June 3, 2008

In just the first few days of CI 556, I already know I am going to learn a lot from this class and will gain many valuable resources I can use in my own classroom, regardless of what age group I am teaching. Although I must say, at first I was not completely excited about another technology in teaching course. So far though, I have really enjoyed all that we have talked about, appreciated getting to look at the different software, and found some new ideas for integrating technology that I had never thought of before. One idea that sounds very promising is using a blog in the classroom.

Even though I have used blogs and see them often, it never occurred to me that this is a great journaling technique for students. Not only does it help them practice journaling in a more interesting way, it is environmentally friendly because it cuts down on paper waste. There are countless ways to have children use a blog website, such as blogger.com.

In younger grades, as soon as students begin to practice the real fundamentals of writing (first and second grade), they can use a blog to make book recommendations for peers or write weekly mini biographies about what they liked best that week at school. Or, a teacher can post a open-ended, well thought question and require students to post an response through out the week to help them practice critical thinking skills. For example, posting, "We have been learning about recycling and reusing materials in class. We know Mrs. Jayjack likes to recycle because it helps keep our lakes and rivers clean. How else can recycling helps us at school and at home?"

Even in preschool and kindergarten settings, a teacher can model blogging by doing the morning message on the blog before school, then reviewing it with students at the beginning of the day. Having the blog open for responses and helping them respond when possible is an easily doable activity during center time. Asking parents, the principal, or other community helpers to respond will also really get the students excited about reading and technology, as well as help them understand writing can be used to communicate ideas.

Of course, older students can easily use a blog for journaling, creative writing, publishing, or even keeping track of ideas during a long-term research project. The important thing is that teachers need to set clear expectations and rules, model what she wants from students, and have them practice it before they begin. As with all routines and rules, it is also important to talk about what is expected through out the school year, and may be necessary to practice as a whole class every few months. Making sure to manage and avoid "troll" behavior like we talked about in class (6/4/08) will help build a stronger classroom/blogger community and keep self-esteems high when it comes to publishing student writing. Deciding on appropriate privacy settings and policies is necessary before students begin to use a blog for this reason. The idea of using a blog in my classroom does have me very excited, and I hope is something I will be able to do when I start teaching.