I have been trying to think of a way in which I will use a blog in my classroom, and I think it would be good to use for homework help. The blog would be a forum for students to ask and answer one another's questions, as well as recieve input from me. It would be far more of a place for students to interact about content than for them to showcase their work.
Using a blog in this way could enhance my lessons by giving students more confidence as a result of giving them a resource that can give them a better understanding of the material. I teach high school Spanish, and while many students catch on to concepts (especially grammar) exceptionally quickly, many of my students need to ask lots of questions and need things explained repeatedly with lots of examples. With this tool, even outside-of-class extra help could still have the benefit of one student's question providing an answer for many.
Great... you certainly have hit upon a very important element and facet of blogging: developing students' self-confidence. I think that you will find students will enjoy blogging and will feel a sense of ownership and control over their own learning! It's a great feeling for students!
ReplyDeleteDr. L.
Hello Trina,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great idea. I am also considering using a blog to post home work assignments. You might want to consider an issue that was brought to my attention some time ago. Some parents do not allow their children access to the home computer. I have even had some cases where there isn’t a computer at home. The cases are few but it is better to have a back up plan for those situations. If I give a homework assignment which involves computer work (researching or word processing) I always give students to another option. For example they can do research with a text book or news paper and hand write the report instead. It’s just a suggestion, I hope it helps.
Thanks,
John Medeiros
Trina,
ReplyDeleteUsing a blog in your Spanish class could be a great thing! You could really see how the students can interact in Spanish. You could even have them do a translation assignment. The only problem that I can foresee you having is with all of the sites out there that translate things into Spanish or English. I would just make sure that they know the consequences if they try to use those sites. They are not always in the correct dialect, but blogging is definitely a step in the right direction.
Hi Trina,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea. I want to use my blogging area initially for posting assignments and homework. Blogging is very new to me, but the more I do it, the better I like it. I know for me, and for most teachers out there, we must model, model, model for our students. I teach 4th grade and they definitely need explicit direction. As a recommendation to you (this is for me as well,)direct modeling of how to use blogging for educational purposes, and not social avenues, may be a challenge. Many students already use blogging for social issues, and it may be challenging to persuade them to use it for education. You will need to get crafty; but you can do it. I like the picture; it's good to put a face with a name. I need to do that!
Trina,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of using a blog for posting assignments. I had a website set up for my students this year for this purpose and for the purpose of posting test dates as I teach third grade and they have so many tests it is pften difficult to keep up with what is going on. My biggest problem was being able to keep up with posting to the site as often as I should between teaching, planning, grading, meetings, and being there for my students. Does anyone else feel that this could be a problem? Or is it just something else to plan into the day for organization?
I will be teaching second grade next year and I am starting to wonder how relevant a blog would be for that age group, although it would be great to be able to get them and their families onboard using one.
Minty
I really think your ideia of a blog as homework help center is very good. It should work very well not only with language students, but with all students.
ReplyDeleteMaria
Trina you just really opened up some amazing doors for me. The wonders a blog can do for parents, students, and teachers. Even though my school has PowerGrade it still doesn't show their daily homework. Students at our school are required to use and fill out their agendas, but only about 75% of the agendas make it home. Most my students who are failing are those with missing assignments so the wonders a homework blog will do to help parents, and child(ren) to stay on task. To think about the wonders it will do for those students who are sick or on a family vacation. Get online go to the homework blog, if they have any questions, their classmates or myself will be able to help. I am very excited to use this next year in my class. Awesome insight thank you!
ReplyDelete