First technology topic… now that I have researched, participated in, and even created my own blog, how can I use them to help my students?
I have always wanted to add a journaling component to my class. I have seen other science teachers use it as a way for students to take their understanding of the content to another level, but I have always avoided it because I dreaded collecting, reading, and responding to 140 journal entries!
I think the blog is here to save me from additional work while providing students with a place to respond to questions that inspire critical thinking. There will be nothing for me to collect – no journal notebooks to collect dust on my desk! The blog will also allow me to read and respond to students’ posts efficiently, since they will all be in one place. Additionally, students will receive feedback from their peers. More feedback, less work… am I missing something here? I absolutely need to try this!
Have you used blogs in your classroom? Share your ideas and tips!
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I haven't used blogging in my classroom yet, but I'm excited to! Your idea of collecting blog entries instead of journals sounds great. Plus, the feedback from their friends should be beneficial also!
ReplyDeleteKatherine
This will be my first year using blogs in my junior high classroom. One issue I thought could arise is the possibility of students reading other students' work before writing their own--we all know that problems that can arise from that! One way I thought of to avoid this is to have students submit their journals/assignments as comments to the teacher's blog. You can make sure that you have comments set to be approved by you before posting, and you can simply wait until all assignments have been submitted to approve any of them for publication.
ReplyDeleteIs there another way to address this issue so students can have their own blogs???