Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom
I teach three blocks of 5th grade math, and one block of social studies. Many of my students and parents do not have access at home to the internet. My district is opposed to assigning homework that involves technology because of the lack of access the majority of our families have. I would like to use my blog as an ongoing bulletin board for my students and parents. Utilizing a blog in my classroom will help build a community in my room as well as give parents another network to stay connected with their child at school. I find that 5th graders begin to become independent from their parents and as a result communication breaks down between the school and the parents. Parents are sometimes not aware of activities or projects that are going on at school. A classroom blog will give me the opportunity to provide parents another avenue to stay involved in their son or daughter’s school work and activities.
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Bryan,
ReplyDeleteAs far as grades, we have a great application called powerschool. It allows students and parents to monitor progress and assignments on a 24/7 basis. This is the second year using this application and I have found students and parents alike are paying attention.
My administration doesn't allow homework in computer class for the same reasons. One suggestion might be dedicate time at the end of a class for students to complete assignments on-line. Often times, libraries will allow citizens to access the internet.
You mentioned that you have a limited number of computers, maybe you can create assignments that can be done in small groups.
As far as reaching out to the parents, maybe you can create an open house and invite the parents to come and understand todays technology.
Having similar problems in our district with some of the students not having the ability to access computers or the Internet, I did something with a blog last year that a lot of the students enjoyed. It wasn't a mandatory thing for them to read but a lot of them found time in their computer class to check it out. I put daily "braindrops" on my blog last year. These consisted of a variety of interesting facts about science, math, and social studies. A lot of it was trivia type information but I would hear the students talking about these braindrops during recess and lunch. It got the students thinking and also gave them a chance to learn how to post comments on my blog the correct and safe way.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very cool way to interact with parents, but be careful on the settings you have in regards to anyone posting comments to it. In my blog, I have to approve comments before they are posted so as to deter any unwanted or inappropriate comments:)
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ReplyDeleteTeri,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. Access to computers is a big obstacle that I will have to overcome. The group project is definitely one way to overcome the limited access. Time is another obstacle. With such high stakes placed on student achievement on standardized tests, my administration would have a hard time with me cutting the curriculum to access the internet.
L. Paisley,
ReplyDeleteI really like the "Brain Drop" idea. I teach three blocks of fifth grade math and could put this idea to use. Thanks!
sthompsonpc,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning about the settings, that is a good idea.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying about a time obstacle. Let me ponder a little more. If anything else I find myself thinking about ways to incorporate technology in the classroom, due to this assignment, every free moment.
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI found most of my braindrops at http://www.fi.edu/learn/braindrops.php, however this is mostly for science. There were some math related ones every now and then. The great thing was you could search the archives if you were looking for something in particular. You just have to look around!
Even though your district does not encourage using technology because it is not readily available. I would still encourage you to start your blog. Perhaps this will encourage parents to use the internet at home, or perhaps even work to keep up with their students. We have a website called Edline that students and parents can use to view grades and lesson plans, I know most of my students use this website, however the parents do not use it nearly as much. Hopefully I can encourage parents to do so.
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