As a newcomer to the use of blogs, I am intrigued by the thought of using a blog in the classroom on a regular basis and have come up with an idea for how to utilize this tool in a high school setting. The school I regularly substitute at is lucky in the fact that every single student in the school has their own MacBook Laptop for their own use. Therefore, something like a weekly blog would fit into their classrooms very easily. However, I think that even without this privilege, you could still utilize a weekly blog that requires students to read and respond to.
I am certified to teach grades 7-12 social studies and will therefore use a social studies class as my backdrop for this idea, even though it could easily be modified to fit any content area. My idea is simple, based on the given weeks overall theme, the teacher will post an entry on the blog on Sunday night. Included in this post would be a brief summary of what is going to be covered that week along with examples of the content including (but not limited to) images, video clips, vocabulary or relevant articles.
Student's will then have until Tuesday night to review the new posting and respond to either a series of suggested questions or of their overall feelings on the subject at hand, depending on how the content can be best utilized. I believe that this could be of great tool to be utilized in the classroom and would love to hear any other recommendations or critiques of this idea.
In my opinion, this idea would serve multiple purposes in the classroom. First of all, it would be a good way to expose students to the week's concepts and lessons so that they are aware of what they are going to learn. Second, it is good practice for them to utilize the internet in a professional and educational way. I believe this would be a very effective way to utilize technology in the classroom.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wow, each student has his or her own MacBook! That is wonderful! I think your blogging in the classroom idea would be great for students. I like the fact that you are giving them advanced notice on what they would be learning each week. My only suggestion for this lesson would be to give them a little more time to review the links, videos, and articles you have posted for them and the information they learn in class. I think that with a day or two more, they may be able to post responses and opinions that are more thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteI think blogging in your classroom is a great idea. What about those students that do not have access to a computer? Would they have the same requirements as those who have frequent access to the internet. I know many of my students do not have much access to a computer so it might be difficult for these students to have reviewed all the material and posted responses by Tuesday
ReplyDeleteI also like your ideas of how to use blogging in your classroom. Would you use class time to allow students to complete their blogging assignment? Are students allowed to take their MacBooks home with them on school nights? I agree with Melinda that giving the students a little more time to review your postings might be beneficial to your overall results. With this in mind, students would have more to discuss based on what was covered in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight everyone. I agree with all of you that extending the due date for an assignment like this would be beneficial for everyone involved. And to Linda, yes, the MacBooks are essentially the students computers and they are able to take them home with them as if they were their own.
ReplyDelete