Weblogs Open Doors
Class discussion January 29th, 2009In the book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson the second chapter is devoted to the pedagogy of weblogs. For me, this was one of the the most meaningful chapters in the book. Here, Richardson, actually drew from the national standards for English and Language Arts to illustrate the power of a weblog in the classroom. He writes, students emply a wide range of strategies as they writ and use different writing process elemnts appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes, something bloggers do by the verynature of their process, or Students participat as knowledgeable, reflective, creative and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. Blogs create and connect these communities like few other tools.
Students can use weblogs to collaborate, communicate, and illustrate about what they are learning. The weblogs can be their electronic portfolio that they share with a wider audience. They are able to get feedback from others.
When I first read this book three years ago Richardson said that myspace.com is just personal weblogs I was really surprised. I had heard such bad, bad press about myspace.com and facebook.com at the time. When you think of the sheer numbers of kids that blog daily to have them implement the same practice into the classroom would be motivating to students.
It is the weblog that has really opened the Read/Write Web and started the trend toward the development of all these powerful tools. You now have a weblog so you add pictures from flickr, link to your favorite websites, add/download a little music, let people know where you live (maybe not such a good idea) and a add a feed to a podcast you like to follow. Use these tools in the classroom not only are you with it but have your students attention.
What do you think after reading the first two chapters?
January 29th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Hoop and I would love to learn how to embed a google calendar.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I’m overwhelmed! Not enough hours in the day!
I also feel that I am not web or computer savvy enough. Our science curriculum ties us to our desks and school already…maybe now we will have chains…I am one of those who will get passionate and completely entralled (?)…
January 29th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I’m excited about using blogs in my classroom. I’m beginning the Evolution unit and look forward to having my student respond and debate the topic.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I am feeling as if I have a lot to learn. Conceptually I think all this technology is awesome but a part of me thinks it is for the ‘next’ generation, not mine .. . I know that sounds like an ‘old lady’ way to think but I often feel so incompetent and unknowing. . . even the vocabulary is foreign- a bad widget? What the heck? I want to learn and I obviously think I can do it but I also sometimes feel as if I am pretending to be someone I am not. It’s been fun so far and I truly believe the students we work with need to see their education as relevant to their lives, so what we are learning and doing is critical! Onward. . .
See you next week.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I think that the web offers us an avenue to explore as far as our minds will allow. The web offers us a chance to see how others live and expand our thinking in the process. We are building bridges to places we could only image being able to visit, I say bring it on…
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I am feeling like I have a lot to learn! Many of the terms used in Chapters 1 and 2 are new to me. I do agree that good or bad this is where we are at with technology and it does need to be a specific focus in educating our students.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:01 pm
There are so many avenues to choose from. I guess it is our choice which one to use. Just as there are many blog sites. The students are familiar with far more than we are with this new technology. We should use them to guide us in our new adventures and get them on board.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I am on the fringe of this generation and the one before it and I refuse to fall into the mindset that the tech world is beyond my understanding. I resent that computers have become such a foundation for our lives as human beings, but I accept it and agree that I get hooked just like everyone else. I’m a quick learner when it comes to technology and sometimes I’m overwhelmed not by the concept of what I’m doing, but by the inordinate amount of things I could be linking to, reading, etc. and my head just explodes at the idea of reading one more thing online!
I love the idea of blogging because it lets me hear from those kids who either don’t get a chance to talk to me or are too shy to talk to me. I have bribed them with extra credit for posting and it’s been fast and furious for the past few days. I think once they start, they will continue whether it’s for extra credit or not. Some tell me that they have teachers who are using them for class and others have vague notions about it. I extended the invitation to blog to my adult group of French speakers and encouraged them to respond so that kids will know it’s a worldwide thing, not just local.
I see this as an asset to getting students excited about class, a chance for them to confess their love of French without having to listen to their peers make fun of them, but I’m not sure how much I could see myself using it for those heavy discussions like a language arts teacher would use.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I was surprised to read in a foreign language journal that so many people at the university level are using sources like facebook for classwork and discussion. I think it’s risky. I think a blog like this where the administrator has total control is the surest way to go. I think on places like facebook, people sometimes forget just what they have posted or just who will read it and I think it leads to embarrassment. The articles I read emphasized how people can connect on so many levels because they explore each other’s facebook pages and really get to know them. Something that wouldn’t normally happen on a face to face basis. Maybe it’s the paranoid middle school teacher in me talking. What do you think?
February 4th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
It doesn’t matter where I am people are using technology all around us, whether it be at a baseball game, in the mall, driving in the car, taking a picture while at the inauguration etc..then instantly that technology they are using can be added to a blog, website, a news broad cast etc. The world is in fast forward. It seems as if every day new terminology comes out and we are left to figure out what it means and how it connects to us. We need to prepare our children to understand the uses of the newest technology and use it responsibly and effectively. I have had aclassroom blog for a short amount of time. i was stuck on what to do next with it. Chapter two gave a good list of uses for classroom blogs.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
As I read the first two chapters, my mind was spinning about the ways I could adapt this technology for use in a second grade classroom. I understand that students are learning differently now with all of this technology and I want to make sure that my teaching style fits their needs. I worry, though, about how a reliance on blogging about class topics could impact a student’s basic social skills in life. How can you function if you’re not comfortable speaking your thoughts and ideas in person?
February 4th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I like using a blog for making general announcements about concerts and posting pictures of performances. However, I have never had much interaction from students or parents. I publish the edublogs address on every notice I send home, make sure it is in our school’s newsletter, have students write it in their lesson books and I still get very few hits. What strategies work best for attracting visitors? This would save me so much time giving the same information on the phone and through email.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
As I was reading I couldn’t help but be excited about the possibilities of incorporating blogs into the classroom. However, many of my students do not have computer access from home so I need to figure out how to blog from the classroom. I like the idea of having an author or expert respond to student questions and comments on the class blog. I also want to figure out a way to use the blog to communicate with parents while my class is at the seashore. Though I like the idea of using the blog to communicate homework, I struggle with not holding students accountable for writing down the homework in class and requiring them to take responsibility for taking the papers home.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I have been using the blog, but as a very static entity. I am excited to get some useful tools and organization into my blog. I need to see a concrete example of math students having their own blogs or commenting as an assignment. I will keep working on it.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
My wish is to create one of these blogs that is actually used by the students.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Opening a door is a major reason that I love blogging! I somehow found a woman in France who teaches French at the middle school level and there are so many similarities between us, I’ve started calling her my twin. We’ve posted on each other’s blogs(she is way ahead of my with her blogging success) and we’ve arranged a class to class letter writing activity. This has truly opened a door for me and I hope we continue keeping in touch. My students are pretty excited about it and keep asking about my “twin” and when a dot appeared in France after she viewed the blog, they thought that was really cool. I do too! I would not have searched for her if I had not taken this class.