Currently I
teach 9th grade Pre-Algebra and Algebra along with 10th
grade Honors Geometry. Having a blog for
my classroom is such a great idea the more I am learning about them.
I have begun
thinking of different ways I can start incorporating them into my
classroom. Initially, I thought I could
start by posting daily assignments, that way if a student is absent, they will
know the assignment before they return to class. I can also post different websites that will
allow the students more math practice if they need it or even post different
worksheets for extra practice. I could
use it for posting announcements or upcoming tests and quizzes, which would cut
down on me having to send out weekly emails to parents stating all of this.
However, I do
not want just a blog where I do all the posting; I want the students to become
involved as well. I think having the
students be able to communicate with myself and each other is a great learning
experience. With this in mind, I thought
about requiring the students to respond to different blog postings I would post
that way they are able to interact with myself and each other online. Or even having them write their own blog
after each chapter stating different things that they learned, what they liked
best, or suggestions on things that I should change or that would make it more
interesting, that way I am also learning from them as well. This is a great way for me to enhance my
lessons each year by implementing their recommendations and once again allows
for new things in the classroom. Allowing
the students this interaction allows students to have their own voice and increases
room for creativity within each student.
I look
forward to implementing some of these changes in my classroom next school year.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
N. –
ReplyDeleteWhile thinking about the incorporation of a blog in my own classroom, I decided to search some additional scholarly resources for ideas. A few articles I had came across peaked my interest, and after reading your post I think one of the articles may be of interest to you as well. The article is entitled, “HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking.” The article, which can be accessed through the Walden Library, discussed four common types of blogs commonly found but not limited to the elementary classroom (Zawilinski, 2009, 652). Two of the blog types closely correspond to the two ways in which you hope to incorporate a class blog with your 9th and 10th grade math students.
The first type of blog discussed in the article was a Classroom News Blog. In correlation with what you would like to do initially with your class blog, this type of blog shares “information that could benefit the home-school connection” (Zawilinski, 2009, 652). As you had discussed in your post, you can utilize a news and announcement type page to post homework assignments, create a class calendar of upcoming assessments, as well as provide your students with links to differentiated math websites. All fantastic ideas! I often find myself inundated with parent emails, and agree that incorporating an informative news and announcements page, as part of the class blog, would somewhat help to dissolve that issue. A classroom news and announcements page may also be a place to post a math problem of the week. I am not sure if this is something you would be interested in doing, but it may draw students to participate in the class blog, especially if solving the math problem had some sort of incentive attached to it.
Secondly, you had discussed incorporating your classroom blog in a way that would promote student response and collaboration. One of your ideas had particularly sparked my interest, which was to use have students reflect on lessons taught. As teachers, we are constantly trying our best to adjust our lessons to reach and engage students. Lisa Zawilinski (2009), author of “HOT Blogging”, describes this type of blog as Mirror Blogs, allowing “bloggers to reflect on their thinking” (652). Zawilinski (2009) goes on to explain that student comments “might include thoughts about lessons or content learned” (653).
All in all, “HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking”, promotes both ways in which you hope to utilize your class blog. I look forward to our continued collaboration. Best of luck with your class blog!
References:
Zawilinski, L. (2009). Hot blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. Reading Teacher, 62(8), 650-661. doi: 10.1598
I have used a blog for the past couple years in my classroom as a news and homework feed for my students and their parents. The first year I would post daily what the class activities were and the homework. I was amazed at how many students and parents would use the blog, so I started getting more and more detailed. This year I have even started posting videos of select lessons so they have a source to go to when working at home. I was just like what you mentioned, all of the posts were from me.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have left my comfort level and opened up the blog to student comments. If you are going to allow students to take part in using the blog, it is very important to form a document with the ground rules and go over it with both them and the parents. Prior, to allowing students to do any posting I talked in detail with them about what was expected and what the consequences would be if they did not do what was expected.
Next year my building is actually going to use the blogs to flip the instruction. I will make daily podcast of my lessons for students to go home and watch. As they watch, they will post online and comment to other students. When they come to school the next day they will do projects/assignments that involve the information from the lesson they watched. I am excited and scared to see how everything goes next year.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of having your students write their own blog posts about different units of study, or chapters. This would provide great feedback for you as far as guiding and changing your instruction. My only concern is that some students may not feel comfortable giving their honest thoughts. However; I think it is a great idea and hope that you get to try it soon!