I have yet to try blogging in my classroom but I am very intrigued. I teach 8th grade math, ELA, and study skills to the same group of twelve students. They are in my classroom most of the day and we build a definite sense of community. Even with the community we build, I have several students who are terrified to share their work out loud with their classmates. I believe blogging may be a great tool that will assist them in sharing in a different way.
Some of the ways I envision using a blog in my classroom is journal responses to prompts related to the stories we are reading. I can see my students being excited to respond on the post and anxiously wait for someone to respond. My students like to share their ideas, but sometimes are very impulsive and do not always want to listen to others. In this controlled environment, not only can they share their ideas, but also will have to attentively "listen" or read their classmate's posts so they can appropriately respond. I would definitely start small and once they have mastered posting and responding withing a controlled "class only" environment, then we could expand to a larger audience.
This is just one idea, but I can see how the ideas are endless and you can do as much or as little as you would like to!
I am interested in any great blogging ideas to use in a math classroom.
Cheryl, Do you see that your implusive students write poorly just to be done with the assignment? Is their work medicore at best?
ReplyDeleteFor math could you post an extended response question where small groups work together to come up with an answer; then the rest of the class can ask questions or explain different ways of solving the problem.
Yes, my students are always trying to finish work or just not do it at all and their work is mediocre.
DeleteI do like the extended response question idea for math. Thanks.
Blogging is a great way for students to show what they know. I can see you are passionate about using blogs in the classroom. Your challenge is the make students feel successful at blogging. Maybe, you can do some teambuilders exercises to ease the anxiety. Also, you can use a rubric to ensure all students make an excellent grade. I know this blog will be successful and I look forward to visiting your blog again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions. I think a rubric is a fantastic idea!
DeleteI think utilizing the blog as a means for your students to post reading responses is a great idea. This would hopefully get more of your students actively involved. It sounds as if this would also motive and provide confidence for your students. Would you encourage them to ask each other questions, or would you start by simply having them post a reinforcing comment? I think realizing you need to start out slowly and small will end up helping in the long run. Good luck!
ReplyDelete- Michelle