Using Blog in my Classroom:
I consider blogging to be a veritable tool that can really engage students in reflective and creative writing. Students love it when they can lay claim to any product as their handiwork. I can see the smile on my students’ faces when they make presentation in the class to their classmates and receive a zeal of approval and applause at the end of their presentations, they love the accolade, now I just begin to wonder how much more they will love it when they know that, millions around the globe can see, view, and even comment on their work on line! Students will put in their best when they know that they have real live audience, not only their peers around the world, but even experts, authors and publishers are reading their messages and contribution the body of knowledge, they will want to put their best “foot” forward. Marshal Mcluhan talked about global village, students will view the interaction with the global village as a real challenge and opportunity to be at their best, and show the world what they can do.
The Purpose of Blog in the classroom:
The main purpose of introducing blog to my Grade 8 math and science class will first be to use technology to do “different things” in my class. (Thornburg, 2010). I also intend to use blog in my classroom to introduce “innovation” rather than “automation” that many students are used to, (Dede, 2010). It will help me to improve my pedagogy, enrich the content and revolutionize the way knowledge is generated and shared among my students. My class blog will be a virtual centre for students to interact about content, share strategy, collaborate, and contribute ideas and brainstorm on academic exercise. It will be a place that will encourage them in real academic endeavour and where they can showcase their talent and work. Blogging gives opportunity of global peer groups access to students, hence, it a fertile ground for ideas and real peer collaboration.
Using blog will significantly enhance lesson and enrich experience because it expands learning experience beyond the classroom walls to the global level. All information needed is readily available and accessible to students 24/7. It allows for “anywhere anytime learning” experience by both teachers and students. (Thurnburg, 2010) I consider it an avenue for all students to air their view on issues, what they could be normally unwilling to share in the classroom; they may let their inhibition loose and speak freely on the blog. As (Richardson, 2010) put it, blog is indeed a “democratic tool that supports different learning style.”
Rationale for using blog in my classroom:
I teach Grade 8 math and science classes, I have visited math and science class blog sites, it is clear to me that my students and I will benefit immensely from participating in weblog activities, I will connect my students with their peers around the world and foster collaboration and academic camaraderie among them.
As a teacher myself, I am using blog for the first time in my content areas, I am very much excited about it, now for sure, my students will be much more excited about the idea of posting their work on the blog site and they will take pride in their ability to contribute to a body of knowledge. This will also encourage and motivate them to develop the necessary writing and researching skills they will need to function in the future. Not that alone, it will familiarize them with the technology they will eventually need to function in the 21st century economy and prepare them for life after graduation. Blogging will teach students the organizational skills they need, it will provide them with on-line portfolio where they can store and achieve their work for future references. The use of weblog can translate reluctant and hesitant students into pro who can do independent research in his areas of interest and become an expert in any areas where he/she is passionate about. Blogging is a way of extending our capacity to search and consume information. It has been argued that, our “collective knowledge” doubles every18 months, (Olofson, 1999), which means more information, research findings and new theories come online regularly, it is smart thing to do if we have the opportunity to avail our students the honour of being part of the ever growing learning community, in this way, we can help them to become life-long learners.
References
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (3oth Anniversary Edition ed.). New York:
The Continuum International Publishing.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2010) Program 4: Technology and Society [DVD].
Understanding the impact of technology on education, work and society. Baltimore,
MD; Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2010) Program 6: The Spotlight on technology:
blooging in the classroom [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on
education, work and society. Baltimore, MD; Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program number 1: Emergence of educational
technology [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and
society. Baltimore, MD; Author.
Olofson, C. (1999, December). Just the (meaningful) facts. Fast Company, 30. Retrieved
November 13, 2005, from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/30/futurist.html.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Toffler, A., 1980. The Third Wave. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
I consider blogging to be a veritable tool that can really engage students in reflective and creative writing. Students love it when they can lay claim to any product as their handiwork. I can see the smile on my students’ faces when they make presentation in the class to their classmates and receive a zeal of approval and applause at the end of their presentations, they love the accolade, now I just begin to wonder how much more they will love it when they know that, millions around the globe can see, view, and even comment on their work on line! Students will put in their best when they know that they have real live audience, not only their peers around the world, but even experts, authors and publishers are reading their messages and contribution the body of knowledge, they will want to put their best “foot” forward. Marshal Mcluhan talked about global village, students will view the interaction with the global village as a real challenge and opportunity to be at their best, and show the world what they can do.
The Purpose of Blog in the classroom:
The main purpose of introducing blog to my Grade 8 math and science class will first be to use technology to do “different things” in my class. (Thornburg, 2010). I also intend to use blog in my classroom to introduce “innovation” rather than “automation” that many students are used to, (Dede, 2010). It will help me to improve my pedagogy, enrich the content and revolutionize the way knowledge is generated and shared among my students. My class blog will be a virtual centre for students to interact about content, share strategy, collaborate, and contribute ideas and brainstorm on academic exercise. It will be a place that will encourage them in real academic endeavour and where they can showcase their talent and work. Blogging gives opportunity of global peer groups access to students, hence, it a fertile ground for ideas and real peer collaboration.
Using blog will significantly enhance lesson and enrich experience because it expands learning experience beyond the classroom walls to the global level. All information needed is readily available and accessible to students 24/7. It allows for “anywhere anytime learning” experience by both teachers and students. (Thurnburg, 2010) I consider it an avenue for all students to air their view on issues, what they could be normally unwilling to share in the classroom; they may let their inhibition loose and speak freely on the blog. As (Richardson, 2010) put it, blog is indeed a “democratic tool that supports different learning style.”
Rationale for using blog in my classroom:
I teach Grade 8 math and science classes, I have visited math and science class blog sites, it is clear to me that my students and I will benefit immensely from participating in weblog activities, I will connect my students with their peers around the world and foster collaboration and academic camaraderie among them.
As a teacher myself, I am using blog for the first time in my content areas, I am very much excited about it, now for sure, my students will be much more excited about the idea of posting their work on the blog site and they will take pride in their ability to contribute to a body of knowledge. This will also encourage and motivate them to develop the necessary writing and researching skills they will need to function in the future. Not that alone, it will familiarize them with the technology they will eventually need to function in the 21st century economy and prepare them for life after graduation. Blogging will teach students the organizational skills they need, it will provide them with on-line portfolio where they can store and achieve their work for future references. The use of weblog can translate reluctant and hesitant students into pro who can do independent research in his areas of interest and become an expert in any areas where he/she is passionate about. Blogging is a way of extending our capacity to search and consume information. It has been argued that, our “collective knowledge” doubles every18 months, (Olofson, 1999), which means more information, research findings and new theories come online regularly, it is smart thing to do if we have the opportunity to avail our students the honour of being part of the ever growing learning community, in this way, we can help them to become life-long learners.
References
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (3oth Anniversary Edition ed.). New York:
The Continuum International Publishing.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2010) Program 4: Technology and Society [DVD].
Understanding the impact of technology on education, work and society. Baltimore,
MD; Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2010) Program 6: The Spotlight on technology:
blooging in the classroom [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on
education, work and society. Baltimore, MD; Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program number 1: Emergence of educational
technology [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and
society. Baltimore, MD; Author.
Olofson, C. (1999, December). Just the (meaningful) facts. Fast Company, 30. Retrieved
November 13, 2005, from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/30/futurist.html.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Toffler, A., 1980. The Third Wave. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
1 comment:
Yemi,
Do you see students primarily using blogs as a way to showcase their work, or as a more interactive way to discuss content?
I do agree that students are proud to display their work both to their classmates and to other adults. The fact that blogs allow them to showcase their work to world not only gives them this proud feeling, but also may help them focus on the little details that they sometimes overlook when presenting to people they already know.
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