting, but after reading chapter six in the text I find there is more to it than what I once thought. It appears that posting a blog may create an interactive community allowing for broader correspondence between an educator and student(s). It provides the opportunity for students to learn through outside sources from people with first hand knowledge and experience. If someone gave the opinion that blogs were a waste of time in a classroom, I would take the time to illustrate the benefits and hope to convince them otherwise.
I found that the chapter gave numerous ideas to implementing blogs in an English teaching environment. Firstly, it would allow for additional posting of notes/lessons for students to build upon from a classroom lecture. Also, in the case of absences/illness, a student may have the capabilities to read that days lesson(s), and not fall behind on reading assignments, etc. An educator could then post helpful links to sites with relating subject matter for lesson plans. For example, sites which assist students with grammar, punctuation, and word usage for an upcoming report or essay. One might post discussion topics requiring feed back from students, and peer-to-peer comments, or require weekly journal entries with a grading rubric requiring proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. A fun activity for students would be the implementation of a classroom-to-classroom relationship with students from other countries. Similar to the Global School House suggested in the textbook. Lastly, a blog may offer parents the awareness of a classroom's current curriculum and overall progress.
When I enter the classroom as an educator, it is a great possibility that I may put a blog to use. I would allow for a trial period to weigh the success and benefits to myself and the students, and perhaps then be able to encourage other teachers to do the same.
Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology
(3rd ed., pp. 112-121). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Penny,
ReplyDeleteI remember when I missed school one day, I had to go to my classmate's house and ask for the lessons that I missed. Now we have technology. Students just log on to the school blogs or website and find the lessons that they miss that day. Technology is very awesome!!!
Thanks for sharing. :)
CK
I agree, blogging is a great way for teachers to communicate with their students. The students can also use this to communicate with one another. The greatest thing about this is that this can be used outside of the classroom.
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