BP3_2009121_EduUses4Blogs

Educational Uses of Blogs in the Classroom

The idea of using blogs in the classroom can be an overwhelming thought. The first thought would be why use blogs in the educational setting. Blogs take the realm of education outside of the traditional classroom setting and into the global community. The student is now able to connect with students all over the world giving them a genuine audience for their work. By using blogs students are able to take ownership of what they are learning and find meaning for their learning. Regular blogging fosters the development of writing and researching skills(Downes, 2009).

So what are some ways to use blogs in education? Transform the old book report into a book study where students could write about different aspects of the book and other students can comment on their ideas. Students could write summaries of the parts they like or didn't like. Students could also start a book review blog where they could suggest books for the other students to read. Students could also include drawings about the books.

Blogs could also be a way for students to create art portfolio. Students could scan or photograph their artwork and comment on the art elements they used. Students would be able to draw connections between materials posted at different times of the developmental process(Hooker, 2005). Other students would be able to see an comment on these elements also.

One activity I used to do when I was a classroom teacher was a story starter.  The class would start a story then each student would have to write a different part of the story. The story would be written on paper and passed  around until each student would have a chance to write. A blog would be wonderful way to do that. Instead of a student adding just one time, students could post many times.  The students could also create illustrations to add to the story. The students would have to read all of the post to make sure the story was consistent and made sense. These stories we created were a favorite of the class and the students loved to read them.

When the class was ready to go global the students  could collaborate with another class within the school or another school to research and post their findings to the blog. This way the students were sharing information with others outside the classroom.

While blogging is meant to connect learning in a global sense careful consideration must be taken in the elementary setting. The first 3 activities could be used within the classroom.  The teacher could also used these activities to teach the rules of the blog and how to  be responsible in the cyber world. Once the students learn this the students are ready to go global.

Downes, S. (2009, April 13). Blogs in education. Message posted to

        Half An Hour: http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/

        blog-in-education.html

Hooker, S. (2005, August 8). Educational uses of blogs. Message posted

        to Educatr: http://www.educatr.com/discuss/msgReader$74

Western Australia Department of Education. (2009). Blogs in education.

        Retrieved November 29, 2009,

        from http://www.det.wa.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs

    

  

BP4_2009121_Tool#1Quizlet

http://quizlet.com

While seacrching the Web 2.0 gallery I found a few flash card sites.  However my daughter showed me one she used. Quizlet was created by 15 year old Andrew Sutherland to help him study vocabulary. My mission for quizlet is to make learning vocabulary not a chore(Sutherland, 2005). Since then quizlet has grown and many teachers use it with their class. When you make your flash cards public anyone can use them. You don't have to have an account to use the vast sets of flash cards but if you want to create flash cards you have to sign up for an account or connect it with your facebook account. You can share your flash cards through e-mail or facebook. You can even add images to your flash cards through flikr or from your computer.

As a teacher I would allow the students to create flash cards and use them with their peers. I could share specifics cards through the URL so that the student can go directly with the cards created. Quizlet gives the student opportunity to familiarize and learn vocabulary. There are 2 types of games to practice  and then test themselves. By having the students create the sets themselves they can take ownership of their learning and share with others.

Quizlet Voice Demo



Quizlet can also be used for ESOL students learning vocabualry through the voice race. You can link 
words to images and the student can practice saying the words. Since I work in an elementary school this would be a wonderful tool for new language learners. I will definitely be sharing this with my ESOL 
teacher. The demo link above will take you to a short video demonstration of a flash card I created.


Even though quizlet was created by a high school student and most of the flash cards are geared for older students there is great potential for elementary teachers to create a wonderful database of flash cards for any level. We often wonder what would happen of we put web 2.0 tools in the hands of our students. 
Quizlet is a great example.


Macon, L. (2009). Screenshot picture11. Retrieved November 30, from
 
http://quizlet.com


Sutherland, A. (2005). The quizlet story. Retrieved November 30, 2009, from 
 
http://quizlet.com/about/

BP2_2009121_RSSFeeds

My subscriptions:

I chose the Apple Blog because I love my apple computer (unfortunately I work in a PC world).  Except for a commodore 64, it is the only computer I have ever owned. Now that I have an Ipod touch I can finally get rid of my palm because I can get my work email and calender on my iPod.  I saw this blog and it had a lot of helpful ideas for using my iPod and my computer.

The next subscription you see is a personal one. I am a diabetic and have lost both parents to diabetes. I have controlled my diabetes for the past year and a half. I am a self-managed diabetic through diet and exercise. I would like to keep it that way.

The Educational Technology is a blog that is mainly new reports blogging on the trends of the use of technology in education while the TBLOGICAL feed is a site where teachers, school superintendents and layman in the field share what they are actually doing in the field. It is nice to read about what is happening but it is the people in the trenches who is using the technology that offer the best advice.(at least that's my opinion)

TechLEARNing.com is a feed that post nice web sites of the day with lesson plans by grade levels. I can share these sites with teachers to use with their class.

The last one is a Google Operating System feed.  My daughter made me sign up for a google account 2 years ago.  She used the Doc and other features when she was in college. I didn't do anything with it. Now that I have learned so much about it (with this class and the last one) I know why she raved about it. I want to know more. I had a hard time trying to remember my password from 2 years ago.

BP1_2009121_iGoogleScreenShots

 WTO tab

FSO tab

AR/CBL Tab

ETC Tab