I realize now where I went wrong.
Blogs aren't effective if they're being used in a way that transmits information in just one direction. That's where I failed. I thought a blog would be a good tool for me to get information to others. I didn't think about how the blog could be used to get information TO me FROM students and parents.
Re-thinking blogs over the past couple of weeks has given me some new ideas for how to use this tool in the classroom.
For my American history classroom, I can see blogs as a real asset in a couple of different ways. I start a lot of my classes with little thinking/writing prompts and sometimes end with a writing prompt for an exit ticket. Some of my kids have a difficult time completing this task in class. A blog would be a good place for me to post a discussion question or "critical thinking" question. Kids could have a set amount of time (maybe overnight, maybe a week) to respond to a comment and to others' comments. In this setting, the blog could possibly work the way discussion forums work.
I could also see the blog being an effective place to share news stories. Each week my students are encouraged to follow the latest news, to find a piece of positive news, and to find a piece of "weird" news. I ask for volunteers to share this information in class. With the blog, students could post the links directly.
I would like to use the blog for my English classes, as well. I can see the blog being a place to review books and share ideas about books. It would also be a place where I could elaborate on assignments and kids could bounce ideas off of each other.
Some good ideas here. One of the things that makes Facebook so popular is that it brings everything to the student in one place. How can we get these tools to our students in one place? Is there a type of "start screen" like NetVibes or iGoogle or PageFlakes that students could see when they logon at school that would be personalized to them? Could it have the blogs for different classes they are currently in? Another option might be to have them subscribe to the various blogs through a RSS feed so it comes to them. Some schools are even experimenting with Twitter. You could tweet with a link to a blog post that would take the student directly there. On campus, there are courses experimenting the Fan Pages for different classes to get their info. sent to students' walls. We're all still experimenting with these tools, but the key is getting students involved in contributing to them as you noted.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas, I have been starting to think along the same lines. Since I work in higher ed, I feel as though I need to incorporate these technologies even more since most students are taking at least one online class and bringing laptops to the classroom. Since being introduced to igoogle in this class, my life has been so much easier managing all of my information.
ReplyDeleteI love iGoogle too, Jessica. Before I was introduced to it in this class, I felt like I was wasting my time clicking on so many different things. No I feel much more efficient, and I don't have to log on to so many things.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mrs. Snyder for sharing yoyur mistake so we won't make the same one. I think getting used to the technology is one challenge, and learning how to use it effectively is an entirely different challenge. Traditionally, teachers were the source for content and the students were the recipients. Now it's changing because of developments in technology and changes in society. I guess I better get used to changes because as soon as I adapt to all of these new things, everything is likely to change again!
How true about the pace of change! It seems that everytime I teach a course with technology in it, new possibilities arise and older ones fall to the wayside. I think that is an important lesson to learn - we can't be so tied to a particular piece of software but instead need to learn to learn new technologies and use our teaching expertise to figure out how or whether the technology can help in teaching and learning. I'm not convinced all of them are worth our time, but we have to be willing to experiment to figure that out. In many cases, it will be the students who push this process as most are willing and able to keep up with the changes.
ReplyDeleteCan I just say that I love what you said about being willing to experiment with new technology to see if is worthwhile! I keep telling my staff members that they can't be scared to just mess with things because you never know if it is good unless you try it out.
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