Blogs in the Classroom
There are many purposes for using blogs in the classroom. One purpose of having a blog is to let your students feel comfortable with discussions via technology. Creating a post and allowing them to converse online is a new strategy that will engage the students in their learning. Another reason for having a blog is the connection it makes with the parents at home and the school community. A teacher who consistently updates their blogs will create an open line of communication that makes the parents feel aware of their child's actions at all times. Also, constantly updating your blog will make you seem very transparent with parents and that will make them feel at ease.
With the way technology is advancing in today's society, having children use devices in the classroom is a major advantage to their learning. It will better prepare them to be efficient adults in the future. Studies have shown that using a social networking site in the classroom like Twitter "is regarded as a more interactive and exciting way of learning compared to traditional knowledge transfer tools such as lectures" (Chawinga, 2017). Majority of the students' academic career, they have been told that they are not allowed to go on these types of websites because if its content and what it is known for in the media. However, to combat the stereotype, teachers should allow their students to use SNS and keep restrictions on how the children can use it. They would be so excited to tell their other friends and family members that they are using Facebook or Twitter at school.
The International Society for Technology in Education for Students states that they must recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical (ISTE, 2016). With having a blog in the classroom, the student will learn how to conduct themselves online and will learn "online social ettiquette". The ISTE also states that students must become a creative communicator who expresses themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals (2016). The teacher having a blog in the classroom is one platform that the student can use to collaborate with their classmates. The teacher could also use Twitter as a gateway for students to have a classroom discussion.
One of the ISTE standards for teacher states that the teacher must design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments (2008). In a sense, it is the responsibility of the teacher to create a classroom environment that will foster the learning with technology and also including resources online. Another ISTE standard states that the teacher must model digital age and work and learning (2008). Even if technology was not involved, modeling for the students is a major aspect in teaching. Showing the students what you know will help them become an effective 21st century student. There are some things that the students will pick up on faster than even you. However, it is the teacher's job to encourage the students and let them know that they are able to achieve all greatness in technology.
References:
Chawinga, D. (2017). Taking social media to a university classroom: teaching and learning using Twitter and blogs. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(3). Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=fb4f7fbe-0db1-4a1b-a43a-b147f0d1b5d5%40sessionmgr102&hid=122
With the way technology is advancing in today's society, having children use devices in the classroom is a major advantage to their learning. It will better prepare them to be efficient adults in the future. Studies have shown that using a social networking site in the classroom like Twitter "is regarded as a more interactive and exciting way of learning compared to traditional knowledge transfer tools such as lectures" (Chawinga, 2017). Majority of the students' academic career, they have been told that they are not allowed to go on these types of websites because if its content and what it is known for in the media. However, to combat the stereotype, teachers should allow their students to use SNS and keep restrictions on how the children can use it. They would be so excited to tell their other friends and family members that they are using Facebook or Twitter at school.
The International Society for Technology in Education for Students states that they must recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical (ISTE, 2016). With having a blog in the classroom, the student will learn how to conduct themselves online and will learn "online social ettiquette". The ISTE also states that students must become a creative communicator who expresses themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals (2016). The teacher having a blog in the classroom is one platform that the student can use to collaborate with their classmates. The teacher could also use Twitter as a gateway for students to have a classroom discussion.
One of the ISTE standards for teacher states that the teacher must design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments (2008). In a sense, it is the responsibility of the teacher to create a classroom environment that will foster the learning with technology and also including resources online. Another ISTE standard states that the teacher must model digital age and work and learning (2008). Even if technology was not involved, modeling for the students is a major aspect in teaching. Showing the students what you know will help them become an effective 21st century student. There are some things that the students will pick up on faster than even you. However, it is the teacher's job to encourage the students and let them know that they are able to achieve all greatness in technology.
References:
Chawinga, D. (2017). Taking social media to a university classroom: teaching and learning using Twitter and blogs. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(3). Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=fb4f7fbe-0db1-4a1b-a43a-b147f0d1b5d5%40sessionmgr102&hid=122
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2016). Standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students-2016
International Socitey for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers
Hello Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI agree that having students posting with a social media account is such a great idea. One problem that may come up with this depending on what grade level you teach is parent push back. With one of my football players their parent wouldn't let them have a twitter account. I use twitter to send out reminders and such for football. To combat this we have the remind app where parents and students can sign up for it. This sends a one way text giving alerts of changes in the schedule. This could be used for some of the students that aren't aloud to use social media in your class. I hope this helps if you every come along this problem.
Thank you,
Cody Baskett
Hi Cody!
DeleteYou are absolutely correct about some parents not feeling at ease with the idea of their child having a social media account. I know some parent who don't even allow their child to get on the computer at home after a certain time. So, with those potential stipulations, I can see why you decided to get the "Remind Me" app for your students. Thanks for the input!
Hello Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about using blogs in the classroom. It is a engaging strategy that students will most likely be very excited to participate in. I recently read a journal article about two teachers that started blogging with a second-grade classroom (Young & Stover, 2015). One of the things they discovered was that the students did not know how to offer productive comments. They were excellent at posting compliments like "I like your story" or "Good job" but not anything that offered any advice on how to make it better or any thoughtful comments. The teachers had to specifically teach the students how to comment on a blog post (Young & Stover, 2015). I suggest that before running into such an issue, remember to teach students exactly what is expected from the blog comments.
I had a blog for my classroom last year that was intentionally created for the purpose of sharing information about the classroom with parents. It was used frequently but I had to work very hard at making sure my parents used it. I believe parents are sometimes reluctant to keep themselves involved with their child's classroom. I suggest manually subscribing each parent so they get an email every time you update your blog, or send the link out in an email. This was the best way for me to make sure my parents were using the blog.
I hope this helps!
Kori
Sorry, I forgot to include the reference to the article. It's a good read especially if you work with primary students.
ReplyDeleteYoung, C., & Stover, K. (2015). Promoting Revision through Blogging in a Second Grade Classroom. Texas Journal Of Literacy Education, 3(1), 14-28.