After reflecting upon how a Blog may be useful in the classroom, I think one of the more basic benefits is the organization it provides. When giving students information through the use of technology, it is a nice "home base" to add announcements to the class, provide classroom resources through creating specific content area pages, and using the gadgets to make a list of resources. I can see this organization being useful for myself, students, and parents. Blogs can also strengthen collaboration. Students will not only practice their writing, but have instant feedback from their peers and teachers about their ideas/work.
After reading more about blogging in the classroom I found positives including: student and teacher portfolios, increased discussion based learning opportunities, convenience in providing links/videos for students to view. As I continue to learn about Blogger and its many tools, I am certain I will be able to list more benefits of its use in the classroom.
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Just a Little Pep Talk....
At the beginning of the year much time is spent building our classroom community and expectations. One activity we complete is each student writes their "Hope and Dream" for the school year. This is a long term goal that they are going to work towards this year. I would use this video as an attention grabber/introduction for the activity. Then, I would have each child list their special talents and strengths and lastly three things they would like to improve. They would need to look at their "improvement list" and choose a topic to guide them in writing their hope and dream. Then, they can look at their strengths to make a game-plan for how they will use their strengths to accomplish this goal.
Hey Devin,
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that the blog is a great way to stay organized. I agree with that! It seems as though everything can be in one place and easy to access.
Your blog looks great! I like how you have it organized, and I agree that it's a good home base for your students and their parents. If you are looking to have your students blog, just keep in mind that Blogger is meant for kids ages 13 and up, so they'd have to use a different platform (or Google Classroom, but that's a few activities away still!). Blogger is a great teacher tool though, which is why we are using it for nerd camp.
ReplyDeleteHey Devin!
ReplyDeleteHappy summer, first of all :) Your blog is SO creative and easy to navigate--it's fun to see how everyone makes their blog unique and their own. I can imagine changing my layout/template many times, so hard to decide!