Student Blog

Since creating this blog for myself, I have really started to wonder how my students would react to using a blog themselves. I began to ponder different ways for them to use this piece of technolgy. I want to make sure students are truly getting something out of its use instead of just another item to check off their to do list for the day. As a teacher, I like to have fun teaching, and as a student I want the same thing. I began to think of an easy way to start them on the process of using a blog. The first thing that came to mind was using it to communicate basic skills and thoughts for the day. A modified message board if you will.

I have talked the idea over with my assistant since he knows how I operate my classroom and how the students behave. Tomorrow, I will explain to the students what I will be doing and how this is will be set up. Every morning my students have morning work to complete to start the day off with review and get their brains juiced up for the day. After they finish their morning work, I will give them the opportunity to log into my class webpage, click on the link to the blog, and have students read the latest message I wrote to them. This might be a question I ask them to see if they can explain a skill, I might just have open conversations with them about what they like most in teaching, etc. I want them to know they have a say in what happens in the classroom (to a point).

Hopefully by the next post I will have some feedback to write to you about!

First Post!

I created with blog for a class I am taking in grad school. I am to use this blog as a portal to express 21st century learning I notice in the classroom, ideas I have, articles I find interesting, connections I make to class discussions, and even use this as a place to post questions I have about technology in education. I plan to write in this twice a week, and document any activities my class has done, and list any new sources I might have found. I hope, reader, you find use in my postings and can learn with me as I delve into the world of 21st century skills.

A site I use on a regular basis in my classroom is IXL.com. My county has subscribed to this site as a math practice resource for students. They select their grade level and a list of topics appear. The student then selects the topic and objective they want to work with. The computer then asks questions until the student has "mastered" the skill. This is a great resource because it differentiates for each child. As a student gets a problem wrong, the difficulty of the next problem will decrease. There is also a place for an explanation so the student can understand where he/she went wrong. The computer automatically assigns problems that are similar to the one missed until the students gets several correct. This allows students that are struggling to get extra practice, and those that are achieving at grade level have opportunities for enrichment. I would highly suggest writing a grant to have access to this wonderful resource.