I need to determine the best way I can get my students to use blogs in the classroom. It is so exciting to think of this as an option to enhance their learning. With so many different ideas swimming around in my ahead, I quickly am reminding myself of possible drawbacks. The biggest drawback I can think of at this time is time constraints, right now my school is on an "MSA push." Which is basically a push for our students to be prepared for the state assessments to be given in March. We have not met AYP in three years straight, and are in jeopardy of being taken over by the state this year if we do not make it. My schedule is so tight already, trying to find time to bring blogging into the daily routines, will be difficult - difficult but not impossible.
I teach reading/language arts to 4th and 5th graders. My homeroom class is the 5th graders, and I have more time with them during the day and afternoon, so I think I will begin with those students. We began literature circles last week, and for our second book we will begin an author study on Ronald Dahl. Students will be responsible for different activities throughout the study, and posting to the blog about their books they are reading, and responding to each other's blog is how it will begin. I am quite sure that gaining interest in blogging will not be a problem, because any activity with the computers - my students love.
Another idea I have, that I will begin to implement is having them blog about current events. We do not have very much (if any) time to incorporate social studies in our daily work. Most social studies is sent home for homework and "brushed" over throughout the week. However, current events interest the students, and I think if I post a current event article or something of the sort, to a blog, have students respond their feelings on the event, and then read more information about it......blogging could be a useful tool to incorporate social studies and current events in their learning on a regular basis.
Please post any ideas or suggestions or possible problems you foresee with these initial ideas I have in the classroom. Thanks!
It is so refreshing to read your blog. My district is in the same boat as yours. I wonder sometimes if the "bar" has been set so that many schools will fail, no matter how hard we (and the students) work.
ReplyDeleteBlogging in my classroom has been slow to take off too. My district has a lot of guidelines to ensure safety, so I have been working with the technology director to ensure I do not violate these policies.
It is obvious that technology is in our daily lives, but with the push to make AYP and scoring well on standardized tests, not to mention budget cuts everywhere, I wonder where technology is going to fit in? Clearly that is a challenge that you and thousands of other teachers are facing. I wonder, though, is your district or state moving towards standardized testing on computers? Also, do you feel that in 5th grade parents would be willing to allow their children to participate with a blog as acceptable homework? If so, do all of your students have internet access outside of school? The idea of blogging is great, but what about those students with no internet access?
Mrs. Peterson thank you for your comments! Yes, I feel that my parents would be okay with their children blogging, however, no most of my students do not have computers at home. Lucky for me, there is a public library in the area and MOST of my students do take visits to the local library weekly. This has been a big benefit for them, and I this year because this was not always the case. Our school did a big push last year to try and get every student a public library card and encourage their parents to take them regularly. I believe our district wishes to move in the direction of standardized testing on the computers, however, our budget cuts are deep and keep getting deeper. We have laid off so many teachers in the past few years, and have not had raises for three years because of the budget, so I am just wondering if the money is ever going to be there for our district to catch up with the demands our society has set with technology and our futures. I think one way I am going to try to get around the no-internet issue, is to allow students to come in to class 15 minutes early in the morning if they are interested, and to come after lunch to post for the blogging part of their literature circles. The good thing is, most of my students beg to come to the classroom with me whenever they can to work on the computers, so the biggest problem will be for me to work parent phone calls, quick meetings, and other little things around this time for my students.
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