You may ask yourself "why should I integrate technology in my classroom"; "I've been teaching for many years now, and technology is just another one of those fads that has been introduced, but it will fade away soon too". Well, if you are thinking along the same lines, following this blog may interest you.
Education has the goal to educate students in order that they may enter life after school with the ability to function well. Technology has become a reality in today's world that can be used to support this initiative. If teachers have the goal of teaching students how to properly function in life, then they need to teach their students how to use technology appropriately and wisely.
One of the ways in to use a blog in the classroom. A blog is a tool that can affectively encourage students to collaborate on material learned in the classroom, as well as for the teacher to communicate with students on various topics. So the question is how can you practically use blogs in your classroom? Well, one of the first ways is to have a blog just for other teachers to view. In my own experience, seeing how other 5th grade teachers do classroom management, teach fractions, or do centers has been a great asset for me to improve my own teaching. Another way, is to create a classroom blog that your students can view and publish on; students can ask questions and other students can answer, or the teacher can publish a project and the students can see examples. In a sense, a blog can act as a WebQuest.
Another question you might be asking yourself is what is the impact for both teachers and students? At first, the impact might not be seen because there is a lot of initial set-up. Nevertheless, overtime, the classroom can be so changed that students are overly excited for school and the teacher can do more student-centered learning that teacher-centered. The trend towards student-centered learning can continue to be reached and achieved when blogs are used in the classroom.
An additional question that you may ask is are there any potential problems and/or risks with blog use in the classroom? With any new endeavour there is always the potential to have problems. To succeed in this world though, a problem has to be taken head-on and a growth mindset has to be seized. There will be problems with using a blog in the classroom such as internet problems or misalignment with curriculum, but these problems will eventually be taken out and the successes will outweigh the problems. As far as risks, there could be. Like misuse of the blog and not following netiquette, but along with problems these risks can be mitigated and students can be trained to properly use the blog.
May these initial questions be eased and may you wish to continue on to exploring how to use a blog in your own classroom!
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate this post thank you for your thoughts! I actually was struck by your use of language in this blog. Specifically the terms "growth mindset" and "netiquette." I do think the words we use in this context are important to furthering the dialogue and that it is important to have training on how to properly use a blog!
ReplyDeleteI would hope that teachers do not ever just assume technology is "a fad" because if that were the case we might still be using typewriters. Technology integration is crucial, especially with what is now occurring in 2020. Blogs, Google Classroom, Zoom, Flubaroo, Kahoot (just to name a few) will be the lifeblood of our digital classrooms. This course lines-up directly at a time when technology in education is needed most. Blogs are so much more than just a place to relay information; they can become gathering places of community and dialogue to further education.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! I like your idea of having a blog just for teachers. That could provide a great platform for collaboration in solving situations that arise in the classroom. I do also think that monitoring student posts and comments is a must. Like you say, netiquette is important, and as educators, we need to ensure that all students are treated with kindness and respect from classmates, both in person and virtually.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You bring a lot of good points, especially when it comes to netiquette and like Mr. EdTech said, teaching students about the power of words. You are right, technology is an essential part of our daily lives and most of our students today are exposed to technology of some sort such as social media. Truth is, we are expressing our thoughts behind a screen, which sometimes makes us forget that we are responding to another person with feelings and emotions too. We have to teach our students how to be kind and respectful because not only do we expect them to be kind in blog posts and responses, but in all aspects of life, including social media.
ReplyDeleteShelby,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! I really appreciated your mention of the importance of having a growth mindset. I think it is so easy to fall into the trap of just thinking 'I can't do this.' Ironically this is exactly how a lot of our students probably feel when we ask them to do something new! We need to practice what we preach and think of ways to solve the problems and learn from our mistakes so that we can hopefully become better teachers!
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteThis is great. I really appreciate you formatted your blog in a series of questions that are both relevant and engaging. You give great examples too! I think you do a good job of tapping into some of the potential fears of teachers who don't often use technology or are starting to implement it more consistently. In addition your real world approach to each of these question is right on the mark in my opinion and speaks to where we find ourselves as a society. Thank you!