Once I get this set up, the biggest challenge for me is going to be finding a topic to discuss with my students. I teach seventh grade world geography, and our current unit is on Southern Africa....and we spend an abundance of time on South Africa itself. I am not yet sure that I am comfortable enough with blogs for my students to discuss some of the bigger issues in the region (apartheid/AIDS) online. Students are likely to struggle initially with the concept of posting their information, and they may not be comfortable with the technology itself. My uncomfortability plus their uncomfortability....that's not a good mix. I need to be very sure of the whole process before I even think about using it in the classroom.
In order for my students to be more comfortable with the technology, I first need to do the same. I strongly believe that though students are aware of blogs and blogging, they may not see the functionality of it in the classroom. Showing the students that I have created my own blog will show them that it can be done, and used for pertinent classroom discussions.
Just as I pointed out last week, I need to take baby steps.
I wish I could have found a shorter clip, but I'm ok with any excuse to watch this movie.
References
Unknown Author.What About Bob?.mov. [Video File]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncFCdCjBqcE&feature=colike
I enjoyed the video clip! I agree that you must first be comfortable with the technology, before you can teach it to the students, just as you would need to be comfortable with content material before you taught it. I tried to set my blog up for students to journal and write for a larger audience, however came across the problem of how will I get them all to post, with the same username and password. When they aren't on their own name, their actions can not be traced, which could lead to inappropriate posts, that I'm afraid will occur in Middle School. I was wondering if you were having the same problem, or if you had come up with any solutions to this problem?
ReplyDeleteWhy not let your students create their own usernames and passwords so that it is easier to track? Of course you would need the permission of your parents. Just didn't know if this was a restriction set up by your school or district or just a personal decision? One solution I had was to create a generic username and password that you could use over several years. For example, skomsa1, skomsa2, skomsa3, etc. You'd have to keep a list to know which students were assigned to which account, but that way it would be reusable ever year.
Delete“In order for my students to be more comfortable with the technology, I first need to do the same.”
ReplyDeleteVery good point, Scott. I also am new to the world of blogging, and will admit that this new technology does feel a bit ”intimidating”, but I am going to keep an open mind and try to implement a blog into my class next school year. I teach early childhood, most recently kindergarten. My students will not have the capability to interact with their classmates through written expression independently, but I still think that it is very important to expose them to this vital technology at this early age. I am going to approach my class blog as a resource to involve parents and family members into the realm of kindergarten learning. I would like to start a blog that will be focused on building a strong home-school connection. I will post class-related important information, and hopefully, my blog will be a forum for parents and families to stay informed of current kindergarten events and ask any questions that they may have. I will use this time in the next few months to play around and tinker with this technology. I agree that we as educators need to be comfortable with the technology in order for our students to also embrace it and utilize it as a resource for learning.
I do think that there is great potential for blog usage with your seventh graders. I was really inspired by the “Spotlight on Technology: Blogging in the Classroom” video that we watched as apart of our course work this week. The teacher in the video did a wonderful job integrating blog work into her curriculum. Her students were so actively engaged in discussion and critical thinking activities. This possibility could also work with your world geography curriculum. As you implied, “take baby steps”, or start small and work your way up to larger, dynamic activities. Start with a weekly question on a current topic, have students respond to the question, and also comment on the responses of one or two classmates. This will compel the students to interact with you, their teacher, and their classmates, while exposing them to the tools of blogging. I think that students who are more timid, or less likely to engage in class discussions, will find this forum a more comfortable place to disclose their feelings and opinions. You may be surprised at the responses that you get from your students. If anything, students will learn appropriate dialogue and internet etiquette, which will help them in their futures. Try to put aside your uncomfortable feelings and dive right in! You will never know what could be possible until you give it a try! I think that you learning, along with your students, could actually turn out to be a rewarding and eye-opening experience for everyone involved…There is so much that we can learn from our students as well!
Good luck to you and your pursuit to integrate blog work into your curriculum. Please continue to let us know your struggles and triumphs!
I'm still looking for some solutions to the same problem! I get a bit nervous about students taking it seriously from time to time. However, I truly feel that if we can make sure that they post from their own name, they will be constructive and appropriate with their comments. We need to be diligent in monitoring conversation throughout, and need to be sure that conversations are guided properly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I'm glad we have some of the same concerns. I am confident that as we learn more and get more comfortable, how to fix these issues will become much clearer to us.
I think the Apartheids would be very appropriate to discuss on a blog. You may even be able to invite outside guests to post on the blog, although at first you definitely need to take baby steps. If you are like me, if I do not take baby steps I tend to get overwhelmed and shut down to the point that I end up not using it at all. It would be neat to invite a class in South Africa to respond and engage them in discussion so that your students can get another perspective. I think you could also have students research and post at least one resource about the Apartheids to a blog as a baby step as well. That way all they are doing is literally copying and pasting a link. Then you can create assignments for what to do with the links next after your class has collaborated.
ReplyDeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Creating a proper blog like this is new to most of us, I think. I like how you brought up the point about modeling blogging for our students by writing one yourself. I think that this is an authentic way to engage them in serious discussions. I think the regions you are studing in geography offer all sorts of interesting discussion topics and your seventh graders should be capable of thoughtful posting. I'm looking forward to hearing how that works out for you. Thanks again for your thoughts.