So far this semester, the most valuable thing I have learned is about blogging. I had not used it with my students but have found blogs a useful tool when doing research for myself. As I have stated before, I looked at many blogs that had to do with lesson planning, trying to find better ways to teach an old concept. I have found many clever, creative ideas from teachers all over the world. Also, our school has used blogs to promote writing enjoyment during 5th grade reading book clubs. After doing a little more digging into this area, I find that these web 2.0 tools are more popular than I had expected, especially in the K-5 classroom. I definitely plan to incorporate the use of blogs with the students on my special education case load. In my searches, I have found two interesting blog sites regarding reading and writing. I found these sites to be a useful place for students. The Kid’s blog through the National Geographic website has to do with reading. It gives students the opportunity to share books they would recommend to their peers. This naturally lends itself to working on writing summaries. Other students have the opportunity to learn what books interest others and promotes reading motivation. The second site is about learning to use blogging to increase writing skills and motivate students to become better writers. It allows students to have their peers edit their writing. As I read some of the blog entries from the students, it was clear that this form of communication was clearly motivating for young writers. My research paper is about how incorporating technology into the curriculum can motivate students in the area of writing. I will definitely use these blogging sites as a point of reference in my paper! I would have added some more interesting sites but I was truly spending too much time exploring! I hope you find these and other sites interesting and convinces you to incorporate these tools into your teaching as well!
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/
http://itc.blogs.com/thewriteweblog/2004/11/who_says_elemen.html
Cindy, it is pleasing for me to know that you are finding that blogging is a great experience. You have close contact with the technique in your school and is do research on it. This, though quite new, is quickly becoming a norm for many. I am hoping your experience with blogging keeps getting better as you try to put it into practice. This is usually the best way to become proficient at these skills. Keep exploring and you will benefit greatly from it. I am also making every effort to become proficient too.
ReplyDeleteLorna