Thursday, July 9, 2009

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

This would be my first time blogging or even posting! I think that starting a blog for students can open up to a world of opportunities. I would probably start off by having the students blog about what interests them and how they learn best. I would show them examples of what are proper and improper ways of "answering blogs." Something that has had an impact on my previous students is showing them the wrong and right ways of doing something (it doesn't matter what subject is being taught).

When children blog all in the same area, this could be available for the parents to see their work firsthand. I think that blogging enhances the lesson because if there are children that do not want to raise their hands and "speak" in class, would most likely write more in depth and share more on the blog vs in the classroom. I was one of those children. I would much prefer to write something than to publicly speak in front of anyone! Since then, I have overcome my fear of raising my hand, but it might ease children into it!

The grade I would use it in would be 4th grade, and I would give the children a writing prompt. Starting with something easy to get them used to the blogging atmosphere like what they would like to be when they grow up and why. I would then have them respond to a certain number of classmates, commenting on their career choice. I feel this would be something that each child could relate to each other about. I think every child has thought at one time or another about what they want to be "when they grow up." My rubric would consist of how well they made comments on each others post and how well their writing was. I have always had children that could explain themselves better with writing, than have to answer multiple choice. This is where the future is going, and I believe that the sooner they are exposed to it the better.

2 comments:

  1. Kim,
    It sounds like a great idea to get started. Do your students have computers at home? Do you have computers in your room? How about a computer lab? To continue what they started with the writing assignment, you could have them post a thought about the daily lessons. Pick a different subject each night and post a question for them to complete for a homework grade. I agree you might get those shy students to write more freely. What about the students without computers?

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  2. Kristin,
    Some or most of my students have computers at home. I have 2 desktops in my room and there are several computer labs throughout the school. I think with the students that don't have computers at home, I would have them write down their ideas on paper and then allow them to transfer it to the computer after they get to school. I like the idea of picking a different subject each night and posting a question for homework. I think the more we get them involved the better.

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