Thing #3
At first I was
a skeptic about the whole blog idea. Blogging was for the misunderstood person
to relate who they are. As the class has progressed I have found I enjoy the
blog idea. I can see several ways that blogs could be a beneficial tool for
teachers. A few ways I could use a blog in my teaching are communication,
classwork/homework assignments, and interactive lectures.
Communication
with parents, students and staff is essential for a master teacher. Sometimes parents
don’t read the school newsletter or handouts sent home. A blog would provide an
easy access area for parents to interact with school news such as field trips and
special events. It’s also a friendly way for parents in the class to get to
know one another. It can also be a helpful tool for students to get to know
their peers interests and to relate to teacher, parents and peers.
More often
than not I have found that parents don’t know how to help their children with
their homework due to the changing times. A blog would provide the essential
meeting spot for parents to present questions about the homework so they can
help their students complete assignments. Lets be honest, I had no idea what
the lattice method of math was until I took a teaching math class back in 2007.
The new way of teaching students is
foreign to parents and a blog would be an open and inviting place for them to
communicate their questions. Also if students lose their assignment books
(which none of ours will; laughing to myself as I type that) this blog could
provide a schedule of assignments due and the dates on which they are required
to be completed.
A blog
could also be a great place to post lectures from the day on any material that
is vital for the student’s success. Lets say you had a student who was absent
and needed to make up the work (because unfortunately the work missed was
essential scaffolding knowledge that you were going to build on in the next
lesson). A recorded podcast of a specific lecture could be extremely beneficial
to that student’s success.
There are
many other ways that a blog could be utilized and beneficial for teaching but I
wanted to list just a few obvious reasons. I will definitely utilize a blog
when I start teaching.
In addition to a child being absent, posting video lectures through a blog can also be implemented in flipping the classroom. This instructional technique could be used for homework, assignments, and projects that require more cooperative learning in a classroom setting. Special needs students can benefit from flipping the classroom because they get more one-on-one with teacher/students. I think flipping the classroom is beneficial sometimes depending on content and expectations.
ReplyDeleteGreat perspective on flipping the classroom. honestly I haven't read much about that so now I have something to research.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that this is a great tool for assignments. I don’t think it matters whether a student looses their agenda book. Putting a short blog up so parents can see whether their student has homework or not is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI do find it interesting that our views on this matter almost mirror each others exactly. I agree with your reasons for using the blog in the classroom, and also can relate to your previous and current views on blogging. I look very much forward to reading the next 20 things and compare our assessments of blogging along the way!
ReplyDelete