Changing the Education System: Making Lasting Memories

The greatest need for change in our educational system is the need to create learning opportunities where students are engaged, excited, and connected to their personal learning environment. We need to create curriculum that enables students to grasp material, make lasting memories, and have fun in the process. Learning, not schooling, needs to be the goal in order to create a system where learners are dedicated to their own growth and development and understand the importance of their place in the world. The following video was created in response to this need.

BP18_2009103_Reflective Media Asset 2(Glogster)

BP17_2009103_Web 2.0(Response to Peer Post- Kiley Craft)

Slideshare.net – Is used to share presentations created in Powerpoint, Acrobat Presentations and Word Documents. It can be an interface for your audience to view your presentations or a hosting place where you can embed shows into your site or blog. Content can also be linked to from social networks such as linked in or facebook. Presentations you share can be public or restricted based upon several variables.

Much like any site open to the public some presentations are better that others. The first show I viewed had no audio and consisted of about 35 slides that contained text and pictures to teach the audience a process. The next two were essentially slideshows of pictures set to music. The first was Hawaii wallpapers for computers and the images were stunning but no information was provided as to whether the person who posted them was the photographer or simply assembled the show from found images. The second of these was more interested because while it was still just pictures set to music you are informed that it is an artists portfolio of work and they composed the music as well which made it a much stronger presentation for me. After viewing two more that I thought were very informative and possible useful to colleagues, I used the embedded share feature to email the colleagues links to the show so that they could evaluate for themselves whether they could use it.

BP16_2009103_Web 2.0(Glogster Edu)

http://edu.glogster.com/

A glog is an online multimedia poster. The Glogster Education website could be used to create a portal to house multimedia projects that students create. Within a glog, students could create multimedia posters of themselves and include images and videos to add more depth. Glogster EDU even supports SchoolTube videos! Glogster Education glogs can be set to private for select viewers. Teachers control all the activities of their learners and the platform is private and safe.

A glog would probably appeal more to the visual learner than a blog would. I could definitely see my students using glogs to visually organize information. One of the things that students could do with glogs is create an online portfolio of their learning. On their glogs, they can create links to presentations, videos, photos, websites and more. The site also offers tools and artwork for the designer to add to their glogs. With glogs teachers can integrate core subjects for learner portfolios and use the glogs for alternative assessments. Final glogs can be embedded into class websites, blogs, etc.

The benefits of using glogs are much like the benefits of using blogs. As a teacher, you can monitor student information and allow students leeway to set-up their space to fit the needs of a given assignment. Another benefit for educators is that the educator that registers for the glogs can create up to 200 accounts. Teachers can use glogs as a tool for differentiation by linking specific assignments to a specified section on the glog. I’ve even seen trainers use glogs to set up access to different courses. The possibilities are endless. You can also tag glogs to help with organizing them and with finding glogs created by others. On this site you can also add comments to provide feedback for student work.

References

Glogster Edu Staff. (2008). A new world of educational innovation awaits you. Retrieved on October 18, 2009 from http://edu.glogster.com/

BP15_2009103_Web 2.0(Build Your Wild Self)

www.buildyourwildself.com

A Web 2.0 tool that I thought was fun and could see my students having a great time creating with is www.buildyourwildself.com. On this website, you are able to build an avatar of yourself. It is easy to use and you can create as many as you’d like. This website is powered by the Wildlife Conservation Society. The colors are vivid and the avatar illustrations are beautiful and kid-friendly. After creating your avatar, you can send it to a friend, put it on your desktop, or use it to represent yourself in other interactive arenas.

Last month, my students created websites. I suggested to one group that they create an image or avatar to walk their viewers through the website. I wish I had known about this site prior to that conversation. If I had, I would’ve told them to use this site to create their avatars! They would’ve had a blast creating and the result would have been phenomenal. When we explore Glogs, I will have my students create an avatar using this site to include in their Glogs.

Another cool tool that this site provides is a write-up about your avatar based on the elements you choose to create it. For instance, my avatar’s name is FlyTye, the Atoo-bird and she has a palm cockatoo crest. According to the site, this crest helps her communicate and a raised crest can signal to other birds that she’s a friend. Each write-up is positive and would be a great benefit to a student’s self-esteem and self-perception.

Students can also print their avatars and use them as posters or to create other artwork. This website encourages imagination and gives a little insight into animal life through the write-ups of each character. There are also links to the New York Zoos and Aquariums from this site.

References

Wildlife Conservation Society Staff. (2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2009 from http://www.buildyourwildself.com

BP14_2009103_Web 2.0(ProProfs.com)

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/

One of the most interesting and helpful Web 2.0 tools that I’ve found this week is ProProfs Quiz School. This site allows you the opportunity to create free quizzes, online tests, training, recruitment, and exams for your classroom, company, or friends. One of the aspects that make this site so awesome is that it offers many features like statistics, analytics, geographic user identification, flexible result types, style customizations and seamless integration with other websites. It also supports a wide variety of quiz question styles, from multiple choice to true-or-false, etc. Another great feature of this site is that it allows you to tag your quizzes and share them on the web, while also giving you access to quizzes created by others.

This website can be used by educators, companies, families, and friends. Quizzes can be made for any purpose and for any occasion. You can even customize your quizzes by adding your images, logos, and changing the colors and styles. You can embed the quizzes into your website, blogs, facebook pages, etc. There are no ads in quizzes placed on your sites and all of the ads that you find on their website are family-safe. Another highlight of this site is that it is 100% safe for use in the educational environment.

I found this site last week when I was searching the Internet for a quiz making site to create an online quiz for my classroom. My motivation for creating the quiz online was that I was already bombarded by a million papers that needed to be graded and needed a quick and easy way for students to take a multiple-choice science test. I was absolutely amazes and impressed by this site! Not only does it cut my grading time down, it also allows me to view quiz results instantly and provides students with a certificate of completion upon completing the quiz. I will definitely use this site often! Another benefit of this site is that it allows you to search through and use other quizzes created by educators. Whereas, I had to type in all of the questions for the quiz that I am giving this week, I can search the site in the future to find quizzes on material in my curriculum.

I embedded the quiz into my classroom blog and will have the students take the quiz in the computer lab.

References

ProProfs.com Staff. (2009). ProProfs Quiz School. Retrieved October 18, 2009 from http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/

Image courtesy 5jcity.blogspot.com

BP13_2009102_Reflective Media Asset 1 (SchoolTube)

BP12_2009102_Web2.0(Flickr Lesson Idea)

After searching the web for lesson plans using flickr, I actually came up with an idea for incorporating flickr into my classroom immediately. Next week, we will begin a Social Studies project about First Nation people. One component of the project, after research, will be to create habitats for different tribes. Another component will be to find photos of First Nation people, using flickr, and create a story based on the image. Students will receive a brief introduction to flickr and will learn how to login to our classroom account. After finding the photos, we will then, as a class, combine all of the stories with the images and create either a digital photo album displaying each piece or a blog with each student contributing their information. I’m actually leaning towards the blog since I want them to get into the habit of blogging so that they will remember to work on our classroom blog.

Flickr is a great tool that my kids will enjoy. Because I try to incorporate different types of media into our classroom, flickr will prove to be a key asset in developing our projects.

References

Image by Jeff Kubina from Creative Commons at flickr.com

BP811_2009102_Web2.0(Response to Peer Post- Liz Diamond)

Sadly, there are some instances in which I just cannot be pulled away from a computer. One of those instances is when I am playing on www.wordle.net. Wordle is a site where users can create a word cloud.In order to make communication of the words more effective, “[t]he clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text” (Feinberg, 2009)

Wordle is easy. There is no sign up, no emails, just production. You click “create” and you are on your way. Wordle works in this way: the user types words in a word box. This can be the user’s own words or text copied from an online resource (you can even type in a URL), book, or anywhere else one can think of. These words are then collected and made into a picture full of words. You can then save it by either printing it or taking a screen capture of it. Wordle also encourages sharing by making it an option to save your wordle to a public gallery.

There are a few ways to manipulate a wordle to make it more meaningful. For example, the more frequent the word is typed, the larger it will appear in the picture. Wordles can altered by color, layout, and font.

I have actually used Wordle before this class, but I’ve found that students are interested in it, so I thought it would be valuable to share.My students were floored when I took the expectations (rules) that they came up with on the first day of class and made a wordle out of it. I made a poster of the wordle picture and hung it on a wall. Students are more apt to look at it because of its colors and layout. It also adds excitement to our disgustingly bland walls! Other ideas for using Wordle in the classroom include:

- 1. Having students show the main ideas of a story by typing in common themes of the story

- 2. Describing a character’s traits OR discovering a character by typing in their expressions (“’Don’t do that!” Johnny said angrily.”)

- 3. Describing something, such as an era in history or a style of music

- 4. As a student self expository tool, like an introduction at beginning of the school year

- 5. Pique student interest of a topic by using it for priming (Based on this wordle, what do you expect happened in the lives of young people in the 1950s?)

Try it – it really adds fun into writing.

References

Feinberg, J. (2009). Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://www.wordle.net/

BP810_2009102_Web2.0(Ekoloko.com)

www.ekoloko.com

One of the Web 2.0 tools that I found that I felt would benefit my students is ekoloko.com. This website is a virtual community where kids discover the world through games and quests while learning values and skills that will help them become responsible and involved individuals. It’s almost like a SecondLife program for kids. Students are able to create and personalize their own characters, chat and hangout with friends. While on this site, students are faced with adversities that help them understand the world better.

This website targets children and parents and provides a way for children to become involved in a safe social network that actually teaches them valuable life skills. One of the things I like about this site is that children cannot sign up without parental permission. There is also a plethora of educational benefits that this site provides! For instance, students develop social and interpersonal skills through communicating with others on the site. They learn how a community operates and the importance of their role in providing a safe community. They develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they play the games and journey through the virtual world. The site also teaches about recycling and being eco-friendly.

I would use this website in my classroom as a supplement to our science unit on pollution and social studies unit on communities. Each student would create an ‘avatar’ and work through the site. At the end of each week, I would check their progress and see how they are interacting within the site.

Ekoloko also provides various tutorials about different topics. For example, if a student wants to learn more about the environment, they can click on a screen that shows them the importance of recycling. They can also play games that demonstrate the importance of recycling for a community. Another activity that I would incorporate into my classroom is for students to create and/or report on what they learned about a topic, like recycling.

References

Ekoloko.com Staff. (2009). Ekoloko. Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://ekoloko.com

Image courtesy of Creative Commons license at flickr.com

BP9_2009102_Web2.0(SchoolTube.com)

http://www.schooltube.com/

SchoolTube is like YouTube, but created specifically for the field of education. This website provides students and educators a safe and free way to share media through a website. Because SchoolTube is moderated by teachers, all of the student-created materials must be approved by registered teachers, follow local school guidelines, and adhere to SchoolTube’s standards. This website blocks out inappropriate content making it appropriate and safe for school use.

SchoolTube targets students, teachers, principals, parents, school boards, and IT managers. Through SchoolTube, students are able to share media from school, and showcase academic, sports, or club events. It allows teachers the ability to share teacher approved media from their classroom, integrate technology into the curriculum, learn from recognized educational leaders, and share concepts and lesson plans with other teachers across the nation. Principals are able to keep up with national educational organizations and activities, and post welcome videos or pictures from their building administrators for parents and students. Parents will find that SchoolTube allows their kids to share media in a safe environment, and that they can use this site to keep up with what is happening in their child’s school.

The possibilities for using this site in my classroom are endless! Last year, my students created songs and raps about the digestive system. I recorded the videos and uploaded them our classroom blog. Prior to uploading, I researched various portals trying to find one that would be safe for student use. I wish I had found this one! This year, when my students do this project, we will use SchoolTube to post our finished products. I could also use this site to show my students examples of videos created by students. Along with this, I could have my students create their own channel and we could post all of the work we produce on that channel as a portfolio of their school year.

There are many educational benefits that this tool provides. First, it reaches all types of learners, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Second, it familiarizes students with Web 2.0 technology and allows them to become producers of their own ‘network’. As a result, students are able to problem-solve and think critically about ways to present research. Another educational benefit is that it affords students time to collaborate with each other throughout the creation of a project and gives them a chance to analyze the works of other students. I can’t wait to try this tool in my classroom!

References

SchoolTube.com Staff. (2009). SchoolTube. Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://www.schooltube.com/

BP8_2009102_Web2.0(Storybird.com)

http://storybird.com/

Web 2.0 is full of great tools that can be used in the classroom. Storybird.com hosts one of these tools. On storybird.com, you can create short, visual stories that you can make with family and friends. Storybirds target narrative artists, family and friends, and writers and educators. Artists can see their art for use with the stories and connect with fans of their artwork. Family and friends can share traditions and unite generations by building stories together. Writers can tell their stories without worrying about a middleman. Teachers can create teaching tools for students.

This site would be a great site for use within my classroom. By creating Storybirds, students would enhance their writing and organizational skills. If I were to use this site in my classroom, I would begin with having 2 students create a Storybird together in order to practice interpersonal and collaboration skills. I would then have the students create a Storybird independently.

Students would participate in a Writer’s Workshop throughout the process and the finished piece would have to follow the writing process. Through the writing process students would first begin in the pre-writing stage. During this stage, they would brainstorm and determine what they would write about. After the prewriting stage, they would begin by drafting their initial story. They would proceed to revising and editing, proofreading, and then publishing. After the initial story is completed and it has undergone the writing process, students would then proceed to finding the illustrations on Storybird that relate to their story. Students with difficulties coming up with a story idea would be allowed to find images first and create a story that corresponds with the images.

Some of the education benefits of this tool are that it would help with writing and with reading and organizing thoughts on paper. This tool would also be great for students who are visual and kinesthetic learners.

References:

Storybird, Inc Staff. (2009). Storyboard: collaborative storytelling for families and friends. Retrieved October 11, 2009 at http://storybird.com/

Images courtesy of Creative Commons license at flickr.com

Media Literacy

"Nobody is as smart as everybody." -Kevin Kelly

Being able to comprehend and decipher relevant information in its presented form, is the key to media literacy. Media literacy is the process of analyzing, evaluating and creating messages through a variety of media forms (Wikipedia, 2009). It entails the ability to ‘read’, critically evaluate, and organize information in any specified medium. Being literate in media suggests that the respondents are able to analyze messages to understand their origin and purpose. Because we live in the Information Age and our society is inundated with information in a variety of forms, it is more important now than ever, that we hone in and develop critical thinking skills. Through the development of these skills, learners will be prepared to critically analyze data and apply that knowledge to create new information.

I think that the most important concepts for students to understand are their role in acquiring knowledge and the significance of collaboration in forming new knowledge. When these concepts are fostered, learners are better equipped to think independently, while asking questions that lead to inquiry-based knowledge. As a result, they are able to contribute data processed to global discussions and service the world with the education that they have obtained. Because good questions are the driving force of critical and creative thinking, the assumption can be made that the concept of questions is crucial when processing information. Thus, the act of questioning becomes a meaningful, lifelong quest (Wesch, 2008).

The concept I want my students to understand most is the importance of thinking critically to deconstruct media. I want them to understand their own significance and the role that they play in their own learning as they inquire about various topics and ask questions that they journey to understand. Because tomorrow’s learner has so much information at their disposal, they are faced with the need to be equipped to develop and internalize a coherent and consistent process for analyzing content and managing information (Share, Jolls, & Thoman, 2005). According to the Center for Media Literacy, the five key questions that should be asked when interpreting media are:
1.) Who created this message?
2.) What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3.) How might different people understand this message differently?
4.) What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
5.) Why is this message being sent? (Share et al., 2005)

These questions encourages the learner to exercise higher order thinking skills and challenges the learner to think critically about information. As an educator, I feel that my goal is to illicit a love for learning in my students. After teaching a research class last year, I became even more aware of the need for learners to connect with and find significance in what they are learning. When this occurs, authentic learning occurs and students become excited about the quest for knowledge.

Resources that you guys might find useful:

A Portal to Media Literacy by Michael Wesch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s

Awesome video lecture that delves more into the topic of media literacy. This is the same author of the Anti-teaching article that we read last week.

Center for Media Literacy

http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article661.html

This website publishes a classroom activity guide with 25 core lesson plans for K-12 media literacy. The activity guide is a free download on their website.

References

Share, J., Jolls, T., Thoman, E. (2007). Five key questions that can change the world: lesson plans for media literacy. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://www.medialit.org/pdf/mlk/02_5KQ_ClassroomGuide.pdf

Wesch, M. (2008). Anti-teaching: confronting the crisis of significance. Retrieved on October 4, 2009 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/6358393/AntiTeaching-Confronting-the-Crisis-of-Significance

Wikipedia. (2009). Media literacy. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_literacy

BP7_2009102_Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is the best idea EVER! Before viewing the videos explaining it and researching about it, I was actually feeling as if the idea of social bookmarking was just a waste of time. After research, however, I have discovered that this is the tool that I have been in search of for quite awhile! Everyday I become more and more amazed with the capabilities of Web 2.0.

Currently, my 5^th grade students are using Google Sites to create websites about pollution. While they were searching the internet to find information about their topics, I began to realize that it would be beneficial for us to create links to various websites that the students found that hosted general information about the topics. As a result, when the students found a site, they would either have to manually copy the url address or those with email addresses would email me a link to the url address… time consuming and tedious. Within a social bookmarking site, students will be able to tag websites that they find useful and share them instantaneously! Better yet, I would be able to find and post a variety of acceptable links beforehand.

The aforementioned example demonstrates one of the many educational uses for social bookmarking- using websites for student research or projects. Other educational possibilities include: book recommendations, professional research, accessibility of resources for students to work on research at home or school, and to share what you are reading or view what your peers are reading on the web (Muir, 2005).

The practice of social bookmarking is beneficial to both the learner and the educator. Educators can network with other educators in different parts of the world citing websites that may add to knowledge within the field. Additionally, schools could create social bookmark accounts for their different academic departments with teachers within the department contributing to the database of web resources. Educator’s could also use social bookmarking to collaborate on projects with other schools, sharing bookmarks between participating communities (CR 2.0, 2009).

With links to a variety of websites on various topics, learners are able to access information with the click of a button, thus saving valuable learning time and decreasing learning time loss. Social bookmarking also allows learners to converse with others through the sharing of interest-related links. Learners of any age can benefit from social bookmarking because it fosters student learning, facilitates social networking, and enables life-long learning (Everhart, Kunnen, & Shelton, 2007).

Social bookmarking is also a good way to organize websites of interest into categories that are easy to find later. People are using these websites instead of keeping a long list of ‘favorites’ in their own browsers, to organize, rank and display their resources for others to see and use (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). There have been many times where I’ve bookmarked sites on one computer and was disappointed when I searched for those sites on another computer to no avail. There has also been many times where I’ve bookmarked sites, but was unable to figure out how to categorize them, only to lose them in bookmark cyberspace! I am definitely planning to use this tool in my classroom.

References

CR2.0 Contributors. (2009). Social bookmarking. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://wiki.classroom20.com/Social+Bookmarking

Everhart, D., Kunnen, E., Shelton, K. (2007). From information literacy to scholarly identity: effective pedagogical strategies for social bookmarking. Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://www.educause.edu/search? quick_query=benefits+of+social+bookmarking&Image1.x=0&Image1.y=0

Muir, D. (2005). Simply del.icio.us: online social bookmarking, or: tagging for teaching. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://personal.strath.ac.uk/d.d.muir/Delicious1_2.pdf

Solomon, G. & Schrum, Lynne. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools. Eugene, Oregon: ISTE.

Image from Creative Commons at flickr.com.

BP6_2009101_iGoogle_ETC Page

My iGoogle ETC page

BP5_2009101_iGoogle_AR/CBL Page

My iGoogle AR/CBL page

BP4_2009101_iGoogle_WGO/Homepage

My iGoogle Homepage

BP3_2009101_Anti-Teaching

It would appear that there needs to be an overhaul of the current education system in order to meet the needs of the students moving through it. This is not to say that the current education system is completely inapt. However, it would appear that many of the tools associated with Web 2.0 would be ideal assets for a new learning environment. The idea of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) is intriguing on many levels. First, PLE’s allow students to navigate through a system at their own pace while answering questions that arise naturally. Wesch (2008) states that “Good questions are the driving force of critical and creative thinking and therefore one of the best indicators of significant learning.” By creating a learning environment where students learn through asking questions of interest, true learning would take place and, perhaps, fewer students would be left behind.

Virtual learning environments with course management systems would address the multiple intelligences and brain-based learning. Through virtual learning environments, all learning styles have the potential of being targeted. For instance, through the use of PowerPoint presentations, video, and audio assets, kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learner needs are addressed. A true virtual learning environment also addresses interpersonal and intrapersonal skills- both of which are important tools for the 21^st century workplace.

Inasmuch as technology is an important component for new schools, technology in itself is not enough. Students, especially younger ones, need physical interactions in order to adequately develop interpersonal skills and for emotional and brain development. Human interaction is crucial for emotional health and should not be replaced by technology. Because humans are designed to be interdependent on others, emotional and cognitive growth suffer when children are cutoff from a variety of social interactions (10news.com, 2007). If I were to design the new school, I would include a computer-based platform that operates within the confines of a malleable classroom experience where students collaborate with each other, work independently, and garner direction and guidance from the teacher when necessary.

The key components for 21^st century schools and ‘learning beyond the test’ are malleable environments that cater to the physical and emotional needs of students, technology usage (computers, internet, digital cameras, etc.), project-based learning, and access to online eLearning portals. In a 21^st century classroom, teachers foster a love of learning for students by igniting students to understand their own significance and the importance of learning for the sake of obtaining knowledge versus learning to obtain a grade.

When I think about my own classroom, I wonder if I’m igniting a love for learning in my students. I think about how often I ‘threaten’ with grades and how I can become more consistent with helping students understand that obtaining knowledge is the most important aspect of their education. This is my goal… to become a teacher that inspires.

I connect strongly with the proposed ‘anti-teaching’ theory. Sometimes, I fear that I apply it too much. I am constantly trying to figure out ways to engage my students and find that my students are most engaged when they have to solve a problem. This knowledge leads me to step back and allow the students to work through the issues presented on their own. I employ project-based learning activities a lot, but am still trying to figure out the best way to incorporate technology to foster the personal learning environment.

Sadly, it wasn’t until my last year of college, after sitting down and having a heart-to-heart with one of my professors, that I realized that I actually could have been learning something the entire time I was in school! I can only imagine how much more informed, inspired, and equipped I would be today had I cared enough to pay attention to what I was being taught all along. I teach 5^th grade now and everyday I try to instill in my students the importance of adding new information to their learning repertoire. At the same time, I continue to remember the importance of adding new information to mine.

References

Wesch, M. (2008). Anti-teaching: confronting the crisis of significance. Retrieved on October 4, 2009 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/6358393/AntiTeaching- Confronting-the-Crisis-of-Significance

10news.com. (2007). Psychiatrist: children need human interaction. Retrieved on October 4, 2009 from http://www.10news.com/education/2308234/detail.html

All images from Creative Commons at flickr.com

BP2_2009101_RSS Feeds for Educational Purposes

Edutopia- I chose to subscribe to this RSS feed because Edutopia is full of information pertaining to the field of education. On Edutopia, you can find a variety of topics concerning the education arena.

Instructional Design Network- I chose this feed because Dr. Deason provides valuable information about instructional design as it relates to education. Through this feed, you can find practical information on using Web 2.0 tools in your learning environment.

PBIS News Feed- Our district has implemented the PBIS model in all of its schools. Because emotional intelligence is as important as cognitive intelligence, I thought that subscribing to this feed would allow me to stay abreast on issues that affect emotional development in students.

Education Week- I chose this RSS feed because Education Week typically provides a buffet of information on various topics in education.

US Department of Education- This site provides government-based information concerning the field of education. This feed allows subscribers to stay abreast on current trends and initiatives in education.

Education: News & Videos about Education: CNN.com- CNN is a reputable presenter of quality news related information. I chose this feed because of CNN reputation and the fact that they will offer a plethora of information on the topic of education around the world.

New York Times: Education- I chose this feed because of New York Times’ reputation. This feed will allow me to stay abreast of current happenings in the education field.

All images from Creative Commons at flickr.com

BP1_2009101_Educational Uses for Blogs

Blogs can be used for educational purposes. Educational purposes for blogs include: group discussion or coordination tools, course-based journals for assessment, personal reflective journaling, personal knowledge sharing, and class ‘dialogue’ (Leslie, 2003). Click on the following link to find a matrix displaying some of the uses of blogs in education: http://www.edtechpost.ca/gems/matrix2.gif

Blogs are commonly used to support reading and writing in the curriculum. Some blogs are teacher focused, while others are developed for student involvement. Other educational uses for blogs include using blogs for informational resources; course, classroom, or school management systems; student, class, teacher, or art portfolios; collaborations or collections; electronic filing cabinets, professional learning community blogs; enhancing the reading experience and literacy/language discussions (Hooker, 2005).

Practical ideas for blogs:

Teachers could use blogs by creating discipline specific sites that provide instructional materials, rubrics, and models for the subjects that they teach. For example, writing teachers can post instructional materials and rubrics for different essay genres that other writing teachers can use.

Teachers can also use blogs to communicate best practices with other teachers, as well as a reflective tool to garner support and to create a professional learning community.

Students can collaborate and develop relationships with other students around the country through blogs that focus on a common interest or curriculum strand.

Math teachers can post a problem that relates to the lesson that they covered during the school day to check for student understanding.

Teachers can form on-line literature circles through blogs in order to enhance the reading experience.

Teachers can use blogs to communicate with parents about what is going on in the classroom.

Institutions can use blogs to post meeting minutes and to keep members in the environment updated on community information.

Professors can use blogs to post audio of lectures for students and then have students write responses to information presented. The following link will take you to a slideshow with a variety of ideas for educational uses of blogs: http://www.slideshare.net/sqoolmaster/educational-uses-of-blogs-and-tags-234136

In my classroom, my students are working to develop and maintain a blog about classroom happenings from their own perspective. They are responsible for the content and media assets for the site. In order to make this blog more successful, I realize now that I will need to schedule in time once a week for the students to update the information.

References

Hooker, S. (2005). Educational uses of blogs. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from http://www.educatr.com/uses

Leslie, S. (2003). Matrix of some uses of blogs in education. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from http://www.edtechpost.ca/wordpress/2003/10/09/Matrix-of-some-uses-of-blogs- in- education/

All images from Creative Commons at flickr.com