Posted by Charles | Posted in walden | Posted on November 5, 2015
I consider myself fairly new to blogging, however now that I am teaching a web design course for the very first time, I find myself delving into uncharted territory. I find myself wearing many hats this year, I am teaching Geometry, Robotics, Web Design, and an Audio-Visual course. Along with these courses, I am also serving as the High School Web Master. One of the requirements for my Web Design students is for them to create and utilize their own blog. I chose to set the example for my students and create my very first blog. While my blog is still in the early stages of development, I have found many benefits for both my students and me.
I choose to create and use a blog for several reasons. One of the first ideas I had was to utilize the blog to share students work and showcase their products. Students are creating some great products and I felt it would be nice to share those products with their parents and the community. After posting these products, I thought why not utilize this platform to have students reflect about their project or product. I now have students posting comments regarding projects and reflecting on what they may do differently in the future. The posting by students has also had the added benefit of reinforcing writing skills. My district requires teachers, of all content areas, to have students write critically. The blog postings will provide my students the opportunity to write critically.
At this point, my blog has been used more to showcase students work, and a platform for students to reflect on their work, however, I do intend to share thoughts and ideas for my colleagues and others that are interested. It is my belief that everyone has something to offer. I have had the opportunity to learn and implement some great ideas from others that have shared through their blogs. My hope is that one day I will have the opportunity to return the favor.
While I have found many benefits from creating my own blog, students have also found some benefits of their own. While some students were a little hesitant about creating a blog, others were very excited. Many students expressed to me that they had always wanted to start a blog, but were not sure how to. After a few days of designing and writing, many students were off and running. In an effort to encourage students to take ownership of their blog, I provided them the opportunity to use the blog for both personal and professional use. I made it very clear that I would share their work with others including administrators. This has helped in keeping many of the post appropriate. I have learned so much about my students through their blogs; it is amazing what some of these students are interested in. The blogs have really given the students the opportunity to share their interests and still have some educational value. Students have also had the opportunity to share their own projects, by posting their work and reflections on their blog. As students are in the early stages of blogging, it is imperative that students are coached into posting and responding using appropriate etiquette (Laureate Education n.d)). In the age of texting and hashtags, it is important that we create rubrics for students to demonstrate what type of writing is appropriate for blogging. It must be stressed that student work is visible to the masses, and we must put effort into producing quality work.
At this point, my focus for blogging has been concentrated on my web design students and a little with my Robotic student. As I find myself becoming more comfortable with the platform, I am eager to start implementing blogging with my Geometry students as well as my Audio Visual students. It is important as teachers that we make connections in our practice first in an effort to understand the pedagogical implications in the class (Richardson, 2010). I see great potential in blogging with my Geometry students. I envision that blogs could be used to serve as both support and an extension of student’s math proficiency. Jayme Linton of Lenoir-Ryne University suggests that there are eight Standards of Mathematical Practice that can be enhanced and strengthened through blogging.
(1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
(2) Reason abstractly and quantitatively
(3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
(4) Model with Mathematics
(5) Use appropriate tools strategically
(6) Attend to precision
(7) Look for and make use of structure
(8) Look for and express regularly in repeated reasoning
Through the act of blogging there are three obvious benefits: (1) making their learning visible, (2) provide feedback between teachers and students, and (3) it also allows for students to keep a record of their learning. Many teachers already have students creating journals, so having students creating blogs is not much of a stretch (Linton).
Blogs have earned a unique spot in education. There are many benefits for teachers and students in creating blogs. While I have much to learn about blogs and their implementation, I believe there is a definite role they play in education. It is our job as teachers to find a way to seamlessly implement them into our curriculum.
I have posted student blog samples as well as my blog under the student work tab.
References:
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Spotlight on technology: Blogging in the classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Linton, J (2013, February 5). Using Student Blogs to Develop Proficiency with Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. Retrieved from http://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/02/05/student-blogs-common-core-math/
Image References:
http://konacompany.com/3-benefits-of-blogging/
http://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/02/05/student-blogs-common-core-math/
Charles,
Wow it sounds like you have a lot on your plate! That is so neat that you teach a variety of classes. I think it is fabulous that you are showcasing student work to parents, administration and the community.
I think it is interesting you bring up writing etiquette, I am finding this a major challenge in my classroom. My students write in texting language and when I correct them on it, they truly do not see the problem in their writing. It is mind blowing how many students will write ur instead of your or you’re, let alone know the difference between them.
Having a blog for your geometry students I think would be awesome. The three math resources I use are FrontRowed, Xtra Math, and Khan Academy. I know I teach 5th grade, however they have options for your level students as well. They offer great differentiation for your lower and higher students. What I love even more about them is that you can track how long students were on them, see what they had difficulty with and Front Row assigns HW that is student specific based on needs. They would be great additions to your blog to have links to them. Just a thought!
Your blog design is awesome, wish I knew how to do all the fancy stuff, hopefully in time!
Thank you Christie. I would definitely look into those links you’ve shared.
You seem way ahead of the curve. I am a little intimidated by the blogging experience, but your experience has made me feel much better. The way you have gained knowledge of your students through their blogs make we want to get my students going right away. My biggest fear is what do I do when a student knows more about the technology than I do? Have you ever had that experience?
Thank you, Timm, blogging has had the added benefit of gaining some insight into to my students interest. This was not something I had originally intended, but a great bonus.
As I mentioned I am new to blogging myself, and still find myself learning many new things about the technology. I believe as teachers we are under the impression that we must have the answers to every question we are asked by students. I have come to the accept that I will not always have the answers for each question a student ask. If students can share their knowledge and expertise with me, I view it as a bonus. They have just saved me the trouble of researching the answer. I did have one instance where a student was able to add a slideshow into the header of her blog. I felt it was something that others may want to incorporate into their blogs, so I let her demonstrate how she accomplished it. I am also in a new district where they use a different calculator from my old district. I was a little nervous about this transition, but I have relied on my students help me out.
I think it is important to remember that it is not the technology (blog) that is the focus, but rather the learning it fosters. While it is nice for students to include all the bells and whistles into their blogs, the focus should be on their writing and their responses to prompts.
Good luck with your blog and with your students.
Charles,
Your work is awesome. I wish I would have knowledge as you to create such a well-designed blog.
I can imagine now how wonderful students’ posts you will submit. Geometry has a wide range of activities and it will be attractive to display them in your blog. We all get some ideas about classroom activities as followers of your blog. I can also see that how your students did such a good job to make their own blogs. I will be very happy if you share your experiences and knowledge about blogging with us.
Thank you, I will continue to post. You are right, geometry does have many activities that can be shared. I am really looking forward to see what everyone has to offer. This is a great opportunity to learn from each other.