According to Dictionary.com, "blog" means 'an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log; Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.' A blog is an important tool that can be used inside the classroom for various things. For example, similar to this class, a class I took during my undergrad required us to keep a blog. In this blog we wrote what we learned in class, experience with the material, what we could work on, what we wanted to know more of, and to show examples of our work. It was great because we got feedback from the instructor and our peers. For my students, I encourage them to have blogs for our class, it is not currently required, but more then likely will be next year. As I am writing this, I must apologize, we are getting drenched with a major downpour which is stirring up tornadoes. So I may ramble from time to time. I do have a blog specifically for my classes. This blog is designed to inform the students and parents of what is going on in the classroom. I write about what is being learned each day, what students are required to do for classwork, and from time to time I post, with permission, student's work. I do make pod casts of my lectures, and I would eventually like to add those to the blog along with materials presented or given in class. This would allow the students who were not in class to get the material, but also give students another way of getting the material if they forgot it at school or cannot find it. I found a great site that offered reasons on why to use a blog in the classroom, and I agree with the reasons they listed. I think that a blog is a good tool to use in the classroom because it provides a connection for students, but also for the parents to take a peek into the classroom without actually being in the classroom.
Content Area: Business Education & Technology
Grade Level: 9-12 (certified 4-12)
Laura
ReplyDeleteI liked the site you hyper-linked listing 11 reasons why to use blogs in the classroom. It makes a good argument. I am feeling more confident with this medium.
I so want to learn how to podcast lectures. My computer is super old so I'm guessing that I'd need to update a little before I was able to do that. The only challenge that I can think of is to simply buckle down and do the work necessary to make your classroom blog as useful as you want it to be. Hard work, however, does not sound like it's all that hard for you. Podcasting! So cool!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is really great what you are already doing. It seems like you are ahead of the game for this class, so I will defiantly be gaining some good insights from reading your blog. Pod casts would be awesome to be able to post on your blog. I think it would be great to do as well. The trouble with many of this is that lack of technology I am provided with in the classroom. But I really like your ideas and enthusiasm about blogs.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your encouraging feedback. I am glad I am able to provide some insight for you on incorporating blogs into your classrooms.
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