In reading Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, "Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and to respond. They demand interaction." (Richardson, 2009, p.18). This is a great time for others to respond with their own experiences. I think my students could do just that in a classroom blog.
I teach fourth grade reading and language arts. My goal for my students is to become better readers and writers. Being new to the blog world, I am seeing the benefits for not only myself, but my students as well. There are several ways I would like to use blogs in my classroom. First of all, I think it would be great for discussions. My fourth graders love being on the computer. We have stations, which allow the students to go from one activity to the next with a small group. Computers are one station. I could use a blog to discuss content with them. This would allow them to connect with the material while using a blog as the vehicle to produce their work. Another use would be for publishing their work. Unfortunately some of their handwriting is not the best, therefore using the computer to type their paper would help others to read it, as well as publish their work for responses. These responses could possibly be reviewed by their peers, which would help with editing skills.
I think that blogs would be great for my students and would enhance my lessons. I could definitely use them in many ways. My purpose and goal for them would be to know and understand the skills before them, while becoming better readers and writers in the process.
The role of technology in society is endless. It continues to improve. In a video that I recently watched, "Technology's Influence" we see these changes and how they take place. We are taking new things in technology and integrating them into our routines. Once the technology is there we have new ways to do things. That being said, why not use these things in education. The effects of technology could mean huge gains for students that may not learn those skills otherwise. This is why I feel so strongly about incorporating new technology, such as blogs, into my teaching routine.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society [Motion picture]. Teacher as professional. Baltimore.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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Linzie,
ReplyDeleteHow long do students typically spend at a station in your class? I think that some students may struggle to complete a blog post in the time they are allotted. What I have told many of my students to do is to first create their post in a word document and then when they are finished, they can copy it into the blog. This allows them to edit their work first, and also prevents them from losing their work if for some reason it does not post properly.
For your students, this would allow them the opportunity to work on their blog over the course of a few days if they need to and then simply submit it to the blog when they are finished. This will provide a great opportunity for parents to view their child's work as well. Parents can even leave comments for their children to read as well.
"Depending on the focus, Weblogs in the classroom have the potential to affect student learning in many positive ways. Blogging can teach critical reading and writing skills, and it can lead to greater information management skills" (Richardson, 2009).
Resources
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Linzie,
ReplyDeleteI was approaching blogs as a way to bring my instruction to the home, but I think your idea of incorporating the blogging activity in the classroom station rotation is a great idea. It seems that you will be able to encourage partner work and provide support for students that need it in this model.
KJ,
The parental component is a wonderful addition to the blogging assignment. Just as we online learners "here" at Walden are able to work at our own pace and at our own time, bloggers can add their thoughts at any time and from any place as Dr. Thornburg stated (Laureate, 2007). I think that the blog can showcase the students' work and allow for parents to comment with praise or their own thoughts when they find it convenient.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society [Motion picture]. Teacher as professional. Baltimore.
Great ideas, thanks for sharing them!
-Nancy
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI feel that if students know that they are going to receive feedback from several individuals, including their parents, they will take more pride in their work. The teachers also have the ability to include other work the students complete in class on the blog for parents to view as well.
Blogs can be a great tool to help stay in contact with parents because it allows you to post something that everyone can view.
Kristen
The students have about 30 minutes in each station. I agree that they may not have enough time to complete a blog in that amount of time at school. I think that is a great idea to have them complete it on a word document and then transfer it to the blog. I also that it is a great idea to have parents involved. My only concern about students completing this at home is that not all my students have computers. Only about 25 percent of my class has one. The others may not have one or do not have internet access. Does anyone have a suggestion about that?
ReplyDeleteI was amazed to find in the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, the examples of responses to the blogs. I think this is a very successful way for students to interact with content. The example in the book was “expository writing, but the process starts with reading” (Richardson, 2009, p. 29). My goal, as I have said before, is to make better readers and writers. Regardless of how I choose to use blogs in my classroom, the example above shows how educators can make that happen. Just as Dr. Thornburg described in the video that is listed above, students should be able to discuss or post to a blog at any time (Laureate, 2007). This might not always happen in the classroom, and that is ok.
Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions. I am excited to find different ways to use blogs in my classroom.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society [Motion picture]. Teacher as professional. Baltimore.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.