NEXT VIDEO CLIP!
This week’s edition of my weekly blog video is from a teacher in New Zealand and is titled ‘Why let our students blog?’ Even though it isn’t as entertaining (or as annoying) as last weeks edition, it is very inspiring and thought provoking. Rachel Boyd, the creator, is the same teacher who created another video clip that I have featured on this blog site called ‘6 & 7 Year Olds & Blogs’ last month. As you can tell, she is extremely dedicated and involved in the use of blogs in the educational system and wants others to pursue their use in learning. It also has some very cute kiddo pics; sometimes I wish I taught elementary rather than middle school! It takes a minute to download (be patient, it is worth it). You will actually have to read this video clip yourself as the audio only includes music, check it out at:
Video Clip: ‘Why Let Our Students Blog?’
Until I took this class and was forced to begin a blog, I had no idea how important and integral blogs can be to the learning process; no matter which level you want to take it to with students. The more that I blog, the more that I get into it (thanks Brent)! In the classroom they can be used for improving literacy, giving students ownership, allow sharing opportunities, create a forum for discussion, empower students, create excitement, foster creativity, provide extension activities, and increase LEARNING!
I would like to know how this clip has inspired you to use blogs in your classroom? Do you have any other ideas on how blogs can be used to reach students or improve the learning process?!
Next weeks clip: ‘Blog Action Day!’
I didn’t know how to blog until taking the class IT 6750. It is a learning process for me and I am willing to try new things.
Students are very creative. Blogging might be one of the ways for them to show their creativity such as posting a picture they have found or article they just read. Of course, it will be great if they are all related to the subject. We just hope blogging can draw students’ interest since they do have some freedom choosing the way they post entries.
However, time is precious to students too. They have lots of homework. Do they really have the time to blog? It is a different story. Maybe we teachers can let students try blogging using class time.
I think blogging site could be used as a tool where students can turn in fun stuff/homework related to the subject. Students can enjoy those assignments and communicate right away in class activities.
At least, it saves paper.
Since I teach a lot of writing and research classes, I think that having my students use blogs as research journals would work well.
I liked this clip. The only thing I would change would be the font used. I know it is a video discribing how blogs are usefull to kids, its just that it was difficult to read some of the words at first. Great pictures. It’s nice to see someone this dedicated to using blogs in the classroom.
I am concerned about allowing young kids to blog on the Internet. I do not have an issue with it if it is internal. A while back in Douglas County, a middle school student posted nude pics of a young girl – student, on the schools myspace page. The controvercy and problems that teacher had to deal with were horrible. I fear kids will take advantage of it. They are not mature enough to be ethical with their words. I just don’t know. I would like to believe. It would be fun to create a class newspaper online. However, what of the consequences of one bad story or pic? hm
I’ve thought about letting my 5th graders setup a blog and we all work together to create a monthly topic, but after some of my current assignments with Power Point and Word, I’m not sure I could trust them! I had the students create a PP based on their summer experiences. They had to import pictures and describe what they did. Their descriptions were fine, but their pictures sometimes were borderline. There were beach scenes with bikinis, cartoons of silly events, etc. I don’t think the kids really thought anything about what they had put into the project. My fear would be what they would post on the internet. There is so much more at risk there.