Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Thing 3: Importance of Blogging

A blog would be a very useful tool to use in the classroom.  Some ideas that I have about utilizing a blog in my elementary school setting are:
  • sharing ideas and lesson plans with other teachers at my school and around the country
  • sharing motivational tips and anecdotes to raise spirits
  • communicating with parents about homework assignments, class activities, and other public information
  • posting exceptional classroom work
  • linking with a class in a different state and having my students become pen pals
I especially like the ideas of posting student's work.  I think that student's work should be posted all over your classroom to make them feel pride in their work.  However, there is only so much space in a classroom.  So, a blog would be a great place to post work.  You could even have a weekly blog: Great Work of the Week!!  I think the children would be really excited to get on the blog every week to see who did the great work of the week. Of course, you would have to eventually put everyone's work up there so no one's feelings got hurt:]
    While in the teacher education program, this blog could be used as a tool to communicate with other student teachers about their experiences in teacher education.

    KBearden:]
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    4 comments:

    1. Theresa GreenFebruary 2, 2011 at 4:00 PM

      Before we began this class I really only considered blogging to be a personal hobby. As soon as we began talking about incorporating it into the class, it was like a light bulb went off in my head. I completely agree with your ideas of how to utilize blogging in elementary classroom. It is easy, fun, and will be a great way to effectively communicate with others. Now, I think our biggest challenge will be getting parents involved.

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    2. Kala BurchFebruary 8, 2011 at 11:06 AM

      I love your idea of having the students become pen pals with students in other schools or states. I had only thought of blogging as a way to communicate with students in secondary schools, but it is also a great way to communicate with parents and even get younger children involved with educational technology.

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    3. KBeardenFebruary 11, 2011 at 5:53 PM

      Theresa, yes it will be hard to get parents involved, but I think as teachers, we have to take the first step. Most parents like communicating via email, and I think if we send links to the classroom blog and continue to post blogs at least weekly, it will become a routine that everyone enjoys.

      Kala, I always wanted a pen pal when I was younger, but it always seemed like so much of a hassle to write the letter, find an envelope, find a stamp, find someone's address, wait for them to mail a letter back, etc. In today's world of instantaneous gratification, a blog could be a great way to connect kids to other kids around the country and even the world. All the students would have to do is sign on to the blog, type their message, and they could have a reply within minutes. I think it is a good tool and I can't wait to use it in my classroom.

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    4. MichelleFebruary 11, 2011 at 8:57 PM

      At first when we started this class I was not excited about blogging, but now I can see all the benefits we can get from blogging like help from other teachers outside our school system. This makes it seem so much more important to incorporate blogging into our everyday lifestyle.

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