Here are some ideas to start off this blog that aim to tie the classroom, standards and blogging together. The ISTE (International
Society for Technology in Education) standards
called NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) were used. I have little experience with
blogging, so please comment with any suggestions and experiences!
JOURNALING. I am sure we can all recall some point during our
education when our teachers expected us to journal [especially as students of
education]. While Mead black and white marbled notebook may epitomize
this commonly used reflective task, technology has transformed the art of
journaling. Blogs now allow us to integrate our thoughts and opinions with
images, videos, music, etc. in a single space. This deconstruction of
boundaries allows for endless possibilities for expression, reflection, and
making connections.
Through privacy control settings, students can create blogs that are shared
with only the teacher and/or classmates. Students can also create pseudonyms
for fun. Journals can focus on a variety of themes from informal creative
writing to structured literary responses. A beneficial aspect of using a blog
as a journal for English Language Learners (ELLs) is that they can support their writing with images and/or videos, while
acquiring technological skills. There are multiple levels of engagement intended
to both support and challenge ELLs. Teachers and/or students can then comment
on entries with questions, comments, additional information, links, etc. Journaling
can become an interactive process where students not only reflect on their own
thoughts, but on others’ ideas too! It doesn’t hurt that blogs also
significantly decrease the teacher's take-home pile of papers, by offering a
paperless means for writing and ensure that students should always be prepared
for class!
ISTE | NETS: Students are able to use their own creativity and innovation to express themselves. Students will become more familiar with technology operations and concepts, like creating, posting/commenting, and navigating a blog.
CURRENT EVENTS. After reading through several blogs...on blogging, I learned
that reading is an essential component. Writing may present itself as the bulk
of blogging, but reading and critical thinking are underlying skills required
for meaningful and reflective posts/comments. Personally, I am an advocate of
incorporating current events in the classroom. One way to connect the classroom
to the world is by sharing a variety of news sources with students through a
blog. For instance, the teacher can develop a class blog and post several links
for articles dealing with a variety of current issues from local to global. This
allows teachers to control for students' literacy levels and appropriate
content. Students can then choose the topic that interests them and read the
respective article. There are unlimited options for student responses depending
on the nature of the task. They can post a related link, answer guided
questions, pose questions, identify the main idea, analyze the structure of the
text, discuss point of view, etc. Through the blog, students are exposed to
current events, can work at their own pace, and most importantly, are required
to read and think before posting.
Here are some links for news articles for kids:
ISTE | NETS: Students will use the internet and blog to access and post research, developing information fluency. Students will become more familiar with technology operations and
concepts, like creating, posting/commenting, and navigating a blog.
SOCIAL ACTIVISM. For the first education class of
my undergraduate program, I was required to do a group activism project at the end
of the semester. It was
the first time I was ever asked to think of a solution to a social problem and
implement
it. I struggled with the idea that we were only sophomores in college and therefore, could not make any meaningful advancements regarding education. I would love to say that the project was a huge success and we solved the debate on bilingual education; however, the truth is that I could not even locate the informational website we created to include in this post. However, this project did transform my perspective on education, my role, and my students' roles. Instilling a sense of civic duty among students became one of my life-long goals as
an educator.
Fortunately, students today have the opportunity to reach an
audience beyond school walls, thanks to tools like blogs. The mere notion of a global
audience sends the message that what students have to say is valuable and worth
sharing, embedding a purpose within the task. Teachers and students can create blogs to inform classmates and the public
about an issue that they feel is important. As many ELLs come from impoverished and/or
war-torn countries, creating an activism blog can offer a sense of empowerment
to students who are often marginalized. Students can work in groups to
construct a blog that shares their issue with the school and community. Working together offers students a realistic setting when problem solving that requires listening and communication skills, patience, and cooperation.
ISTE | NETS: Students will use critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills to create a solution for a social issue. Students will use creativity and innovation when developing and executing their action plan for social change. Students will use/develop communication and collaboration skills while working in a team. Students will become more familiar with technology operations and
concepts, like creating, posting/commenting, and navigating a blog.
