Did you ever stop to thing about the word, BLOG? I didn't. I just mindlessly adopted the word into my vocabulary and never gave it another thought. That is, until today when I decided to write about blogging for my college class.
I discovered the word, BLOG is actually a contraction for the words, "Web Log", shortened to weblog - we = BLOG. A blog is an online diary where people share their thoughts and daily activities. A blog is a perfect way to being to move from a controlled email communication to a more open form of communication. Blogs can engage students in a digital forum to share their thoughts and reflect on their learning. If you are nervous about trying a blog, let me remind you of your target audience and why you, as their teacher, need to have experience blogging.
Now that I have established a need to blog, here are five ways blogs extend your curriculum.
1. Curriculum note taker – Students take notes during class on the blog. Students can go home and look at notes. Teacher can print and copy notes for whole class. Parents can go on to site and use notes to support their child with homework and improve school-home communication.
2. Curriculum reviewer – Student looks over notes from the week and writes a blog reflecting on major themes and ideas, asks questions, and makes general comments about what was learned throughout the week. Students could also make predictions of what will be learned next. Students can post comments and add information to the blog.
3. Curriculum tutor – Student records tutorials to help with homework and projects. Students could also reflect about the day by providing review questions. Here is a free site to help students begin recording: http://www.screenr.com/ Embed tutorials into the blog for continued learning. Eric Marcos of Santa Monica, CA has collected hundreds of math tutorials for the world to enjoy. Here are some benefits to recording and posting tutorials within your blog:
Benefits to producer: When I am explaining the process, it helps me understand the concept on a deeper level. I have a different way to explain the concept. The tutorial increased my motivation to do the homework because I knew others would hear what I had to say.
Benefits to watcher: I relate better to peer voices because they use familiar language. The delivery of seeing a video helps make the process more concrete. I am able to stop and rewind at my own pace. When my parents don't know how to help me, we watch the tutorial together.
Benefits to teacher: I can practice and record at home and then show it to the whole class, at a station, or allow students who are home sick to watch from home.
4. Curriculum producer – Students create videos prior to a unit (acceleration and build background knowledge), support topic during unit (other examples) or for review. You can get a free educator account at: http://www.animoto.com/
5. Curriculum researcher – Students search for websites, videos, blogs, tweet quotes, and assignments that would improve the unit for future students. Each site can be linked within the blog for easy access and less paper. Students can explore the sites on demand, while they are on the go, or over the weekend.
How do you use blogs to extend your curriculum. Post a comment below or share on my
facebook wall. Remember, blogging isn't about perfection, it's about collaborating, communicating and creating better ideas with other educators from around the world.
