Entry #2

Blogs in the classroom continued. . .

Today I searched, for quite some time, for blogs set up by math teachers for their high school students. I did not expect it to be as difficult as it was. What blogs I found where targeted for either elementary/middle school or college students.

That said, here are few of the best that I came across.

1. http://mrwrightsclass.com/

This is an exciting blog for Mr. Wright's 3rd grade class. It is complete with podcasts, class photos, schedule of events, etc. The graphics are eye catching! As a student I would check this blog out regulary if just to see what pictures of the class are posted.

2. http://msnewburn.wordpress.com/

This is a 7th grade math blog, complete with YouTube videos, math tutorials, class assignments, and some very good math links.

3. http://gr10pc-gb.blogspot.com/

Here is my favorite blog so far. In my opinion this is a blog in a true sense of the word. STUDENTS in this advanced 10th grade math class post their own understandings of class instruction. It seems that each student is responisble for one day at a time so that you don't have 30 posting about the same topic. The teacher and other students comment on these postings and provide ideas for improvement. Students are encouraged to find internet sources and graphics to help explain their ideas which furthers their understanding of the topic.

Additionally to looking at examples of blogs already created, I read several articles on the topic. The most interesting of which was written by Stephen Downes, a researcher from the National Research Council in Canada, entiled Educational Blogging.

http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp?bhcp=1

He refers to 5 major educational uses of blogs. They can be used as a
1. webpage - which includes class assignments, rules, and other content to read
2. webpage with links to other resources on the web
3. as a means to have class discussions
4. provide summaries of class content
5. students write their own blogs as a part of a learning objective

In my opinion, the first 2 of these are not actually "blogs" but simiply webpages using blogging software. What a great way to use this software application, however to think that using a "blog" to just post information, may be missing the point.

It also seems that the first 2 are using the Web 1.0 where 3 - 5 are using Web 2.0!

This article also gives the following quote from Mireille Guay: "The students get to know each other better by visiting and reading blogs from other students. They discover, in a non-threatening way, their similarities and differences. The student who usually talks very loud in the classroom and the student who is very timid have the same writing space to voice their opinion. It puts students in a situation of equity."

I agree completely! What a great way to equal the playing field for our kids, especially has class sizes continue to increase. Now we just have to deal with the digital divide.

current issue: blogs
possible solution: training for teachers and time to work with peers to develop this skill