Saturday, August 27, 2011

Welcome to ED 5254 Fall 2011!

List some ways that a blog could be used with the students in your classroom. State possible advantages and disadvantages.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Laura--
Blogs naturally lend themselves to the English classroom where you want the students to have multiple venues for self-expression.
I would love to have students voice their opinion in such a manner, especially if they use the blogs to interact, critique and communicate with each other.
I would have reservations about the public nature of blogs and would have to be sure that students (any myself and my school) were comfortable with such a format.

Anonymous said...

A blog would allow a student something of an open space to ask questions that they didn't necessarily have ready in class, or propose thoughts that they didn't necessarily have at the time. It also allows a level of engagement in the subject material in addition to actual in-class time and homework.

It could be disadvantageous to the student because it leaves his opinions or thoughts up to the ridicule of the general public. They aren't necessarily mature enough yet to handle a potentially harsh critique.

-Richard Sheppard

Justin M. said...

One good use could be to get feedback from students on what they liked/disliked in your class. One disadvantage could be that students would prefer other forms of social media over blogging.

Meaghan Cappelloni said...

I have used blogging in my classroom as a means for students to discuss problem solving strategies. I presented students with a problem, then asked them to post their solution along with an explanation of their methods. Students were forced to explain their thinking, which in my opinion is a valuable task.

I did find, however, that since students were all solving the same problem (many in the same way) that the responses sometimes became repetitive. Students could read each others responses so this may also limit their creativity in solving the problem.

Anonymous said...

Matt -- Blogs could possibly be used in my math class as a way for students to anonymously tell me what they think of my class, or what they might think about the material that we are learning. In order to incorporate students who are more creative and whose interest lie in writing, blogs could be beneficial to engaging them in my class. Some of the disadvantages would be that students could possibly post disrespectful or inappropriate things on the blog anonymously, so I would have to find a way to deal with that.

Anonymous said...

A blog is a good tool to use to remind students of assignments and their due dates, to post student work, and to shout out student accomplishments. Students can subscribe to the blog to receive emails that let them know when there is a new posting.

- Karen

Anonymous said...

If I were to use a blog, I don't think I would want to have it be public for my students. I feel that the nature of using a blog is in order to help students express themselves safely and comfortably among a group of students. Opening it up to the world would change the dynamic of its use and ultimately, alter the discussion.

Lauren Robinson said...

A blog could be used in the classroom for students to communicate, especially with mathematics. It also allows students to express their opinion who are reluctant to in class.

The disadvantage is that it can be seen by everyone; therefore, students may not express everything that is on their mind because it will be open to criticism.

--Lauren Robinson

Cherron Hamm said...

In my current classroom this year, I could use a blog to have my students discuss their experiences over the summer and their expectations for this new school year. This would help get my students in the mode of writing and expressing themselves in preparation for future writing activities and PSSA writing exams.Some disadvantages, however, would be that there is no control over what is said or posted in the blog. Students may use blogs as an opportunity to discuss inappropriate subjects so it is important that teachers checks whether or not the post is appropriate before publishing.

Anonymous said...

James K. Fluellen. This class is very interesting so far. I don't know what else to say right now.

Anonymous said...

I think there are a lot of great opportunities for students if they are allowed to use blogs for class discussions or other school projects. Some people take a longer time to formulate responses than others. Blogs can allow for longer response times. Blogs can also make it so everyone participates. This is not always possible in class. Perhaps most importantly, students may feel a sense of independence through formulating their own blogs and writing responses.

However, if proper guidelines are not set for discussions and posts, the situation may be precarious for students and teachers alike.

Elizabeth Marsh

Edwin Haigh said...

You could set up your own blog for the classroom and have the students comment on lessons you've given. Or you could also have the children create their own blogs regarding a specific subject. Maybe they could create a blog about an historical event and add fake comments from historical figures.

Possible advantages could be that the children will be able to feel like creators and more grown up by making blogs about their interests. A disadvantage could be that some children may not like having mistakes or inaccuracies out in public even if it is just their classmates.

Nespera said...

I think blogs could be very beneficial in the foreign language classroom. Students can practice the language and view classmate's postings.

Adilia