Continuing from the theme of integrating technology, I have an idea of how I can utilize the technological skill of blogging within my classroom, see below:
I am a firm believer in integrating new and interesting things in educating my students. Yes, at times like now, I get really tired; and I hear sly statements from students about how dumb the assignments seem. The negatives statements simply derive from a fear of trying something new. Students love when they get the hang of a new experience; it becomes fun when they realize they can do something. I teach 9th and 10th grade writing. Research has been the height of my innovation of technology. Presently, my students hold class forums to develop their own newsletter themes and topics to cover in their newsletter. Their first newsletter they decided upon their topics first. The first topic stressed a student's issue with the school's tardy policy. This thought streamed an array of school based issues my students were having. Their present newsletter's theme began with deciding upon a theme when a conversation sparked about a teen couple fighting in the halls "Teen Issues". Teen issues began to surface all around the room. What my students don't know is how this course has sparked a blog topic in my own thoughts.I think I will develop a blog site using this first question, "Your first newsletter was based upon issues you think the school has. Your present newsletter is based on issues you think teens have. What is the difference in school issues and teen issues? How are these issues alike; how are they different? Who do these issues affect? Why?" The purpose of this blog would be to teach students critical thinking skills, conventions of writing, and to integrate technology. My students are learning to embrace challenges for what they are 'education'. I think they may gripe at the idea of something else to do but once they realize it is an opportunity to converse about things they practically love to talk about anyway then they will gladly accept the challenge. They already know that if they gossip in my class, it must be clean and well constructed in their writing. It may not make the cut but they sure try to make it sound good! In conclusion, I am expecting two or three students to ask me if we will be able to link their newsletter so that it can be viewed online. I'll need to learn how to do that too because I'm predicting that request:). Hopefully, in my class blogging will become the "New Writing Genre" (p. 28).
What do you think about this idea?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI often allow my writing students to write about topics that they choose. In doing this, we offer them the opportunity to be fluent in the topic, therefore focusing on the given writing skills. Your idea nicely incorporates some of Marzano's & Pickering's researched based teaching strategies into this new technology.
Nicely done!