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As a second grade teacher, I could see a connections blog being beneficial to my students on many levels. With my students being younger the connections blog could be a first experience for many of them to blog. Using a blog to share connections would also save time in our class discussions as so many times a connection a student has with a book can end up turning into a five minute story...which then inspires another to have a connection...As a teacher it is difficult at times to balance the need for students to share their connections and knowing it is time to move on. The blog would allow every student to have the opportunity to make their voice heard, while also allowing practice for their writing and reading skills.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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Okay, so I jumped the gun today and set up a class blog. My kids loved it! I began the lesson gathering background knowledge from my students on what they knew about blogs and blogging. From there I modeled to them how to get to our class blog. My school district has blogging as a feature we can add to our class websites. I had two of our laptop carts checked out, so every student was able to be blogging at the same time. Today, my class blogged about the connections they had with the book we had read aloud, Skippy Jon Jones. I have the blog set up so that all posts are emailed to me and I can than approve them to be published or deny. I did talk with my principal today though as I am concerned about the ease it would be for a student to put in someone elses name as a blogger. The blog site does not require a password for bloggers to post....they simply type their name (first name only) and their post. Since I have set the blog up so that nothing is published until I approve it, I am not worried about something innappropriate being posted. I am worried about a student using someone elses name and my not being able to track who actually wrote something...I am curious to hear what suggestion my principal comes back with; as this is our districts blog of choice.
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear that your blog worked out well. Because of the young age of your students, have you come across any difficulties when trying to communicate their ideas through keyboarding? I teach 6th grade, and there are a select few students who have found it diffcult to express their ideas when typing. For the students who do find it easy to use blogs in your class, what type of policies could you enforce to ensure that students' identities would remain obtainable when they give their opinion? I know that on my blog, no matter what the student may attempt to get away with, their full name always shows up after their comment because they have to log in before using the blog. This login includes using a username and a password. Does your blog require this as well?
ReplyDeleteHello. I do find that the student identity issue is a challenge. I spoke with the computer tech at my school, and she said why not give them a user name using your school name. Example- I teach at Madison Park. My students can sign in as Madison Park 1, Madison Park 2, and so on. Assign each of your students your school name and a number, or name of school and a letter, etc. Hope this helps! The computer tech said that this has been successful in our school and many schools in our district.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your ideas, thank you! Unfortunately the blog that our district has set up for us to use, does not require any type of password...which means even if I give a student a handle to use, I cannot keep another student from typing in and using another users handle/identity. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the district tech department will create logging into the blog as an option. For the mean time, I can be thankful that the students are only in second grade and thankfully their innocence has thus far kept them honest in regards to the blog.
ReplyDeleteAs far as students not ready to express themselves on the keyboard, I have found that if they write out their response on paper or a white board prior to going to the computer to type, they are more successful. Granted they are in second grade--not every sentence is correct, and many fragments and spelling errors are frequently added to the blog...however, these are all teachable moments and gets them practicing their writing=) And my personal favorite is seeing the students that are reluctant to write in class, willing to express their thoughts on the keyboard. Plus, for my students that struggle with dyslexia, typing out their words helps them immensely.
Using the blog as a place where they can share personal stories related to the lesson a good idea. I have the samething happen to me in my classes. We'll talk about Greece and then I'll have students that want to share a story about a trip they went to in Greece or they may have family that lives in Greece. I enjoy listening to their personal stories but sometimes it takes up a big chunk of the class period. A blog could be a perfect place for them to share their personal stories about a place or topic we discuss in class. The students could read eachother's personal stories and make comments.
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