Add a comment to answer the following questions as best as you can. IDK is not an acceptable answer.
- How do you plan to use blog in your classroom next year?
- Basic Usage Models (students comment on your posts): daily agenda, exit slip, warm up
- Advanced Usage Models (students write their own posts): learning logs, writing assignment, student developed tutorials
- What challenges do you think you'll face and what concerns do you have
- What so you think the most effective use of the 5 hours in the fall could be.
I plan to use the blog as a way for students to complete class warm ups or exit tickets primarily. I am considering using it as a way to do reading reflections or to continue class discussion/debates; however, at this point I am still struggling with how I will set things up. I am concerned that I may hit a time crunch if I am managing 6 different blogs, especially if I have to replicate all of things that I do on each one.
ReplyDeleteI would very much like to hear from everyone about how things are going and perhaps do some group problem solving.
How do you plan to use blog in your classroom next year?
ReplyDeleteI plan on starting off by having students comment on post that I make. Once they have a handle on that I would like to move into them making their own post. I want to take it slow, and ease them and myself into it.
What challenges do you think you'll face and what concerns do you have?
I think I am going to run into students not knowing how to do it, or not having good access to computers to do it. Using a computer cart could be an option, but being in a pottery lab all day, it is not the best environment for computers, so I may need to find an alternate spot to use computers other that my room.
What do you think the most effective use of the 5 hours in the fall could be.
Anything that can be a help to us implementing this. Hearing from others about what has worked in their class so far that we might be able to use in our classrooms. This class has been fantastic. I feel much more knowledgeable about blogging, Google docs, and how to use them. Any strategies that can help us transfer that knowledge to our students would be very helpful to me.
Hi Jill
ReplyDelete1. I plan on using my blog as an informational tool for parents. The first priority will be to post my newsletter and calendar as well as send out reminders to parents. I would also like to write blogs to help kindergarten parents learn ways and strategies to help their children become better learners at home. Eventually, it would be nice to have students type a comment; this would help with their beginning keyboarding skills, but I doubt I'd get there this year.
2. Challenges? Ha! Me? Of course! The challenge I face right now is trying to organize my blog so that it is user friendly. I'm struggling with the idea of having just the blog or putting most of the information on a website and linking to the blog. Another challenge, as is typical with just about anything, is TIME. I'm at a new school in a new grade level; I've got to balance my time.
3. I'm not sure what the best use of the fall will be. Maybe it will be a good idea to share what has worked for each of us and what challenges/questions we face. With your lead and the rest of our ideas, we could probably come up with some creative solutions.
Angie
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ReplyDeleteAt the beginning, at least until I really find how my ability to utilize this, I will plan on using this this blog for exit slips, to make class agenda's, and publish information about the class for students and parents. It will have a link to my web page (which is still under construction) where I will connect to all course materials.
ReplyDeleteI think the main challenges I will have is keeping it updated. I have never used a blog, and to think about posting or planning through the blog is not something I currently consider when planning for classes. I believe that changing my mindset to include this blog will be the biggest hurdle. Also, I'm concerned that my students won't follow through with some of the requirements. My students are typically the students who struggle following through in more classic ways, adding technology with specific criteria to this could make it more unlikely they will participate.
I think that the most effective use of our time in the fall will be to gather ideas from everyone in the class on how they are using their blog, what strategies for student buy-in were most effective, discuss ways that we all have found the blog to help our classroom instruction.
To start the year, I plan to use the blog for my kids to read and map my travels during Cycle Oregon. I will only have three days (and not full days) to teach my kids how to comment, so I wrestle with the issue of expecting them to post or comment to this since Cycle Oregon is the second week of school. After this, I plan to have the kids make their own post, possibly to a weekly wrap up of what they learned. I also plan on using the classroom blog a lot for writing. I may attempt to teach a screencast for teaching expository writing and have the kids do their own "how to" screencast. I think the typical challenges I will face is what anyone faces when they journey into foreign territory. There will be bumps in the road. Another challenge is finding time to use this with all the required curriculum we are mandated to address as well as the abundance of pull outs in elementary. I have to think more on how to manage this once I see what my daily schedule will look like in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI feel the most effective use of the 5 hours is to trouble shoot any problems we have been faced with now that we have (hopefully) all used blogging in our room. Jill could create a form a few weeks prior to our meeting with questions we want to address, then she could address these then. Also a share around, where we share what we have done, what has been successful, what has not and open it up for a question and answer (brainstorm solution to problems) session.
In the beginning, I plan to use my blog for students to comment only. I love this format for objectives, daily agenda, warm-ups, and daily exit slips. I'll also use the blog to post assignments and calendar due dates.
ReplyDeleteChallenges will be remembering how to do all of this and wanting to do something you weren't able to walk us through - like posing an instructional Powerpoint/Prezi or screenplay sample I wrote with a free software program.
I'm also wanting to post student video projects and scripts so others can comment, but I'll need to give them posting ability as a contributor in order to do that. (More than I intended to do, but I may wait to do this assignment 2nd quarter after they're used to commenting)
At this point I honestly do not have ideas for this question. After implementing this with students for a few weeks, I should know more.
I imagine ideas for effectively managing student participation/credit will be an issue.
I plan to use the blog in an Electives class (Period 1) that I will be teaching in the fall for the first time. The plan is to use the blog as a vehicle for students to respond to literature, nonfiction readings, and provide summaries.
ReplyDeleteCertainly thought provoking warm ups and exit slips will provide feedback to me as to how students are processing information. in the course, students will create podcasts and I plan to ask them to post on the blog, comment on each others and problem solve any trials or tribulations they face.
Challenges will be how to get students up and running and for the students to read the guidelines and really understand the purpose of a blog.
For the five hours in the fall, I would like to see how others are applying the widgets and gadgets, responding to students posts and trouble shooting. At the start of each school year, it is exciting to have a new challenge so I look forward to seeing the creativity that kids will bring to blogging.
Good Morning!
ReplyDeleteAaaugh!! You are asking how I will use this blogging capability. If I use it the way I used the blog previously it will be a sounding board for students and supporters of my program. I didn't use it so much in class as my theatre class' structures aren't conducive to the open discussion model. My blog was used to have discussions about auditions or performances, subjects pertinent to our drama club, and general announcements from me. Perhaps, I could announce that I need to discuss certain issues at a meeting, and outline the issues.
I am limited in computer usage in the auditorium/classroom. So this makes the exit slip concept difficult to implement. I would be forced to have the students use computers at home or library.
The most effective use of the 5 hours would be informative meetings regarding troubles or successes in blogging. The problems could be presented with hopes of discussion of solutions, whereas the successes can be introduced to inspire others.
Thanks for reading.
Unfortunately, I will not have a classroom this fall. First and foremost I would like the blog to be the place to enhance the classroom community, i.e. parents viewing our daily activities, kids responding to their classmates. At first it will be a basic usage model. As the year progresses I plan to use the blog as a way for my class to enhance their writing and technology skills. I will post questions that would evoke their critical thinking skills based on the units we are covering in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge for me is that I don't have a classroom and I may forget how to use the tools I created in the blog. I asked Natalie and Carol if I could spend time in their classrooms while they introduce the blog to their students. Working in their classrooms would help me to see the road blocks to a classroom blog while providing them with an extra set of hands in the classroom.
In the fall I would like to hear from class members how their blog worked with their classes. What were the frustrations? What went well? I would also like to learn more about technology tools to enhance my blog.
Use of the Blog - My students are required to write everyday. Currently they do this as a keyboarding exercise through the use of a journal. One of the ways I will use the blog is for them to do a weekly / daily journal of what they learned and or to check for their understanding.
ReplyDeleteI may use it in addition to my website to post class assignments or perhaps I will continue to post the assignments on the website but post instructions or maybe even hints on how to do things as I learn them myself. I could also have students post things that they have learned that I may not even know how to do or for them to post an alternate way to do something on the computer that I have not taught the class.
Challenges - My biggest challenge will be to read student's posts in order to give them feedback on their writing skills and to make them feel accountable for what they are writing.
The 5 hours in the fall -
For me, just continue to develop the blog. Perhaps asking everyone to do a biweekly post of such things as:
A. new things they have learned to do with the blog
B. Inform the rest of the class of a widget they may have discovered.
C. Report briefly on anything that happened in their class as a result of the blog.
D. Report on a problem they encountered that they discovered a fix for.