Blogs can be an extremely effective tool for people of all
ages, including elementary school students. I currently co-teach in a fifth
grade classroom, and feel that the addition of a classroom weblog would provide
students, parents and teachers with a place where they can communicate
effectively. A blog site would provide support for students when completing
assignments, and allow parents to monitor exactly what is going on in the
classroom each day. Teachers can efficiently deliver instructions and
assignments.
In my own class, I could set up a blog that has the work
from the day posted on it along with the homework. This could give parents of
students who might struggle the ability to go back and reinforce the concepts
from the day at home. Also, if students are absent for any reason, they could
easily log on and check the daily assignments or homework. If students have
difficulty or are unclear about expectations, they could post questions and
comments to the teachers and each other.
Creating classroom blogs in elementary education can help
make a positive home-to-school connection where all parties are involved. Teachers
can make sure that everyone is informed about school requirements, functions
and events. Students might also be in contact with one another more frequently,
therefore developing more positive relationships in the classroom. I look
forward to incorporating blogs into my classroom and look forward to seeing the
results.
Welcome to the Caribbean David. I am pleased that you have decided to make optimum use of your homeroom session. The insights you provided are valuable to creating class collaboration camaraderie and ownership.
ReplyDeleteI am sure students will be eager to share their findings.
Michele Beache.
Thanks for checking out my site and the positive feedback. Any outlet I can use to help create positive relationships in the classroom is a plus for me. At this age students start to struggle with communicating with one another. Hopefully the weblog can provide positive relationships with the students.
ReplyDeleteDavid
ReplyDeleteYou have great ideas on incorporating blog use into your classroom. Collaborating among the students is a great a concept to have. Having the students collaborate with other students in their grade level or even higher might be a concept to incorporate into the blog also. The key to the success of blogs is communication between the student, parents and teachers.
David,
ReplyDeleteUsing a blog as a means of communication between school and home and collaboration among your students is a great idea. I used my website last year as a place to post what skills we were covering each week as well as homework assignments. I had several parents tell me that they loved being able to get that information from the site if their child left their agenda book at school. Positive collaboration is something that students definitely need to learn and it's also something that they need to get used to doing. Online communication is already a common means of talking, which makes it a life skill that students need to become familiar with doing well and coherently. I am sure that the incorporation of a blog into your classroom will prove to be successful.
David,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of blogs on the elementary level. I will have to incorporate this idea in my classroom news letter. I do believe in communicating with my parents. I know some parents would rather access the internet during their work day especially the parents who work in corporate world.
The website Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a collection of education, business and government leaders who want to see children succeed in school and beyond. The group works to ensure that students receive all the tools necessary to achieve their full potential. The site calls for students to actively engage in projects and real world experiences to demonstrate mastery of concepts. It's good to see an emphasis on real world application rather than just studying for a test. The site offers a tremendous amount of information for interested viewers.
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to see that the site did not have a specific section for parents. Parents play a crucial role in the development of children and many would appreciate any tips available to help their children become well-rounded. Although it is geared towards helping K-12 students, the layout of the website and information available does not seem to be child friendly. The website uses rich vocabulary and has few visuals.
The site also discussed 21st Century Professional Development. This is a way to help support teachers in delivering the information effectively to students using 21st century technology. Many districts have Professional Development, but they do not always teach teachers how to keep students up to par with the global competition in education. Moving forward, hopefully support is provided across the state and nation to integrate new technologies into the classroom.
Being that this partnership is in place, teachers and students in New Jersey will be directly impacted. There is not only a regional, but also a national goal that has been set. Teachers are going to be held accountable to use current strategies and tools to teach children. Children are going to be accountable for achieving requirements that apply to school and the real world. Technology has given us an outlet to knowledge all over the world, and teachers and students should use the tools, just as employees and businesses do.