I am a high school and middle school math teacher. I teach seventh graders all the way through seniors. Within each of my classes I am finding uses for a blog. Since I have a variety of ages, I have a lot of older students that will be able to help my younger students. This is the benefit of blogs; the ability to communicate with the whole world, or even just higher level math students. Blogs provide a way for teachers and students to continue their learning as far as they want to take it. “The possibilities really are endless” (p. 28).
My idea is to use blogs as a way for students and parents to communicate with me at all times. This will give students the opportunity to get continuous feedback. I have PowerPoint presentations for two of my classes and notes that are scanned for the rest of my classes. I want to post the notes online so parents and students will have access. Then a blog will be provided to help answer questions. There will also be a section that is provided for feedback on how well the students understand the material and how I can better assist them in their learning.
The purpose for my blog will be to better assist students with their learning and to allow parents and students to interact at home while they are studying or working on homework. I will also be able to answer questions and give feedback from home. The blog postings that provide feedback for me and for the whole class will be a great opportunity to reflect upon my teaching style.
Blogging will enhance my lessons by promoting communication and collaboration to increase everyone’s learning. As a teacher, I will be able to determine how much the students might be struggling with a lesson. I will also be able to see which students understand the lessons and which do not. Overall, blogs are a valuable tool that can enhance the learning within and outside my classroom.
References
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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I really like the idea of setting up a class blog for communication with students and parents. Parent involvement is vitally important for school success, but many of the parents in my community work multiple jobs and have very little time to visit the school. I communicate through email and an online calendar (assignaday.4teachers.org), but I would like to do more.
ReplyDeleteI too use PowerPoint presentations in the classroom. In fact, I have used PowerPoint in every class every day since 1999. Many of these are powerful, stand alone lessons that students can benefit from, even if they do not attend the class. Some are even designed for independent study. I would like to post these in my blog. I know that they can be saved in HTML format, so that they can be opened on computers that do not have Microsoft Office installed, but I do not yet know how to incorporate them into my Blogger blog. If anyone can give me a clue, I would be most grateful.
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your input towards my idea of integrating blogs in my classroom. I have considered how well parents will be able to interact with the blog. I have had a few parents say that they were trying to solve the lesson and were struggling. I am hopping that a blog will eliminate some of those situations at home.
If you figure out how to down load a PowerPoint in HTML format, please let me know. That would be very beneficial for my students. I am going to put my PowerPoint’s on the internet for extra resources for my students. They are not going to be directly related to my blog but may bring up questions within the different assignments. This is how they are incorporated within my blog; I do not know if that helped you at all.
Thanks for your response. So far, I can email the PowerPoints but have not yet posted them on the Internet. If I could, it would be great for absent (or absent-minded)students.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great idea Jenna. I also teach Math to grade 9 and 12 students and I am using my blog as a means of sharing assignments and announcements. I never thought of integrating the different years however that is a great idea. Students will feel more comfortable when they know they can ask another peer for help without having to stay back after school for tutoring. Plus it is always a big plus when parents are involved in their child's education.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nicky for your input towards my blogging ideas. I am glad to see that you are also going to use blogs in the same ways I am.
ReplyDelete