The only concern I have about educational blogging is being able to keep up with it. If I commit to a blog and communicate it to the students and parents, I need to find the time to keep it up to date. With all of the increasing demands of testing, correcting, bubbling, data collection, meetings, etc. I'm not sure where I can find the time to each day update the blog, especially if I plan to incorporate "how to" steps. My thought is that I need to start slow and then build upon it from there.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thing 3: Blogs in Education
I think blogging is going to definitely be something that I will be able to use to enhance my classroom instruction. As I mentioned in my previous post, I would like to use a blog as a forum for my students to respond to their reading. Additionally, I would like to use a blog as a form of communication to the parents. From the article "33 Ways", I discovered that I could communicate class and school information with parents, including upcoming field trips, after school clubs and activities, and pacing calendars for upcoming projects, among other things. I also liked the suggestion about using the blog to record steps in how to do certain tasks. An idea that comes to mind is that it can be used to record the steps in how to go about solving certain math problems. For example, say we are working on solving long division problems in class. Our math program uses the "forgiving method". Many parents do not know the "forgiving method" and in the past have expressed that they feel helpless in aiding their child when questions arise. Therefore, if I were to be able to post the steps on a blog, then the child and/or the parents can go to the blog and review the steps. No longer will the parent have to hear, "That's not how my teacher did it!"
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Hi, Magie -- I am working on "Thing 3" and decided to post a comment on your blog. I really like the way you set up your template and I LOVE "thing 1 and thing 2" - clever! I, too, wonder how we could keep our blogs current. As teachers, we have tremendous demands on us to plan lessons, administer and correct assessments, etc. I do feel that a blog is a great tool, though if we can somehow find a way to fit it in to our already tight schedules.
ReplyDeleteI think that what you will see happening in the future is that you will not be "adding" blogging (or any other technology) to your day, but, rather, will be using it to "replace" something else that (all of a sudden) you will find you don't need anymore....Just look for the potential and let it come to you - this is kind of a "Zen" approach!!
ReplyDeleteJoan
I hope that it becomes a "replacement"! What a wonderful tool for us to use in the classroom.
ReplyDelete