I am a homeroom teacher of a wonderful group of 23 grade 7 students. Being new to the world of blogging, I am challenged to see how I could use blogs in my teaching practice. Richardson (2009), an educator and author on integrating the use of web tools into the classroom, says that blogs have several purposes. However, Richardson makes a key point that blogs should make people think and respond. In essence, blogs are an interactive activity. My hope is that I can put the following ideas into practice, beacuse at this time, blog sites are blocked in my school division. But that is another topic.
As an educator, participation and interaction is what I am looking for from my students. I also realize that not every student is an outgoing participatory member in the class. Blogs can be a way that each student can be heard. A written response is a safer option for some learners than others. The other possibility I see for blogs in my class is the potential for interaction with others. Blogs can open the door for dialogue with other students who might be working on the same types of assignments or projects. It would be wonderful to see students from two different countries expressing ideas and challenging each other on specific topics.
As a way to start their educational blogging careers, my students will blog to express ideas and respond to prompts. At this point my students are just ending a novel study on Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt. One of the novel’s themes is the notion of everlasting life. I would ask my students to respond to a prompt that would ask them, “If you were given the chance to live forever, would you take that opportunity?” It might generate a chance for dialogue with others.
As I gain experience in blogging and using more web tools in my teaching, I will take bigger steps with my class.
References:
Richarson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
One problem might be having enough computer knowledge. I think a brief demo on how blogging works and the responsibilities of writing one would be a great lesson. You could tie in the "Everlasting" theme to their writing. I think all teens should get a lesson on how things they put on the web are permanent.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and think it will be a great writing topic.
You sound like you are on the right track with how to blog in your classroom. Do you teach all subject areas? You mentioned that you are a homeroom teacher, we don't have designated homeroom teachers. It is usually their first period teacher who takes attendance and such. If you do teach a variety of subjects, blogging can be utilized several ways.
ReplyDeleteOne problem that most of us face is availability of computers. If you are grading on participation, is it during school or while at home? Do you have enough computers for a class?
Like you, I hoping to experiment and learn many ways to incorporate this new technology.
Rusty,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you recognize the fact that blogging is blocked from your school, yet you give examples of how you could use a blog if the situation allowed for it. I have a question for you. Could you realistically have select students participate in a blog from home as an extension or enrichment activity? Perhaps participation would have to be completely voluntary with all activity taking place from home or a public library. You may not be able to get all, or even a majority of students to participate. However, you may have an opportunity to get some participation. Of course, I know little of your particular situation.
I would like to end by commenting on your site. I like it very much. It gives the impression that important topics are discussed here. Thank you for sharing.
Ken
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThe training of young bloggers would be absolutely essential. Before any writing or posting could be done effectively, learning how is paramount. I imagine this could be done over several sessions. Thanks for your insights.
cmbelcastro,
ReplyDeleteThe answer to your first question is yes, I do teach my homeroom the four core subject areas. Computer time is at a premium, but there are enough computers in the lab. Our school has also just purchased a mobile lab with 24 netbook computers and a wireless internet hub. I can wheel the lab into my class and the students can work directly from their desks. Lastly, in the division where I work not many students have computers in their homes. The ones that do are on dial-up internet. The area is rural and high-speed is not available. Some have tried internet sticks, but the results have not been too great. So 99% of computer work must be done at school. I do what I can with what I have.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of students participating from home. The only difficulty is that not too many of my students have computers at home. Those that do, only have dial-up internet access. My goal is to lobby the division I work in with research and, hopefully, logic that will persuade them to allow more web tools to be incorporated in the classroom. Thanks for your ideas.