Blogging in the Classroom

Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs
By Sara Kajder and Glen Bull

This article explains how blogging can help students with their reading and writing skills. There was a reference to a study that found that about half of 9th graders in 35 major cities in the U.S. read at a 6th grade level or lower. This reality is due to the fact that students do not have authentic experiences in writing. Most of what students write are strictly for assignments which are of little or no meaning to them. Although technology such as blogging is not the cure-all for this grim reality, it can help. A blogg is essentially an avenue for self expression. The article also states that when a students has an audience, then that student engages him/herself more in the writing. Blogs also help the discussion go further with the ability to comment on peer work. Another positive thing about blogging is that students receive an immediate sense of accomplishment because the blog entries are immediately posted on the web. The article was filled with different ways of incorporating blogs in the classroom.

I do plan on using blogs in my future classroom. One way I could use it is to have students post pictures on their blogs along with descriptions of those pictures. Another way I would use blog posts would be to integrate it with a book that my class may be reading. If I were to have assigned a chapter out of a book I would ask my students to discuss and comment on what they thought about the chapter. This way students have an outlet to discuss the book instead of just reading the chapter and keeping all of their thoughts to themselves. I think that this type of blog activity will help my students retain more of what they read. I am sure that many classroom discussions go unfinished because of time restraints but having blogs allow student discussions to go further because students can go home and post anything they want.

Writing Can Be Fun

The Write Motivation: Using the Internet to Engage Students in Writing across the Curriculum
By Dennis Rowen

Dennis Rowen writes that students make more of an effort in their writing when someone other than just the teacher will be reading it. Rowen encourages teachers to use emailing, instant messaging, and online publishing to motivate their students to write. There were many examples in the article but I have chosen to elaborate on one of my favorites. The activity is called Monster Exchange. In the article, a class of second grade students from the United States were assigned to create a monster and do the best they could at describing what it looked like. Those descriptions were then sent to a classroom in the United Kingdom. It was up to the students in the U.K. to draw a picture of what they thought the monster looked like by using the descriptions sent to them. Once the students were done drawing the monsters they were sent back to the students in the United States. Doing a simple and fun activity like this makes it fun for students to write. This example in particular also helps students with their descriptive writing.

After reading this article it made me very motivated to go on with my studies to become a teacher. Using the Internet as a tool can make anything in the curriculum more exciting and engaging for the students. There were many more examples of how to use the Internet as a writing tool for students in the article. Another good example comes from the Scholastic web site. Students can go online and read a short book then have the opportunity to type in their questions that they have for the characters of that book. The students receive instant responses to their questions. Even though it is all rigged, it must feel so exciting for that student to think that they are actually exchanging messages with the characters. Doing activities like this allows the students to not worry so much about their writing but at the same time it allows the students to practice their writing, and practice is always good for anything that you want to perfect. Using the Internet makes things more engaging for the students. When I become a teacher I will definitely take advantage of all the resources that are available out on the Internet.

Breaking the Barriers

Technology in Ethiopian Schools: Connecting Children From Various Cultures
By Judit Szente

The project of integrating technology in Ethiopian schools was a result of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This project was originated to use technology as a means to improve primary education in Ethiopia and was led by Dr. James L. Hoot of the University of Buffalo. It all began in 2002 when two schools in the capital of Ethiopia were chosen to be a part of this project. These two schools were chosen because they were the poorest and had the least support. The typical teacher to student ration in these schools 1:60. A third school was later added because of the success of the project. The USAID provided these three schools with computer labs equipped with: 32 computers, printers, scanners, projectors, digital cameras, camcorders, and Internet access. Teachers were also provided with computer training and technology coordinators were trained so that to ensure ongoing support for the lab. After getting accustomed to working with technology computers were no longer intimidating to these country side people. Teachers became eager to present their projects and therefore students became eager to learn.

In the school year of 2004-2005 the students at these schools were assigned to create a power point presentation about themselves. The projects included everything from their families, hobbies, homes, culture, and traditions. Having these students work on such projects really provided them with the skills they need to be able to work in the 21st century. My favorite part of this whole articles was that a classroom in New York was also assigned to do an identical project with the intention to share with the students in Ethiopia. Students from both the United States and Ethiopia were able to see each others work. This assignment is perfect for students to learn about different cultures and countries.

I would love to do something like this in my classroom. One thing that can be done as an assignment after watching all the power points is to have the students compare and contrast their lives from lives of students in another country. Another thing that can be done is to have a "pen pal" from another country but in this case it can be done through instant messaging. The Internet really makes it possible for students to communicate with anyone in the world. Doing an assignment like this is a good way to celebrate every ones similarities and differences.

Reaching Beyond the Four Walls of a Classroom

Chatting It Up Online: Students Talk to a Favorite Author
By Pamela Livingston

In this article, Pamela Livingston, recounts her experience with bringing an “author chat” to her third grade classroom at Chestnut Hill Academy. An “author chat” basically gives students a chance to ask an author questions about his or her experience, motivation, and so on. Since the author chat is done online it is crucial for everything to be planned out so that things can run smoothly on the day of the chat. In Livingston’s case, she had the help of the school’s librarian to assist the third graders in creating questions that they wanted to ask the author. Once the questions were created it was up to the teachers to eliminate the questions that could be easily found elsewhere without the help of the author. The author chat in this example was limited to one hour so it was important to prepare the questions ahead of time. Livingston, along with her colleagues, did other things to prepare for the chat. The questions were emailed to the author before the actual chat. Livingston familiarized herself with the software so that she knew what to do during the live author chat. One thing that I would not have thought to do was to test the computer lab at the same time that the chat would be talking place. Livingston did just that and she found that there was a big glare on the monitor. The problem was easily fixed the maintenance man installed some blinds to reduce the glare. Everything went smoothly on the day of the chat. I liked the fact that the author, Osborne, typed the name of the student in her response to the question. I think that this made the author chat more intimate and it probably made the students feel special.

I could definitely see myself doing something like this in my future classroom. The author chat is a great opportunity for someone that is successful to inspire, motivate, and encourage younger students to dream big. Students will probably feel a connection to the author after the chat and want to go on and read more of the authors’ books.

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