Week 4 Blog
- What do you and Ms. Yollis have in common? What are the implications of social learning software for your classroom?
- Will your classroom environment support learning through a class blog? How?
- Did Ms. Yollis make the case for why the role of the teacher must change?
- How can you prepare yourself to facilitate a class blog for your students, parents, or colleagues?
- What motivates K-6th grade children to learn through a class blog?
I think Ms. Yollis and myself share the desire to make learning fun and exciting, as well as promote the idea that we are always learning, even on summer break! Ms. Yollis made the blog available to her students and they commented and participated in it during their free time, practicing their reading and writing skills without even realizing it. The idea that learning requires you to sit at a desk with your nose in a book is antiquated and can be both daunting and discouraging to early learners. Though this isn't to say that you won't need to sometimes buckle down in your learning careers, it doesn't have to be all of the time, or even the majority of the time.
I honestly had never even entertained the idea of having something like a blog for my students to participate and learn in but after reading about Ms. Yollis' experiences I now am excited to be able to implement something like this in my future classroom. I really liked the idea of how you could use the blog for practically any subject whether it be language arts or history, even science. Allowing my students to research historical figures and then have conversations with each other is fantastic! I would very likely implement something similar to this, as well as maybe have it be a sort of journal for my students. I really want to implement the idea of practicing gratitude with my future students and having them write in it every day. This could be something that they do first thing in the morning as part of their routine whether we are physically in the classroom or distance learning.
I think the easiest way to facilitate a class blog for my students, parents, or colleagues would be to send out a letter at the beginning of the year letting them know my idea for the blog, which platform I would be using, and how everyone can get involved. Thinking back to when I was in K-12, trying to implement something like this it would be near impossible because not everyone had access to a computer at home and using laptops in the classroom just wasn't a thing. In today's school setting however, it seems to be the norm to use a laptop or tablet in class and have those available for students to take home so I think this would be fairly easy to implement given that.
What I think motivates K-6th grade students to learn through a class blog is that it gives them a medium not only to participate academically, but also to communicate and engage with their peers, even if they are at home. One spot I ran into while reading that gave me some trouble was the idea of using social media with students, but once I read about Gaggle and discovered that Schoology was considered a social media platform it put me at ease. I am all for students, parents, and even colleagues having a hub to collaborate and communicate with one another, but am not particularly for utilizing Facebook and the like.
Bethany, I totally agree. We hear so many negative things about social media, I was concerned about letting students post online through my classroom. After reading and watching many of Mrs. Yollis' blog posts, I realized that social media is a part of our reality. Blogging offers a safe way to introduce kids to concepts of internet safety and to engage them - both with their lessons, and with the global community. I LOVED the mini video showing how excited the kids were when they solved the mystery classroom using clues from google maps. What a fun assignment to connect kids in two different cities! These posts and videos totally sparked my imagination for new ideas for fun lessons, like a geocaching field trip. Bethany, I also really liked that kids can post as animals or historical figures, and involve their families in the blog. This was really inspiring to think outside the box of the classroom walls.
ReplyDeleteBethany, I agree that Facebook and others alike should not be use as a platform. Yes, I agree that a blog will help students not only academically but also become more social with their classmates. Communicating now has become easier, I know a lot of kids who are fortunate to have a tablet but I feel like we need to also take into consideration the kids who do not and how that would look like. I would hope they can take the tablet from school to their homes every night if possible and on weekends so they can continue with their blogging and learning. I never thought of using a blog either but I love that we as teachers can use a blog for any subject, how awesome is that!
DeleteEm, I totally agree with you that blogging does introduce the kids to a safe environment and how to navigate the internet in a safe way. The fact that these kids are in communication with other kids in other parts of the world is awesome!
DeleteBethany, I agree that social media can be a very dangerous outlet for the kids especially the little ones who don't have any experience with social media platforms but the blogging platforms that teachers use usually in their classroom to promote learning and collaboration among the children in class are usually safe platforms. These platforms used by teachers are usually designed with children's and parents safety in mind, they are usually secure and have tight security measures such as filters for slang words, curse words and many more. The blogging like Mrs. Yollis mentioned will teach students how to use social media in a professional manner and in a very well engaged, fun manner to enhance their learning , communication and collaboration skills.
DeleteEm, it is definitely a great way to introduce them to internet safety. Blogging can also teach students to be mindful of what they post and how they communicate with their peers. I loved how Mrs. Yollis had a whole section dedicated on how to post and comment. Including "add a compliment" when commenting is such a great point. Blogging strengthens the classroom community and allows students to relate to their peers and find common interest. The creative assignments Mrs. Yollis included are something I would love to incorporate if I ever used a blog. Not only does it relate to the lesson/curriculum it is also introducing children to different types of writing styles.
DeleteWhat Mrs. Yolli and I have in common is that we both what our students to be engaged. If our students are not engaged in the process then they are not learning nor understanding anything being taught in the classroom. I would love to integrate a blogging system in my future classroom. I think it is awesome idea to get the children involved and engaged and the best thing of all the blogging can be used in all of the subjects. I use to think that having access to technology especially phones can be harmful for the student's learning but after reading Mrs. Yolli's page and having read the other articles it changed my mind. If I want to start a blog with my future students I will definitely need to talk about it with my Principal and when that is okay'd by him/her I need to sent out a letter to the parents explaining what my blog will consist of. Show them my past blogs and/or Mrs. Yolli's as an example so the parents can see what it will become and why it is important for them to blog. Give them a lot of details and information on the background of blogging and how it can enhance their child's learning experience in the classroom and outside of the classroom. I think what motivates K-6th grade children through the blogging is first and foremost they can use a tablet or a laptop which to them is a "cool" thing and just knowing that they can eventually blog with other children around the world is pretty awesome! Making blogging something fun they get to do everyday at school will eventually have them blogging to each other on their own free time just like how Mrs. Yolli's students did. The children can be creative with their blogging like in Mrs. Yolli's class when the kids became a historical figure like George Washington for example. I thought that was pretty awesome and wonderful to see her students really engaged in the learning process and having fun while doing it. As an adult I am learning a lot through my peers and their blogging so it just emphasizes that we should incorporate blogging in our classrooms for our students.
ReplyDeleteYes , Jacki I feel that every teacher's goal should be to engage students in the learning process whether it's a hands on learning project or using a blogging platform to encourage learning and collaboration because now we are in a technology geared world where every kid know how to use a computer, and iPad or a phone. Not only kids can be involved in the blogging platform , parents also can be involved and informed of their children 's leaning topics in school. Children don' t need to be in the same room anymore for them to have access to a file or something, files can be uploaded on their digital locker and shared and worded on collaboratively so the need to be in the same room all the time doesn't' exist anymore especially now during distance learning. Using platforms such as blogging or schoology.com can assist young students in becoming communicative and confident in using English as well as the internet . As Mrs. Yollis mentioned that using these platforms will make learning fun and engaging and students will actually learn something because they are active participants in the learning process not just passive individuals listening to information being thrown at them, this engaging process makes a lot of difference in the learning process.
DeleteYes, these are all really good points, Jacki and Maggy. I'm excited about the prospect of blogging in my class, but I do think getting all the appropriate permissions from your Principal and parents is really important. It's also critical to "sell" the idea of the blog to parents. I know some of them are really resistant about technology in the classroom, especially for little ones. Jacki, your earlier comments to Bethany about equity are also important to keep in mind. If kids do not all have access to computers at home, then I think it's important to keep blogging as just a classroom activity. Hopefully, one of the benefits of this past year of distance learning will be better access to technology for all students and more appreciation for how it can help engage students.
DeleteBethany, I also never thought of using a blog in my class! It was something I thought would only work for middle school and high school students. However, there are plenty of topics and activities that can be used for elementary students. It might require more assistance and time but it will be worth it. Mrs. Yollis does an amazing job at explaining her expectations and blog etiquette. Also, by providing various videos and examples the parents can know how to better assist their children with their blog assignments. I think it's important for the teacher to state their purpose in using a blog and be intentional with the blog assignments. There are many parents who work most of the day or there may be a child who does not have anyone at home who can assist them. Parents may may look at it as a tedious project or a poor attempt to integrate technology. I think if the teachers plan on explaining the benefits of blogging and how it assists in peer learning parent's would have a more positive reaction towards the blog. I definitely think sending home a parent letter with the specifics of the blog would be a great step towards getting them involved. I also thought it was a great idea that Mrs. Yollis got the parents involved by encouraging them to comment on students post. I'm sure the student's were motivated to post their best work and felt excited that an adult was showing interest in their ideas.
ReplyDelete