Chapter 6
Overall, this week’s chapter discusses how to create an online community for students and teachers. I believe students can learn when they are working with others, but there has to be a sense of community in the classroom for students to really work collaboratively. The Internet provides opportunities to work together using Wikis or independently using blogs. These resources can give students the chance to have an active role in their education even if they are not very active in the physical classroom.
Blogs: This is something I want to talk about, because I think blogs can be a very useful and important tool for some students who don’t necessarily speak up in front of their peers. Students can think about what they learned and apply that knowledge; in addition, there is no pressure from a ticking clock while they write. Blogs give students more freedom to take their time and really focus on their thoughts. This tool can give students a chance to explain their thoughts thoroughly and comment on their peers’ thoughts. The book mentions that students in a 5th grade class where surprised that other people actually cared about what they wrote and commented on their blogs. Yet again, this is a way that gives writing a purpose and value to our students. The book suggests that an unstructured writing format may start to appear in students’ blog entries. I think this problem can emerge no matter what tool is used to publish student work. However, this is something to address before it happens. This can go along with a lesson about Internet behavior and manners online. Making students think about first impressions could help solve the unstructured writing format. Why would you talk to a stranger for the first time in incomplete sentences or confuse them by the order of subjects you bring up? I think this is a fixable problem, and the value of blogs in the classroom greatly exceeds this single problem.
Here are some safe blogging sites for classroom use:
http://classblogmeister.com/index.php
http://edublogs.org/
http://www.21classes.com/
I thought it was very useful that the book mentioned previewing students’ blog entries before they are actually posted. This gives the teacher control over inappropriate content. This also makes sure that the blogging experience stays a safe experience.
Viewing the Internet as a solution to some troubles such as time constraints in the classroom seems to be a good idea. The Internet gives students immediate access to information, opportunities to communicate with others, and provides students with a new tool to use when exploring how they can use what they know. Our chapter this week discusses how valuable the Internet can be not only for our students’ success but for us teachers too. The Internet can be a great way to discuss classroom ideas or tips for other teachers. For my coursework, I have already used online sites to help support my lesson plans. I definitely plan on using online sources as a reference when creating activities or when trying to figure out the best way to handle a certain educational issue that I come across in my future classroom. This semester in Proteach has really helped to open my eyes to several online resources. We are completing Web site reviews in most of our classes this semester and learning which sites are reliable.
This is a website that I found that is a place for teachers to share their ideas and find items to support their curriculum: http://www.teachade.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you addressed the ways in which the Internet is not only for educational purposes but for bringing together the students of a classroom. I definitely agree that it helps make the classroom a community environment where students support one another. I definitely feel like ProTeach has opened my eyes to all of the new technology that is available as well. No matter what, we are going to be teachers during a time that is dependent on the Internet! Great response :)
I totally agree about the use of blogs. It can definitely provide opportunities for students to give more thought to their discussion and develop it more, without stressing out under the pressure of doing it in class.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection. I would agree with the use of blogs in the classroom. Out of all the different example that the book gave for working with others I enjoyed learning about the blogs the most. Thank for sharing the useful blog examples that we can use in the classroom. Safety is very important to me and I will definitly consider using these in my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think that the use of blogs in the classroom can be a very powerful tool, and is one that I hope to use in my classroom. I looked at some of the blog sites you suggested and they looked very easy to use and I like that they are safe for the students to use. Overall I think this was a great chapter and that we can't deny that we will use internet in the classroom, so we might as well soak up all the resources we can!!
ReplyDelete