In today's online world everyone can get published. And everyone can comment on other people's work. Most people engaged in the online world choose to share their work on Weblogs or "blogs". Blogs are easy to create and a great tool for teachers to engage their students. In this assignment you will read several articles on how teachers use blogs in their classroom, you will read and participate in some online blogs, and you will create your own blog for your students. You will also create a blog to use for the rest of class. I will provide you with a couple of blogging websites that I find easy to use and easy for students to access.
Assignment Part 1: Read, Read, and Read!
Choose two of the following articles. Then reflect about what you read on the class blog!!Blogging? It's Elementary My Dear Watson!
Panelists: Blogs are Changing Education
Writing With WebblogsMotivating Students With Webblogs
Assignment Part 2: Watch the Video!
Assignment Part 3: Choose an education blog of interest to you. Read a couple of entries in the blog and comment. Place a link to your comment on the class blog.
Use the Following Links to Get Started:
Top 100 Education Blogs
These are some of my favorite blogs:
Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson
2 Cents Worth by David Warlick
Bit by Bit by Bob Sprankle
A History Teacher by Dan MacDowell
Speaking of History by Eric Langhorst
Assignment Part 4: Create Your Own BlogDevelop a blog using Blogger to share with your classmates. You will post the remainder of your your reflections, and assignments on this blog. You wll also post comments on your classmates' blogs. Remember to make it intereting and accessible for particpants. Play around with the features of the blog. Try to figure out how to add video or photos to make the blog more interesting! Put a link to your blog in the class blog. Comment on one or more of your classmates' blogs. We will continue to use these blogs throughout the duration of the class. If you need help refer to the "How to Blog" lesson.
Blogger
Edublogs
How to Blog
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Assignment Part 1: Reflection
ReplyDeleteBlogging? It’s Elementary My Dear Watson & Panelists: Blogs are changing education, shed a new light on blogging in an elementary classroom. I have to admit I wasn’t sure how I would be able to incorporate blogging effectively into a fourth grade classroom. In fact, in one of my earlier posts I said that I would like to see how RSS and blogging fit into a fourth grade class model. This article gave me a lot of insight into what that model could potentially look like. I was able to read about and visit (using a few of the links provided on the webpage) class websites in action. Specifically, I was able to see how “Mr. Villasana's” fourth-graders at Sheppard Elementary use blogging as a tool to improve their writing. Though I wasn’t able to gain access into this particular fourth grade class blog, as it was password protected, I was able to read sample blogs on other links. Having students write for each other and respond to each other is a new approach to teaching writing then the usual complete your first draft, pass it in or peer edit, final copy, and bring home to share with a parent. My fourth grade students LOVE using the computer, any chance they get. I think by presenting writing in this way it will take away the “this is homework- let me just get through this” stigma. Also, it allows parents to see how/what their kids are writing as well as that compares to others in the classroom. We talk about students writing for an audience and purpose, what better audience than their peers. Another, aspect I was skeptical of was grading. How do you grade a blog? On this webpage it provides links to sample rubrics. I thought that was wonderful.
On the flip side, assigning an online writing assignment has potential drawbacks. One of which is parent approval, understanding, and support of blogging as a writing tool. Some parents are not computer/internet savvy and therefore are uncomfortable with their son/daughter using the internet. Not to mention, some students do not have computers and/or internet access at home and I only can bring them to our school lab every other week due to scheduling. Also, in order to get a class blog up and running I would think it would take a lot of work and some convincing on part of the parents that it is effective and useful. It would have to be presented to the parents, possibly at open house, and they would have to agree to let their son/daughter use this as a learning tool. Trying to gather my parents’ email addresses alone was a slight challenge this year. My last concern is student accountability and quality of writing. I read in Blogging? It’s Elementary My Dear Watson, that the students take more care when it comes to the quality of their writing with regard to content, spelling, and punctuation when blogging. Knowing my own students, my concern is will they all really take more care? Would they simply write as they speak, as they may on AIM? Will their lack of typing skills deter them from completing a writing assignment to the best of their ability because they become tired or frustrated? How can you be sure the work is being done by the student and not with a lot of parent help?
These were both extremely informative articles. Though I felt Blogging? It’s Elementary My Dear Watson provided a more realistic view of just what blogging look like for an elementary student. To be honest, I had no idea what role blogging would and could play in an elementary classroom.
Assignment Part 3: Education Blog of Choice. I chose Bit by Bit. Link to my blog below:
http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress/?p=792&cpage=1#comment-53231
Assignment 4: Create a Blog
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my blog...as a test i posted this week's reflection on the articles
http://blogginginanelementaryclassroom.blogspot.com/
Assignment 1: Reflection
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a few of the articles about blogs I feel that I have a better understanding of how they could be used in a classroom. Even after reading these articles I still believe that the use of blogs would be most beneficial with older students. I teach first grade and students at this age level are at the emergent stage of reading and writing. They are learning how to type in computer class but I do not think their skills are at a level where they could easily type a post to a class blog. If I were to try and have the students make a post to a class blog I suppose I would have them write about a given topic and then retype what they have written onto the blog. For example, my class is starting a science unit on weather. During this unit the students write about their favorite kind of weather. After the students wrote their ideas down on paper they could transfer their thoughts onto the class blog by retyping what is on the written page. This would be rather time consuming but it could be a way to get my first graders blogging.
In the article, Blogging! It’s Elementary My Dear Watson I thought it was interesting that the article mentioned that students would write with greater attention to grammar, punctuation and spelling when they know they are writing for an audience and not just for their teacher. I do agree with that however, I think many students are used to texting and emailing and often use “slang” or abbreviations to quickly express their thoughts. I believe it would be important for a teacher to explain the importance of being mindful of their use of grammar, punctuation and spelling while posting their work and reflections on a class blog. Also, in this article I liked the idea of having a password to protect what is being published on the blog. This would help eliminate posting something that should not be on the blog.
The other article I read was entitled, Panelists: Blogs are Changing Education. This article made me realize that more classrooms are using blogs than I originally thought. It will be interesting to see how mainstream this becomes. It seems Billerica is just beginning to really implement technology into the everyday lives of teachers and students. It will be interesting to see where this takes us as a school system and how this will affect education in general.
Assignment 3: Link to my comment on a blog.
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1677#comments
Assignment 4: Create a Blog
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my blog.
http://blogginginafirstgradeclassroom.blogspot.com/
After reading the article “Blogging? It’s Elementary My Dear Watson!” really made me more aware how students and teachers can interact with each other on a different level. I am really thinking about the shy student who is especially has a lot to contribute to the classroom environment but is afraid of speaking up in the class. I also realized that there are so may ways a teacher can start a blogging environment through the various Web-based programs like Blogmeister, KidzBlog and Thingamablog. The article also mentioned that most teachers think that high school students are the students that mostly blog but this article points out that there are a growing amount of elementary and middle school students that also have something to say. However, at first while I was reading how this world of Web-based communication has been exploding I was worried if when the teacher was opening a can of worms. I really like the idea that the teacher can monitor the blogs and scrutinize the information before it gets published on the class blog. I can see how classroom blogging could get out of hand. The only draw back is finding the time to do all of this writing and monitoring on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all about blogging all night I am realizing that it is really the way of the future. We have to communicate with our students on their level and not continue to push the traditional ways of education at them. They feel comfortable with electronic communication it is us that have to accept this new way of education. I think if we can build a frame or boundary around the educational blog we will all benefit. But this cannot be the sole way for the classroom teacher to function. The teacher will have to be multi-dementional with educating all the students in the room. It's just like accommodating the IEP students into the regular education classroom. It is just one more way to bring education to the whole group.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Panelists: Blogs are Changing Education" I felt like I wasn't being as open minded as I thought I am. Not allowing students to partake in blogging might be holding them back in a world in which they feel comfortable in. It may seem old school to say but school systems still feel the need to control communication within their jurisdiction. I can see both sides of the debate. I seem to sit on the fence on the issue. If you open the door there will always be that individual that wants to test the system and go aganst the tide defying the rules set forth of the classroom blogging requirements. As we all have seen in MySpace and Facebook. Even now, our access to the Internet is guarded and restricted and rightly so. Sure, at times I am frustrated that something educational is banned by accident but that is the culture of education in a public school environment. I believe that if we as teachers have tha ability to monitor the information before it gets published on the classroom blog, I see no reason for not allowing the student to voice their take on the issues. I, however, would also encourage that the classroom exchange is most important to having that face-to-face interaction.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the articles I do have a better idea of how blogging would work in a classroom setting. I agree with the point about writing to an authentic audience. I think chldren would like the fact that other children could respond to their writing. Most children like to share their ideas and this is a way for all of them to share. This would make it feel real for them.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how parents would respond. As is, I think parents are afraid of the access the computer gives children to the outside world so this may open that can of worms even more. Getting children to blog at such a young impressionable age could lead to too much time on the computer instead of interacting with others. I think as I see blogging used more and I see real examples then I will feel better about trying it out.
http://megan-ourassignment.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my blog page. I am not sure what to put on it?? I think discussing ideas in class would be helpful.
Go to my blog address listed below on the Internet: My take on this issue.
ReplyDeletehttp://highschoolvsvocational.blogspot.com/
Assignment Part 1-My Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThe articles that were provided for us helped pull things together a little bit for me. I am getting a better idea as to how this whole “blogging” thing works. Being that it’s an online diary or journal that can be set up in many different formats. I have been really trying to see how my little first graders can have access to the whole idea and use it successfully. Obviously, it can work because there are teachers out there that are doing it. Safety is an issue, but it seems as though that area is covered as well. Once we dive in a little bit more in this course, I’m sure I’ll be more confident.
After reading-Panelists: Blogs are Changing Education, I was able to really get a good picture of how other educators are using blogging as part of their curriculum. I have more of an understanding as to how teachers can use them within their own classroom and really extend specific units. The emphasis on having students’ work reviewed by their peers rather than just their teacher, and how this makes them better writers, seems extremely beneficial.
The other article I read was-Blogging? It's Elementary, My Dear Watson! It explained the range of people that can “easily” access and publish information online. Being a first grade teacher, this gave me even more hope that I can successfully pull this off. I teach a lesson on Igloos and the Lives of the Inuits and have often wondered if I could somehow reach people that live this livelihood and have my students be in contact with them and ask/post their own questions or inquiries. Maybe blogging is the answer. However, I still wonder how I would be able to post their thoughts. Would it be something I would have to do for them? Are they capable of doing this on their own? How long will it take? At this time of the year, many of my students are beginning to learn how to properly begin a sentence and how to use proper punctuation. Run-on sentences are pretty popular at the moment. So publishing their own thoughts and ideas seems to be quite an undertaking. It will be interesting to see how this type of activity can be done correctly and efficiently. I’m looking forward to trying all of this out!
Articles—I have not been a blogger, I had no idea how well we could use this technology in the classroom. I think the discussion about safety is critical to the school setting. For myself I have been wondering how using a class reader and blog would be helpful. My students are focusing on developing oral language skills. I read somewhere in among these articles that students can use audiologs as well, which is a spectacular idea for my speech kids, so I know they are practicing at home! I also appreciate the point about having an audience for writing which increases the ownership of a written piece by the student. I think publishing the student’s own ‘speech practice’ at home would really address the pervasive problem we have of carryover of skills out of the speech room.
ReplyDeleteThis is my blogging attempt, I used a speech therapy blog as this is most pertinent to my cases in school: http://members4.boardhost.com/speakingofspeec/msg/1233533437.html. My own blog is: http://mrsg-bsclass.blogspot.com/ . Hope fully these links get you there. I am having navigational challenges—I get the blogging, rss and ‘reader’ concepts but connecting the dots is not as simple.
Here is my link from 2 Cents Worth http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1673#comments
ReplyDeleteAssignment 4:
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my new blog! Yippee-I did it!
http://firstgradefunwithblogging.blogspot.com/
After reading a few articles on blogging such as, “Blogging? It’s Elementary My Dear Watson,” I can see the value of the exchange within and outside of the school community.
ReplyDeleteBefore I start commenting on the articles I want to say that I think it's funny that I have been blogging for a long time and I just didn't know what it was called. Years ago I had a friend with cancer and her family set up a web site where we could write comments to let the patient know we were thinking about her. You could read all the comments that everyone wrote to the patient, and her family said she loved getting the messages. That was my first experience with blogging and I think it was great for the patient and all of us who were concerned about her.
ReplyDeleteNow, back to the articles. I thought the articles were helpful in showing ways that blogs can be used in classrooms. I still think that the they are easier to use in classrooms with older students. I liked the idea that the teacher viewed the entries before they were posted so that if anything wasn't appropriate it wouldn't be put on the web site. I also like knowing that the students have a larger audience for their writing, but I still think that some parents are going to be very nervous about this. The safety issues are still a concern. Another concern that I thought about with younger students is that they are not very proficient with typing yet.
http://bejianblog.blogspot.com/ This is my blog address
ReplyDeletehttp://michelleae.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI have read two of the articles, read all the comments above, and my head is swimming with thoughts! When I stop to think about it, I've "blogged" before I came to this course and never really thought about it. As Lisa aptly pointed out, the websites where friends and family send encouraging messages to someone who is sick - that's a blog. Da!
ReplyDeleteThe articles I read were thought provoking. What can I do to help my students become better communicators using the current technology? Where do I put my energy and effort so that I will get the most benefit for my students? How do I manage a new undertaking, such as blogging?
I have to say that I got as much from my colleagues (above) as I got from the published articles. Many of you brought up questions about usefulness of blogs, management, focusing on one aspect of the curriculum in a blog, student effort and performance. My own opinion is that I need to start small and build. I need to consider the big picture and what students will learn and gain from blogging. I think I can look past many of the spelling and punctuation errors if students will put thought and creativity into their entries.
My other idea is to start a book club blog with teachers. I thoroughly enjoy reading and discussing books and, since time is often at a premium, I think blogging is a way to accomplish that without physically being together in the same room. Any thought?
Every time I read one of these articles on blogging in the classroom I come out with many of the same questions. I'm a pen and pencil person myself, I print these articles so I can read them whenever I want and wherever I want. In print I can comment in the margins, underline or highlight parts I want to come back to at another time. When you blog you really can't do that.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that kids are writing more but is there attention to things like spelling, grammar and composition? All those things we hated but proved very useful in writing papers in college. I don't know because I haven't taught anything even close to that in years and it doesn't affect me as a preschool teacher.
I also worry that we lose some of the personal interaction that comes from teachers and students coming face to face and discussing what they have read and commenting on what they have written.
I found a blog for early childhood educators
http://wowkits.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/do-worksheets-belong-in-preschool/
Before this class, I often heard people talking about blogging or referring to their personal blogs, but I really didn't think much about it accept that's just one more thing I would have to try to keep up with in my busy and hectic life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading two of the articles on blogging that were assigned, Blogging, It's Elementary, My Dear Watson! and Panelists:Blogs are changening education, I'm beginnin to realize just how useful blogs can be in the classroom.
However, I do feel that blogging maybe more effective in higher grades. I teach Pre-K Special Ed, and don't feel as though blogging would be as effective in my classroom. The parents of my students might find it to be more helpful, to be able to communicate with other parents and teachers.
I do feel the idea of blogging among students is an effective change in education. It allows students to share ideas with one another and learn from one another. I think it maybe helpful for some students who aren't as confident to verbally share their ideas within the classroom setting. I also feel that children are very interested in computer technology and have a feeling of confidence when dealing with computers and therefore are more eager to complete lessons and want to hear what their classmates have to say regarding lessons they are working on.
http://wowkits.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/do-worksheets-belong-in-preschool/#comment-112
ReplyDeleteThis is a link that I used to read some articles pertaining to preschool children and commented on their blog. The article I choose had to do with worksheets in the classroom. My comment basically stated that I disagree with worksheets in the preschool classroom. Children of preschool age learn more effectively through hands on experience.
Blogging week 2
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, that I am still cautious of blogging in the elementary grades. I will be the first to say that this technology advancement is overwhelming to me, but I am trying my absolute best to move forward with the times.
I was quite impressed when reading the articles, Elementary Dear Watsons, and Panelists: Blogs are Changing Education. Both articles continue saying throughtout the writings that "Blogging is EASY." I can see their point. Yes, once the web page is set up, and the passwords are created, it could be easy. However, I am not confident enough, yet, to explain the blogging process to my fourth grade class. Still having a hard time getting started. My two other concerns with using blogging as part of my curriculum is one, the safety issue (I know this was addressed in the articles), and two, the fact that at least three students in my class do not have computers at home. There are only two computers in my classroom as well. So the opportunity for these students to gain access to a computer to actually blog is difficult.
The enthusiasm of the teachers who use blogging as part of their teaching strategy is very evident. They insist that the student's writing ability and creativity has improved. I was impressed to learn that even the mechanics of the writings improved. I understand the reasoning behind this developement. The students are actually blogging to another person, and not just one lone teacher to witness.
I appreciate the attachements to the article Elementary dear Watson. The rubric and safety instructions were great