Wednesday, May 13, 2009
I teach 6th grade earth science. I see many use for blogging. The first thing I can see is for student's to ask questions about what we are studying. A lot of students will not ask questions because they don't look "cool" if they ask a question. With and anonimity of the internet a student can ask a question and the other students would not no who asked. I think students could also publish their work on the blogs. It would be a good way for them to show off what they know. The biggest use for me would be the first reason. To allow students to ask questions and that would allow me to answer those questions so all can see.
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I also think blogs are great ways to allow shy, timid students to get their points across, without being put on the spot in front of the class. Even if it is, like you said, to ask a question, they will probably feel more comfortable using the blog to ask it.
ReplyDeleteBesides the challenge of some students not having internet at home, how would you go about ensuring that all of your students participate in discussions on you blog? Even though some students will feel more comfortable with posting anonymously, they still just might not want to do it. You said that you will primarily use your blog for questions and answers, but you might have to make your students get involved at first. Also, once they feel comfortable with using the blog, you might be able to create lessons that require the online discussions.
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ReplyDeleteI teach 7th grade life science! The possibilities for implementing a blog seem endless.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using your classroom blog as a forum for asking questions; I completely agree that some students are afraid to be singled out in class when asking questions. But I also think blogging could offer many opportunities to challenge them and encourage higher level questions, don't you agree?
I also think that blogging could offer students a great opportunity to share ideas and knowledge. My kids are always excited to share personal connections and prior knowledge (some of them are experts on really cool science concepts--that don't always fit into the seventh grade curriculum), so blogging could really help students bond and learn from one another's wealth of knowledge and ideas.
There has to be some other uses for a blog in your classroom--I would love to pick your brain as a fellow science teacher. What are some units of study you complete in sixth grade where a blog might fit well and add to your lessons?
In one of my undergrad classes, we used a program where we had discussion with class on-line. The teacher would lecture and we could discuss and write questions to the teacher through the program we were using. This helped me, because as questions came up, I could instantly ask a question before I would forget. Everyone saw the questions and responses, but each person was anonymous. We had great discussions because people that normally did not raise there hand in class were participating. A lot more great ideas were coming up! One question I have for you is about your availability. Are you going to continue checking the blog for questions outside of the school day? How much time would you plan on putting towards the blog?
ReplyDeleteThe problem I see with requiring students to blog is that not every student has a computer at home.
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