The more I read about blogging and implementing it in my classes, the more I realize I will have to take this slowly. I was all set to start the school year with my own blog and jump right into having my students create there blogs. However, I don't think this is a wise choice because I don't think I'll be a blogging "expert" by the time school begins.
I do plan to have my own English I blog, which would contain my syllabus and course materials. I also want to have a record of what we did in class that day, so students can access that information if they're absent before they even step foot back in the school. I'd also like to have all handouts available for them to print out. I know that in order for this to work I'm going to have to be extremely concientous about updating my blog every day. Every single day. I think it may be hard to have all of my handouts on the blog since I don't have electronic copies of all of my materials. However, I think it will be a valuable communication tool for students, parents, and special ed teachers.
Another issue I've been thinking about is whether the school will embrace students having their own blog. Looking around on Blogger I discovered the "Next Blog" button. I did find a way to get rid of that button. So that's one way to limit potential safety issues. Any others I may run into? Any advice?
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7 comments:
I'm so glad you're planning to include blogging in your 9th grade class. I think you will see strong gains in writing if your students write and publish regularly on their blogs. I recommend going with edublogs.org. They are designed for school, which means they are free and have much better security than Blogger.
I applaud your move to learn more about blogging and to think about blogging with your students. I'd give you some paradoxical advice, something I learned in my three years of blogging, some of that with students, some just me.
Wait.
Dig deeper as a blogger yourself. Learn more. Write more. Begin to use the tool to document your learning, as you're doing here. Don't rush to apply to your students something you're only beginning to understand. Give yourself a bit of time to immerse yourself more fully in the experience - it'll change you in some very positive, and possibly a few negative, ways.
But blogging as an extra classroom activity isn't the value of blogging. Learning to blog, to write and explore the ideas of others as you share and explore your own, is much more than enrichment and/or an add on. It can be transformational. Don't rush to blog with kids because it'll be a nice piece of a unit. Move in that direction when you're ready to truly open up the way that you teach and learn.
You'll know when you're ready to move forward. You're already on the right path - but don't rush. Do it right.
I'm with Bud - maybe take this year and run with a class blog for students to access materials, etc. and save the blogging with students for the next year?
One thing you could do is start your students reading blogs, student blogs from other places, and leaving comments. It's a great way to get them familiar with what constitutes a blog post and the proper etiquette for participating in the conversation.
As for making digital copies of some of your materials - an easy way to get a pdf of a handout is to photograph it with a camera or with your cell phone and send it to Qipit (take a look at the tool at qipit.com) or use other software you might have on your computer for saving a jpg to a pdf.
Good luck!
You never can be an expert on all of the stuff that would be great to do with your kids. I just don't think you should put that as a goal. I will never be an expert on many things that the kids I work with are doing (podcasting, video, etc...)
Janice
I am so grateful for Bud's comment. I found it because I follow him on Twitter - I think I'm starting to get the value of Twitter! Anyway, I felt like I should start the year off blogging with my students because I took a 2 hour inservice on blogging in June. I've been reading a lot and writing a little, but I still don't feel as comfortable as I'd like. Bud's comment gives us all permission to take our time before jumping in with the kids.
The concern for safety and privacy is a serious one. Of course if you had Global Scholar at your district you would have discussion boards and electronic copies of everything built in, but we can't all buy every cool dodad. (sorry when the connection is so obvious I have to mention it)
Blogging itself is not a difficult activity. The commitment to writing regularly is the difficult part for me.
Blogging is not just an electronic reflection. There is an entire community out there of teachers, administrators, professionals, and students to learn and share from. It can be more than just a writing exercise it can be a mind expanding experience for both you and your students. The difficult part comes in keeping up with your students.
I would consider as Carla suggested using edublogs.org or even a 3rd party private run system.
Remember to impress on your students that what they write on a blog may seem transient, but it isn't. Our blog writings are more permanent than almost anything else we can do. Don't write anything you wouldn't want your parents to read.
Great comments so far to a very open and honest post. I want to echo Bud's recommendation to jump into the blogosphere. Read a lot. You'll quickly pick up on what other educators are doing with technology. And more importantly, your desire to move forward will set you up for success.
As I've worked with teachers in my own district, I find that there are two speed bumps (or humps, you decide) one must negotiate. One is simply the technology itself -- what is out there, how does it work, etc. The second (and most important) is "How could this (i.e. blogging) be relevant to my students' learning?" It takes courage to go down this path, and you will do good to continue to reflect on this.
Again, loved the post. Have fun with blogging this year! Your students will love it and benefit from it. Wait, learning is fun...?
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