This week I have been thinking about how to use blogs in the classroom...
Blogs are a foreign territory for me. I've heard about them, read some occasionally, but nothing more. As I have been reading, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" by Will Richardson, I've realized there are tons of things I could be doing!
For my 6th grade science class, I am thinking that a blog would be a great place to have discussions about what we have been doing in class! Also, there are many times my students want to know more, but unfortunately with strict pacing guides in place, we are forced to move on.
I would use a blog to have students respond to questions and expand on concepts they wish we could have covered. Not only would this serve as a fun way to think critically about science, it would also give students a chance to be independent learners and thinkers.
While I do not see the use of blogs as a homework activity, as some of my students do not have access to the Internet, it would be a great way to get students to talk and write about science in class. For my Master’s program, I watched a video this week of a teacher using blogs in the classroom. It was amazing to see groups discussing their answers before writing their blog responses!
Then, today in my science class, I experienced a situation that blogs would be great for! We were talking about the layers of the Earth and a student asked, which is hotter: the sun or the core of the Earth. That question would make a great blog post! A blog would allow my students to post about what they are curious about, giving students the chance to be independent and curious learners!
Resource:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
I am also new to blogging and I think that blogs have a vast amount of untapped potential as an educational tool. I think some of the ideas you have for your class are fantastic, especially the idea of making the blog a sort of supplemental learning area. I use a wiki page for my high school Economics class as both a resource page and supplemental learning tool. The biggest challenge with this, which would apply to maintaining a class blog as well, is to keep up with all the logistics. Updating files, folders, videos, and links takes time and organization. I am by no means an expert but but one suggstion I would have for your blog would be to start simple and work your way up towards more complex blogging and collaboration. If you do this then it will give you and your students some learning and processing time with blogging. With the great ideas you have I have no doubt you will have success using a blog in your classroom. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your idea! Yes, I plan on starting very small! Blogging is very new to me, and I will take baby steps implementing it into my classroom. I like your idea of using it has a resource page as well. I currently have a class website, with announcements and homework assignments, but I think it would be ideal to have all the information in one location for students. Thanks for your posting!
DeleteSimilar to you, I have decided that my blog would be best used as a discussion platform for my students. My hope is that my blog site will be an online haven where students can offer their insights and opinions related to topics that we cover in class and have ongoing discussions with one another in the process. Although, I will not limit the blog strictly to discussion questions; I will also post articles, videos, podcasts, etc. and ask students to comment on the materials that I have made available to them. The benefit of a discussion-board platform form is that students will have the opportunity to generate well thought-out, well researched posts and will be able to work off the posts made by their classmates. The key element, however, is posting discussion questions that are subjective and do not have cut-and-dry answers. For instance, a question such as -- “was using the Atomic bomb to force the Japanese to surrender during WWII the best, most necessary why to handle the situation?” -- is great for a blog post because there is not a right-or-wrong answer and students will all be able to effectively contribute to the discussion because they can offer unique rationale and/or alternative resolutions. Now… at fear of sounding uneducated, I would presume that the question -- “which is hotter: the sun or the core of the Earth” -- has one indisputable answer. With there being only one factual answer, it eliminates the need for students to debate and discuss. I would recommend posting discussion questions that provide the opportunity for a lengthy debate to take place. Again, if I am incorrect in my presumption, ignore my suggestion. Otherwise, I believe your ideas for the blog are great and will be a perfect addition to your class.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your posting and idea! Yes you are correct, there is only one right answer to that question. However, how I would encourage students to answer it, is by focusing on sharing their source. It is important for students to be able to find credible sources in which they use for school projects and papers.
DeleteOverall though, I would post open-ended questions, but would still allow students to post any questions they find interesting.
What a great teaching moment, but I understand about time constraints. Blogs can really help out there!!! Great job
ReplyDeleteI agree that time constraints sometimes make things difficult. But I also agree that a blog is a great solution for this problem. Many of my students do not have internet access either so I cannot use my blog for homework either. However, I have considered allowing those sudents to utilize it during homeroom before school actually starts or during our center time when they are allowed to use the computers to visit certain approved sites. It is something that I am new to as well so it will be a learning experience for me too!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about having students complete blog assignments at other times, however, I feel it could be hard to enforce. Any ideas on to overcome that?
DeleteBlogs are new to me but to my sons it's not. I guess I am saying that students will take on blogging as another form of communicating just as they do with facebook and twitter. I agree with you not allowing blogging to be a homework assignment because all studnets do not have access to computers. This is where the technology disconnect is in the schools. Today's 21st century students should have access to technology. Having students to use blogging as part of your lesson plan is awesome. This is another way to promote integrating technology into the classroom as well as teaching them how to work with a partner. Good luck to your science class blogging.
ReplyDelete