Job Switching Pt 3/3
14 years ago
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Blogging's Value to Education
The educational value of blogs is limited to the imagination of the facilitator of the blog. I know as a math teacher the first thing that comes to my mind is the creation of communication about math. This is a tool that can be utilized in a computer lab activity or as a weekly assignment that is carried out at home. With any educational blog the teacher should set the tone of the overall activity to be completed on the blog but the students, who are much more versed with technology, should be allowed to explore the extent to which the activities can be completed. The integration of blogs into educational settings needs to be gradual as to not overburden the teacher or student with learning to navigate the blog and the task. Educational uses of blogs are limitless. They can be used for classroom communication that provides updates on classroom activities and upcoming events. They can serve as a communication tool between parents, students and teachers. Teachers can post weekly assignments to be completed and submitted online. Blogs can serve as teacher to teacher content communication by posting activities and questions about standards. These are just a few ideas for the educational uses of blogs. Like is said in the beginning that the uses and their value are limited only to the imagination.
Educational Features of Blogs
As far as educational uses I find the feature that allows me to preview the comments before posting the best feature. I have has websites that allowed comments where students posted inappropriate comments anonymously. This always led to the discontinued use of the website. With this feature of the blog I can preview the comments and grade them from my e-mail account. Once the individual comments have been graded I can post all or just a few for a classroom discussion. This is one of the many privacy components that allow the blog to be educational friendly and kid safe. Another feature that stands out to me is the gadget button. From pictures to polls there are many way to make your blog kid attractive. This component along with a little imagination and creativity will turn your blog into a place your students want to visit. There is a future for educational blogs. I know there will be for my students and I hope the same for other educators as well. My caution for future educational bloggers would be to make sure what you ask your students to do on the blog is meaningful. Do not assign work that purpose is to make them sit at the computer and complete at task so you can say you are integrating technology. Like classroom busy work the students will know exactly what it is and resent the fact that they have to do it.
The Blogging Experience
When I first learned that I was going to be keeping up a blog page I was a little annoyed. My only experience with them was that they were a new form of tabloid journalism spreading gossip about celebrities. I didn’t have much spare time to communicate through cell phones or e-mail much less wasting time gossiping on a blog page. Through the assigned readings on blogs and the blogging requirements I was able to broaden my understanding of them and open my eyes to their potential. Blogging has many applications, some are financial, some are for awareness, some are very personal, and some are educational. At the present I am not very interested in any application other than educational. As a math teacher my uses may be more limited than other subjects but I do see blogging as a way to create more communication among my math students and it allows me a way to incorporate writing into my curriculum. I feel to create writing and communication opportunities through a medium in which my students are very comfortable will entice them to participate in these types of activities and experience greater success than with classroom pencil and paper. I have already begun setting up my classroom blog to incorporate weekly journal writings and discussion questions for my future students.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Reflections on Project Based Learning (Blog #11)
The project based learning (PBL) activity was a real eye opener. The development through online collaboration made me feel like this was way too much work to put into any activity, but in reality though face to face collaboration would be most likely way to create a plan for a PBL activity. In the end though I found that the budget project we created would go a long way to show practical uses of basic math to our students. Most of the time when we as math teachers are asked “When am I ever going to use this?” we find an answer with a career orientation. That answer is usually countered with “Well I am never going to be that.” The budgeting project answers that question in a way that no student can counter. All of them are going to be on their own and spending their own money. Even though the project started with students choosing a career path and looking for the amount of continued education needed for that career, one of our drawbacks was that not all students want to go to college. We discussed that these students can complete extra research into their chosen career and creating a budget on a high school dropout’s or high school graduate’s expected income. The project will help students see the reality and consequences of their choices. My group worked well together to help each other understand each step of the project in order for the group plan to come together as one complete project.
Learn more about Project Based Learning in the article
GETTING A GRIP ON PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: THEORY, CASES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
by Michael M. Grant
Project Based Learning Proposal
Student Generated Budget
Blog Journal Entry
Student Journal Response
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