An end and a beginning - final thoughts (M Richards)

What a wonderful journey this has been. One of my previous concerns about using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom was using them to enhance learning, rather than just to use them, and this class has solved that problem. Learning about the NETS (that there even is such a thing) and the emphasis of aligning lessons with those standards made me confident that the tools we're using do, in fact, allow students to learn on a level not achievable otherwise. So much of what I used to be shown seemed to be simply glorified overhead's - nice, but not an advancement of student learning. Where I previously wondered, "How will I use that tool in the classroom?" I now plan my lessons thinking, "I'll bet this tool will improve student learning." A nice change that leaves me certain that I am a better educator as a result of this course. Thank you, Jim, for a perfectly paced, usable class.

Final Reflections

I have learned so much during the course of the class, I can't believe I missed these things for so long. I'm excited to see what my students will create. I am hoping that sharing with my colleagues will enhance their teaching as I feel these new tools and information will enhance mine. Thank you.

Final Reflections

After all of the information and tools I've seen and experienced I'm overwhelmed with excitement. I'm inspired. I have finally found something that I'm passionate about involving teaching. I believe in these technology tools and what they can do with education. "They" say that students aren't engaged and I know these tools will help that. Finding the right tool for what you want to accomplish is the most difficult part. It is also the key to achieving your goal of having your students learn and be engaged during that learning. We've talked about "game changers" I feel a lot of these tools that we've seen and used could change how students approach school/education. I am excited for the future of education.

Lauren's Final Reflection

The conclusion of this class has left me feeling full of new ideas and resources. Throughout the first few weeks of class, I was overwhelmed by all of the resources. Today, I have a better understanding of all of the options that exist with Web 2.0 in the classroom. I have developed a very valuable tool that I will continue to use for many years to come. I've enjoyed the first hand experimentation with different tools. There were many times when I was challenged to extend my personal learning. I've thoroughly enjoyed the course and will continue to explore Web 2.0 in my own classroom.

Thank You!

More Reflecting...or whining

So, I think I've given new meaning to biting off more than I can chew as I sit with 14 tabs open. I'm checking on their Edmodo posts, what they are doing on Wallwisher (they love that, this is just one), the posts they are creating on our class wiki (7th and 8th) (I really should have put more thought into creating different accounts for each class), making sure I have everything done for class, keeping track of email and diigo and creating my project in Glogster--which, of course, I deleted the first time I typed it into the projects section. I won't mention the personal stuff, there's not enough room! However, I've turned my 9 year old into a guinea pig for everything I want to try and I think I've created a techmonster.
I'm really having a great time showing them all the great new things I've discovered, but they are not nearly as tech savvy as I had thought. I'm not sure if that is good or not so good, but i have been invited to a few new blogs and they invite me to un-class-related glogs as they create them and play around to learn to use the tools. We are learning together and I'm very glad that I have loving, caring, very patient students.
I have learned, yet again, that I need a new system of organization. Okay, not necessarily new, but definitely different. I need a day to catch up, but I think I'd just use the time to sleep (that's the thing you do when you close your eyes, right?). When it's all said and done I'm ten steps behind where I need to be and twenty behind where I want to be--can I get a vote for adding another 8 hours to a day?

Tim's Final Reflections

One of the things that I went into this class looking for was a better understanding of the tools being used by our teachers and students in the classrooms of the districts we serve. My department is responsible for providing support for many of these tools as we provide the networking and filtering services to our constituents. In addition, I have seen how the Intermediate Unit itself can utilize some of these tools in our community based centers and Power Up classes.

One of the by products of this class has been a new experiment in our School to Work program. On my recommendation, they have purchased iPad's instead of laptops for the students. They are using Google docs, Tweetdeck, Google Earth, & blogger with their students for the first time. We are hoping that this classroom can be used as a model for our other classrooms at the IU. These are exciting times indeed. The students are more engaged and so are the teachers. Instead of finding excuses to say we can't, we are asking why not?

Edmodo

I'm working on a project in which my students become a famous inventor (8th grade) or a country (7th grade). I still have some kinks to work out, but they are very excited and helping me create the parameters and rubric. I've also created a wiki for them to use for their homework, (7th grade and 8th grade) view and respond to videos (thanks Jim!). Right now we are getting everyone signed up. They are using their parents email to foster parental involvement. I'm also creating Prezis for the Diocesan Geography Bee and to kick off National History Day with the students--I'm hoping they see the light and ditch PowerPoint! As I finish each little (or not so little) project I'll post them here and to my wiki that we are using for class. Diigo has also been great and I have created a place to put all the links for their NHD projects. All in all--I'm so busy I don't have time to worry about anything else!

So sad to see you go...

I know this class isn't "officially" over yet, but I'm a little sad that I won't be learning more with everyone. I've really learned a lot in six days and it's almost unreal. I have learned about so many tools and so many applications of those tools. I don't want to say I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information "thrown" at us in six days because I'm not; I'm more intrigued than ever. Quite a few of these tools are "game changers" and I'm excited to be at the forefront of it all. I'm excited to share these tools and the knowledge I gained with colleagues and friends (I know my mom is itching to see things I've learned). I just love the potential is is lying ahead of me. What an amazing teacher I can become if I stick with it. They always say that the possibilities are endless, well for once I can actually agree with that statement and truly mean it.

Your First Blog Reflection

I can see blog increasing students writing ability as well as a method to have review/reflect the day. I can see advantage to both private and public. Private blogs could be used when the student wants to keep a dairy-like blog just to promote writing. Public blogs allow the world to interact with students and, hopefully, in a positive fashion, which is why teachers have fears about using public blogs.

Students can blog about math problems, science experiements, compare and contrast writing styles or artwork and .... They can answer any type of question the teacher or another student asks.

My concern about blogging with students is that teachers need to be careful it does not become too personal or a counseling situation.

Tim's Day 5 Reflections

Although we again saw many tools, most of them were lower on Bloom's scale and not as relevant a tools for me in my job. I really enjoyed what we learned in Google earth which was more of a personal quest for me than a professional one as I am not sure what I could use it for professionally yet.

The videos for discussion tonight were a stark contrast to one another. On one hand, we had a video on 21st century skills which is one that I think a lot of teachers would agree with had they seen it alone. If they compared it to the balloon video, however, I think it would really help them to see what kinds of things they should be doing. Going from teacher centric, to student centric. Going from low level on Bloom's to high level. The 4th graders were doing things way more advanced than the middle school students.

I am hoping to use these videos together to create an "AHA!" moment for our staff so they can see what we need to move to.

Day 3 - Catch-up thoughts

By the end of Day 3 I was over-saturated and could barely remember what we had done on Days 1 and 2. So much info in such a short amount of time. Reading the book over that break was ideal as it helped reinforce what we had done in class by providing the "slow" explanations for everything. I went from never wanting to see another computer again to believing that I could integrate my lessons into the new applications and make things better for my students.

Day 4 Musings

What a great day! Time to tinker with the new toys, learn how to use them, and even brainstorm application ideas for the classroom. I was relieved to learn that others felt as overwhelmed as I was for the first three days and truly appreciated the slower pace.
GoogleEarth is fun, but I'm not sure what application I would have for that in an English composition classroom. Ideas anyone? The bookshelf was fabulous - what a great way to get book discussions going, both in and out of the classroom. Mixed Ink was also a nice little app, and the evaluation of apps portion of the day was extremely useful. It's nice to hear other's ideas on using things to improve student learning so that I can "steal" them or springboard from them. Thanks for sharing, everyone!

Day 5 Thoughts

The discussion on the apps today and how useful/useless they were in the classroom was helpful. Several years ago we had a tech teacher who sent us several emails a day with links to different sites and tools, but no application ideas. It's difficult to find time in the day to do all that is required and then spend several hours checking out websites and tools and trying to figure out how to use them. Discussions such as today's - what works, what doesn't - how others have used things to promote learning, was just what the doctor ordered.
I'm very excited about how I can use many of the apps in my new job without the same constraints of AUPs for 13 year old students! We're supposed to use WebCT, which is useful to a degree - but Google Docs and Mixed Ink have more possibilities. And the LiveBinderIt app was great - when my students work on a collaborative research project, they usually print out the web address to share with the other group members -- with this app they can just put it all in a binder and share it! How fabulous for them, but I want to do more than give them organization tools. At this point I'm anxious to just sit and play with everything, and figure out how to bring it into lessons so that it actually improves student learning.

Day 5 Reflection--More New Tools!

Google Earth is cool again. I'm so happy that I was able to create that tour! I think that will be interesting for my students to be able to create their own and include pictures and links for others to check out. I can't wait to see what everyone else created. Edmodo is excellent. I'm excited to set it up with my students and get them involved. I think it will make a great "historical" Facebook lesson not to mention all the other features.

The presentation didn't go so well. Actually, I was ready to nap. I know how important the legal issues are for all of us and our administration, but can't we sum it up in a way that is easy to understand and CLEAR? I'm going to check out the sites on the wiki and try to increase my understanding. I was looking forward to backchanneling. I hope we get to try that with something, I'm anxious to see that work.

As we were working this afternoon I found the StainedGlass site. That is so neat! I really liked Jim's idea of putting a collage of all the kids together and hanging it on the wall! I wasn't overly impressed with Animoto--I couldn't get it to work right, frustrating. Overall, it was another productive day!

It's good to be honest... right?!

Initally, after today's class I didn't feel like there was much to reflect on. I was too excited about my interview! But then I looked back and thought about all that we looked at. I absolutely LOVE the Google Earth tours; I'm still a bit unclear how to "get them" to where they need to go, but I'll ask tomorrow!

I think my favorite part about today was how I saw Jim use the Diigo tagging system to find tools for publishing. I always am looking for new tools and have never used Diigo before. I was surprised that this is all over the place and being shown to teachers everywhere. I love this tool and will definitely be using it in the future.

I was a little upset the copyright presentation was a bust, but what can you do. As my boyfriend always says, "It is what it is."

Reflection as of Now

The way in which the Web 2.0 tools are used is key to true learning. Any of these tools can be just an add-on and may excite kids but really no learning is taking place. The trick is use the tool in such a way that higher order of thinking is required. Also, we need to teach kids to plan, to storyboard, and not just "start" their project without all the necessary planning, up front work.

A teacher can also be Web 2.0 to death. There is so much out there you could drive yourself crazy trying to consume it all. It is best to find a few and work with them and become comfortable using them. Then start adding to your repertiore of tools.

Copyright and appropriate use of technology are two issues, I think, we need to teach. Ways to teach these two topics is something I would like to explore.

Lauren's Day 4 - Reflection

I think the virtual three-ring binders are a very valuable tool. As an enrichment teacher, I am looking for alternative methods for compiling student work. What better way to collect and document! This will also be a valuable tool for reflection. The second tool that seemed very useful was the timeline creator. I have many ideas of how student and teachers can use this tool for collaboration and subject specific exploration. I’ve explored many tools today and think that I will become more comfortable as I put each of them to use.

I’m pretty comfortable using Gloster. I’ve used Glogster to create opening sites for my personal teacher wiki and for our school wiki. My students have also used Glogster to create posters about subjects they’ve researched. I think that this tool is very user friendly. The students also enjoyed begin able to view and comment on each other’s creations. If you have questions, I’d be glad to try and help!

Day 4--I need more time in the day!

There are so many tools that are available for our use it amazes me. I am flitting from one to another to see which ones I feel will best suit my classroom goals. I've discovered that many of these goals have changed with my new insights and those of my classmates. Blogging still gets me--I can't seem to get into it without a struggle and Google Earth is killing me. I've used it many times, but this tour is making my head spin. I can't get it to start from where I want it to start from and I sound like a ... well I'm not sure but it isn't a good thing. Can I animate my voice for this?

My Netvibes site is growing and the OPML worked great on the first try--now I have much more to explore! I really liked Edmodo. One of my goals is to learn how to make that work effectively. I've been playing with it and I think I have a good basic grasp of what it can do--it seems to work like the moodle. Vocaroo is very neat. I can see the students recording "radio shows" for the 1920's. I also liked Historypin. This site is community built using historical pictures and stories while you navigate using a map of the world. I read and read so Shelfari was very interesting for me on a personal level.

Now that I have now figured out how to link things in the blog I'm feeling much better! I will add also that I am absolutely exhausted!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I truly have enjoyed every class thus far. I am extremely comfortable with all of the tools hat we have looked at in class. I love the pace at which we look at the tools - enough time to look at them and digest a little bit, but leave some intrigue there to explore on our own. I can see how all of these tools can be incorporated into all different types of classrooms. Since I don't necessarily have a "class" right now, I'm trying to take a more "wide angle" at things.

Day 4 Thoughts

I like all the Web 2.0 tools; I am like a kid in a candy store and that is the problem. I need to get focused on a few and make a decision as to what will benefit most teahers. Then go from there. The mind mapping and visualization sites were of the most interest to me. Wikispaces and creating pages within pages and getting things to look "nice" on the page is somenhtintg I need to work on. However, I keep going back to Moodle.

Tim's Reflections Day 4

Today was a great day. I learned a lot of new tools and my other classmates showed me some great things from sites like Historypin, Wallwasher, Vocaroo, and Shelfari. We also had a great discussion on whether technology is too much of a distraction when not metered appropriately which is a major struggle I am having. When I see how focused my daughter is using the iPad, I see great value.

We wrapped up the day with Google Earth. I was not very familiar with this tool so it was a great introduction for me. I put the app on my iPad to see if it was as full featured, and I gotta tell you it's pretty close. I was also introduced to another new app for my iPad which is Flipboard. This app turns other web sites via RSS into magazine like presentations for easy browsing. It's free. Another great app.

Catching Up! (Day Three Reflection)

Today, we setup TweetDeck and I learned about a new tool called Diigo. Both of these new tools are new and challenging for me. I am new to twitter and have not yet gotten the hang of its uses. I think that this will be a great tool for gaining quick tidbits about what’s happening in the world. I’m a little concerned that it will be difficult to maintain. Diigo, on the other hand, seems like the social bookmarking site I’ve been waiting for. It is way more user friendly then delicious. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard about this tool until now. Revealing the public sticky notes showed me how many people were already taking advantage of Diigo.
In my district, students complete a fourth grade project where they choose a topic of their choice and research. Close to the end of the year, there is a day set aside for these students to present to a panel of teachers. Learning more about creative commons and the variety of research skills that were discussed in today’s class opens a new world for me. Right now, teachers seem bogged down and have the “hurry up and get it over with” mentality. While this is a disappointing point of view, I wasn’t quite sure how to turn the tables. These tools offer a solution. I now envision the fourth grade projects with excitement. I can picture students expanding their knowledge of more than just the subject they have chosen. This is what the project should be about! Learning and using technology to create an outcome. I think that these tools should be shared with all teachers. We truly have the potential to bring the world to our students.

Reflections since Last Class

I wish I had more time to further explore each of the many tools I have been introduced to. I had considered myself pretty knowledgeable when I signed up for this class but have in fact learned and enormous amount. This class has given me a new appreciation for what teachers need to learn to stay relevant. I hope to pass this along to as many staff members as possible.

Sorry for the late post, July was a a pretty rough month for me between my job and my wife's grandmother being ill. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Catching Up! (Day 2 Reflection)

In class, we reviewed and used tons of communication and collaboration tools. I enjoyed explore both synchronous and asynchronous tools. During the backchanneling/Sidechanneling discussion we used a Chatzy room. This tools seems like it would be easy to use in the classroom. The wait time and the limit were a little constricting both overall it was a good experience.

Today, I also discovered the potential of Skype. Being able to communicate to anyone in the world with audio and video broadens the horizons of communication and collaboration. This idea also can be followed with asynchronous tools such as Wikis and Google Docs. These tools provide collaboration and communication through a variety of media apps.

I am left wondering what exists that I have yet to experiences. It’s a daunting thought that I have been missing out on so many valuable tools. I have a lot of catching up to do!

~Lauren

Catching Up! (Day 1 Reflection)

I have been convinced that blogging is a valuable tool for our classrooms. I was amazed when I watched the “Authentic Audiences” video. It’s true that our students write for a very limited audience in their 12 years of schooling. That leads me to public vs. private. Obviously, private blogs are more secure. I think that most users turn to private blogs because they give us a warm fuzzy feeling inside that provides us comfort in knowing that our thoughts are only being read by the audience that we have approved. Therefore, we know who will be reading and responding to what we write. I don’t think this is necessarily a good thing! By opening blogs to the public realm, we expand the opportunity for growth. Gaining feedback from a variety of sources challenges our beliefs and forces us to think outside of our comfort zone.

Students are publishing for the public every day. When they leave school they check and update facebook, myspace, and other social networking sites. When they walk into a school building, there is no connection. If we are to prepare our students for their world and not the past, we need to keep up. Blogging is a way of doing this. I read recently that, we are preparing our students for the past and not the future. As a teacher, it seems to me that student blogging is a step in the right direction. Using blogs will help our students close the “digital-divide” that currently exists between their lives and school.

Taking blogging to the classroom is a unique opportunity. Giving students time to reflect, internalize, and expand their beliefs is exciting. I don’t think enough emphasis is spent on personal growth. I would like to create an atmosphere where students are constantly thinking about the global connection of what they are learning. What better way to this then to give them a world to share it with. Realistically, I would like to begin this transition in my own classroom by providing a weekly “required” response and reflection time. While student will be encouraged to blog daily, I believe it’s more feasible to begin with a weekly “assignment.”

As we are taught, I have a few concerns about safety. Before I implement blogging into my classroom, I need to find a good tool. While I am comfortable with helping my students publish to the world, I’m still a little timid about letting the world comment to elementary students! As I stated earlier, it’s great to have a global audience. However, I believe there needs to be monitoring at the elementary level. Once I find a great tool that lets me monitor and approve posts, I will be more than thrilled to include blogging in my classroom!

~Lauren

I'm getting it--finally

This is the one thing that I am finding very difficult. I have spent time learning all these neat new things and I can't get this one right--I keep deleting things I try to post or knocking myself off! With the whining out of the way--I'm really enjoying myself. I've found some great new music, read so many of the things on Twitter and have been working on new ideas for class. I've also spent time in Creative Commons just checking things out. I'm amazed at the amount of information available.

Reflecting--again and again

Each time I try to publish a post I end up with Firefox shutting down and my wireless shutting off. This is the 4th time I've tried! So, if this works I'll reflect...again.

Reflection is Key

I am still having a hard time believing all of the things I've learned in just three days. And this blog has really helped me think back and remember them. It is important to reflect and go over what you've learned. It's funny, I actually look forward to my homework in this class. This class gets me excited for where my teaching style may go and evolve to better fit the students of today.

In previous classes (way back when in college) I used to not look forward to class discussion, but through this class and my other graduate classes I've learned to value class discussion and talking about issues and questions. I guess I have grown up a bit and you can learn so much just from listening.

Only Day 2???

I feel like I have learned way too much information for only having class two days so far. I'm glad that I'm not overwhelmed. I feel lucky to have taken a class in the Spring semester, it has definitely helped me understand and keep up with the information that is being shared. If I hadn't had taken that class I feel that I would probably feel lost in a sea of web 2.0 tools.

There are a lot of things that I'm pleased about with this class. Some of these things are: our discussions are very valuable to me as a young professional, hearing real applications of all of the tools, the speed at which the class is going, being able to "practice" some applications with the other sections, the time allotted to "play" with the new tools, and because we are so busy and engaged the day goes by very quickly. Something I could do without is the temperature of the room, but I won't hold that against the professor...

All in all I'm really excited to learn more tools that will enhance my teaching and make me a more well-rounded teacher.

Day 2 Reflections

There are so many ways we can use Skype, backchanneling, Ustream, Wikispaces, etc. When students are given the tools--Internet connectivity and handheld something, the classroom will be transformed. We can use Skype for speakers, class experts, and collaboration. I would use backchanneling in chucks; teacher talk a little, class discussion a little, then backchannel a little and so on. Perhaps even take the time to summarize the backchannel discussions. Ustream and
Wikispaces could be also used as a class station. Both can be used for students to teach students.

Reflections Day 2

Having using Wikispaces and the Wiki in our SharePoint site at IU 13 I understand how much value they can be. They are an excellent resource which can easily be utilized in almost any classroom for effective instruction. It's great for an instructor to have the students actually create something collaboratively which is so easy to do.

I actually learned some new tricks in Google Docs today. I had been very familiar with the Documents, Spreadsheets, and Forms, but had never applied any of the widgets or shortcuts Jim showed us today. After evaluating the differences between the Microsoft Live and Google Docs I have come to the conclusion that Google Docs has a better end user experience for collaboration. This is not surprising due to it's maturity. It will be interesting to see what new features Microsoft can implement to compete. They have an uphill battle though as many of the extras for Google have sprung from Open Source projects.

Many Things I Didn't Know

I love backchanneling! This is great! I can see so many ways to use this during presentations, for faculty meetings, for chatting when I don't want to listen--just kidding. This is one I'm going to explore quickly so that I can get permission right away.

I feel a WWI wiki coming on! I also read in one of the posts about using them as review tools. I think that is a wonderful idea. Thank you.

Google docs is a very interesting tool. I can see many applications for both faculty and students. This will be great to use with the curriculum committee--I can now avoid having to reformat every time a change is emailed. Talk about a time saver! I hope I can talk the Science teacher into using the forms for her Science Fair projects, I think it would really save her some time. My students complete National History Day projects each year. I can see all the aspects being useful in helping them create and work together on these projects. I've only gone to Nationals once and I'd really like to go again!

Reflections Day 1

I don't really think it's blogging if it's private but that is just my personal opinion.
Blogging is a great way for students to express their opinions. It socially levels the playing field to some respect. Many students will submit posts to a blog way before raising a hand in class. I think students need to be aware and able to take criticism which is something many of them struggle with. I don't have a particular idea for a student blog that hasn't already been done, I can only point to Penn Manor School District which has blogging on their Wordpress student newspaper site as a great idea which is working well so Kudos to their staff for opening the doors.
Most of my concerns are similar to any administrator in the "what if" category for liability and litigation. I feel though that I am one of the few who believes that the responsibility is on the students and their parents to display good citizenship and common sense. Most students who post online have no ideas that they are contributing to their "digital portfolio" so they need to be cognizant of that when posting.

Day 2

I feel the same way I do after touring the Met Museum of Art - saturated, overwhelmed, but totally enriched. I'm glad we have a couple of weeks off before we start again, because I need the time to process everything. It seems I finally get to where I'm supposed to be in class, and we've already moved on to the next thing. I'm looking forward to time to just sit, try everything out, play with it a bit, and figure out how I'm going to use it. My biggest confusion right now is Twitter and the Tweet Deck, how to make them work for me so that I can figure out the purpose! Right now I envision my brain as a word cloud -- blogs, wikis, flat worlds, skype, google docs, et. al.

What Makes A Blog, A Blog?

Blogs are great tools to incorporate into a classroom. But there are many things to think about before incorporating this kind of tool. Private or not private? That is the question. I think it's important to share blogs. When dealing with older students (middle school and above) if you keep the blog private you are just sheltering them for the real world. Allowing them to share their work with whomever would like to read it will help give them a dose of reality, if people respond. As students grow and in order for students to grow they need to be exposed to criticism and what others think. If we shelter students we are setting them up for failure.

Reflection is an important piece to the learning process. Blogs serve as a fantastic tool for students to reflect about what they have learned that day or week in class. Blogs allow the quiet student who rarely talks in class to have a voice. It allows all students to think about what they've learned, in addition to being tested. Memorizing and regurgitating the information is easy, but actually digesting it and letting it settle is what we strive for our students to do with the information we throw at them. A blog can help channel those thoughts and help in retaining the knowledge.

No matter what you do with students there are always concerns. Are they going to like it? Will they actually put in effort? Will it turn out the way I hope? Going into anything, especially for the first time, it's important to set up some grounds rules, so that everyone knows what is expected. Examples are always a good way to show the students an exemplary response, a good response, and even a bad response. Showing what "to do" and what "not to do" are great ways to showing students what you are and are not looking for from them. By laying out rules and having consequences to violating those rules prior to blogging is necessary to having a successful experience.

Blogs can take your classroom to a whole other level. If you implement them properly, writing integration and reflection can become a daily or weekly assignment in a class. Not only helping students to learn the content better, but maybe even help them with understanding how they learn themselves.

Blogging - Worldwide

After reflecting, I have come to the conclusion that blogging offers students a unique way of communicating their learning. As we discussed in class, students often share their work with a limited audience. With proper support and planning, blogging can challenge students to take their writing and thinking far beyond any level a single teacher could expect. This tool opens a world of opportunities and creates an environment conducive to self exploration and growth. To conclude, those embarking on the path of bringing blogs to their classrooms aught to plan thoroughly and be open for an adventure that could bring a world-wide perspective to each and every student. What more could a teacher want?!

Blogging with Students

Can it be done? Absolutely! As an English composition teacher I love the idea of writing with my students and reading their writing on a variety of topics. Blogging is more of a conversation and allows students to revise their thinking as the conversation continues.

Blogging With Students - Can It Be Done?!

There are many different reactions you could get if you bring up the idea of blogging with students of any age. My response is why not? Blogging with elementary students not only helps develop their writing ability, but also helps develop their typing skills. And, as a former middle school keyboarding teacher, it is important for elementary students to practice keyboarding before they hit middle school only because typing expectations. Blogging with middle school and high school students is a fantastic way to develop higher level writing abilities. It also allows for students to be open to criticism and feedback from others.

It's extremely important to make sure that you are being backed up by administrators prior to starting a blog with students. Not only should you be backed by administrators, but also parents; making sure that all parents are on board and understand the relevance of the blog. And if they are not on board with you, being open to accommodations for students whose parents wish for them not to participate.

Using Blogs with Students

Before setting up a blog with your students, it is best to inform your principal of your intentions. Also, let parents know the purpose of the blog. Student should know their blogs will be public and their comments should be on the topic and appropriate.

Blogging Made Easy!

All parties need to be reminded that blogging for educational purposes must be relevant, academic, and appropriate.

Blogging with students

Can I blog with my students? Of course I can! My curriculum includes such a wide variety of topics to choose from I already have theme ideas. After choosing a theme I feel I would need to outline the goals I will set for my students. When I feel that I am prepared, I would make a presentation to our administration to receive permission and outline the parameters that I would need to follow--to remain academic and appropriate. Finally, before presenting the information to the students, the parents would need to be contacted and informed of the guidelines and my expectations of the administration, students and parents.

Student Blogs

I believe that blogs should not be blocked by school web filters as they are in many of the schools in Pennsylvania. Blogs are valuable classroom tools for collaboration when implemented properly through the facilitation by teachers who have received adequate training.
For students, they provide an outlet for discussion which many of them do not feel comfortable doing in class. So please, contact your school administrators about the benefits of blogging or better yet, have them attend a session on blogging in education at one of the many technology conferences held every year.

Welcome to the LTMS600-01 blog

This will be the blog for our class (HBGU). We'll use this to reflect on our learning throughout the course.