After reading several of the sample blogs, I have mixed feelings about their use in education. On the one hand, I see how they can contribute to getting students excited about learning. I especially liked the suggestions of using blogs for sustained silent reading in Mark’s Edtech Blog: Is this SSR 2.0? Just today, I recommended to a parent that she let her son use the internet for reading science articles because he had such a high interest in science, especially animals. We had discussed having him read science books over the summer to work on his reading comprehension when the mother made the comment that his interests seemed to change every day. Blogs would be something that might work for him, because he could read about a different topic every day, and he could even share his own experiences.
The comments to the blogs are an essential part of blogging. Comments can be posted to ask questions, clarify meaning, and extend discussion points. Used in the classroom, blogs could be used to help students find meaning in a topic the class was studying.
On the other hand, I have seen where blogs and other technology can be hurtful in education. The Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki Davis): Spies Like Us blog really got me to thinking about the negative aspects of using technology. I watched the girls in my classroom try time and time again to get a celebration jump captured on a digital camera just the way they wanted it to look. I can imagine how someone who wanted to portray a negative message about someone else could videotape something, put a negative spin on it, with or without editing, and post it to the web. It’s scary to think that once something is posted like that, it can’t be taken back. Middle school students are by nature, very impulsive, and they are apt to do something as a joke without thinking of the long-term consequences.
I really liked the suggestion of requiring students to post a comment to both one blog that they agree with and a comment that they disagree with. Many students seem reluctant to disagree with one of their peers; so they will agree with almost anything that a classmate says. I could use the blog idea with my Wordly Wise debates, and divide the questions among the students in the class. After the initial responses have been published, then students could post a comment to a blog that they support, giving their reasons why they support that reason, as well as a comment on an answer that they do not agree with, stating why they do not agree with the answer. Students from all four of my reading classes could debate with each other and learn from each other.
I also liked the idea of sharing lesson plans. There are currently four reading teachers here at the sixth grade level. We do not all have the same planning periods, and due to after school activities, we can’t meet after school. This would enable each teacher to make changes to lesson plans so that everyone could have some input.
I also like Writeboard, and I can see how I might be able to use it to help my students revise each other’s paragraphs. Students could save their rough drafts. Then we could go to the computer lab, and they could revise each other’s papers. The original edition would be saved, so the author could choose to use the suggested revisions or go back to his original document.
7 ½ Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners
The habit that will be most challenging for me is to “view problems as challenges.” I usually look at problems as something that I need to overcome or get through – the sooner, the better. However, upon reflecting on this habit and looking back on my life, I realize that many of the things that I have learned have been the direct result of working through problems. The items that I have struggled to get are often the things that I remember the most. Also, if I have a positive attitude towards solving those problems, I am more able to achieve success than if I go straight to panic mode, where I do not possessive any rational thinking at all!
The habit that will be the easiest for me is to accept responsibility for my own learning. Information can be presented to a learner in many different ways. However, if the learner does not put forth effort to attain the material, it is very difficult for the teacher to get the student to learn. If I put forth effort in this course, I can access all kinds of technological information that I will be able to use in my classroom.
The most important habit for me in this course is to play. The reason that I am taking this course is to learn as much technology as I can that will be relevant to my students and me in the classroom. I have learned from my students and from my own children, that often the best way to learn technology is to play. When we get a new gadget at home, I immediately start thumbing through the instruction manual, while my son just starts playing with the gadget. He usually knows much more about the gadget in the first fifteen minutes than I do for the next few weeks!
