Wednesday, January 14, 2009
One thing I would like to use my Blog for is a place to connect my students and parents with what is going on in my classroom. I would like to post documents, homework, links to cool sites for history and government, and a class schedule. I would also like a place for my students to interact with one another on current events that I would post links to on my Blog that pertain to the lessons we are talking about. Eventually, I would like to use my Blog as a jumping off point for a class group project on Interest Groups. Right now I currently have my students do my Interest Group project in which the end result is a nice portfolio but I would like to adapt that so they would each create their own Blog linked through mine using RSS feeds. This would allow them to become more creative and hopefully make it more interesting to them knowing many other people can check it out not just myself or others in that class. This project would be done in my 11th grade Government class and would allow the kids to research their interest and connect to other interest groups aggregator site like bloglines. It would also allow them to make graphics, post pictures, music, and video if they like.
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Creating a blog for students to use as a resource is a very effective method to keep kids and parents updated on what is currently being taught in the classroom as well as homework assignments, projects, and due dates. The school district that I teach in has been trying to organize a system so that every teacher can post such information. It has been a very slow process with only one technical supervisor in a fairly large school district. One of our technically advanced teachers created a site for students where they can actually participate in the daily lessons. He records his math lessons while he teaches. He uses a smart board and has a program that actually saves everything he writes as he is does it. If a student is absent or wants to see the lesson again, they can visit his site and go to the specific date and class to observe the lesson. It is amazing to watch the screen start writing. He also records his voice so that he is explaining each step as he goes. He claims that it does not create more work for him but eliminates re-teaching a concept and the time that he has to spend getting students caught up when they are absent. He is teaching the lesson to his class and records at the same time. It is incredible how much technology enhances learning for our students. Writing grants is one way to find the money for such advanced programs. Our school system does not have the funds to provide all of our teachers the programs needed.
ReplyDeleteEric
ReplyDeleteYour blog ideas are wonderful and also very optimistic. One suggestion I would make would be to start slowly and add more as you and your students feel comfortable. While your ideas are awesome, they could become overwhelming all at once.
What a great time saver it would be to put daily assignments on a blog for students to check instead of the teacher repeating several times. I know that I have had a few classes where I would need to put fairly detailed instructions along with the assignment in order for students who were absent to be able to complete them. Initially, this could take a lot of time. A recommendation would be to couple a blog post with any handouts used in class.
Your idea to put appropriate links for your students on a blog is one that I would like to try as well. Thanks so much for the idea!
Mr. P,
ReplyDeleteYour ideas are right on target. I would like to suggest that you might possibly start a webpage for some of those items. You could still use your blog for some of your communication, however, a webpage may be a better avenue for some of those items. I just subscribed for a new webpage at myteacherpages.com and I'm excited to see all of the available options on this site. It is free for 30 days, so I'm giving it a try. I've heard from other students that have gotten this Masters degree that we will have to put together a webpage for another class, so I'm just jumping in. Hope you don't mind me giving advice. I'm certainly NOT an expert - but I'm passing along information that I've heard from others that have come before us.
Thanks for sharing your ideas - I'm adding a few to my list!! :-)
I think using a blog for group projects and interest groups is a great way to allow students to work together outside of your classroom. This tool would allow you to monitor their progress without having to be present for all group meetings. Your students would most likely be very proud that their hard work would be published on the internet. The students could be as creative as they like based on your given criteria.
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