So, here goes - For years I was under the impression that blogging was something akin to running an underground conspiracy rag, right? Certainly none of my teachers ever mentioned them in classes back in high school, or even in college. Granted, given my majors and the fact that blogging for educational uses is still fairly new I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I, however, will know better - thanks to this class I'll be able to use a blog with my own students! How you may ask? In a number of ways!
First, I can use a blog as a "Class Portal" where I can post documents (well, probably pdf's) and assignments. Putting them on the web rather than just the chalk board means even the least attentive student has no excuse for not having something in on time. When I did my HS math internship (HS = high school, sorry for throwing in some short hand there!), I learned its good to have a firm, fair, and visible policy on late work and stick by it. A blog where you can point and say "Well, you've known about it for two weeks" would help support a teacher's case!
A second idea would be to start a blog as a class forum. There I could ask questions to subtly lead into upcoming lessons or as a follow-up or debriefing after finishing a unit to see how much or even what my students got out of it. Even if they got a little off track from what I'd expect they may make some huge discovery or come to some conclusion I'd never even consider and may want to find a way to work in to the class. After all, we aren't just teachers, we're students too - learning from the kids in our classes.
Finally, I could use a blog to enhance my classes. What better way to get HS Spanish students into the language than to use it to talk to native speakers? Or at least people who have spent time in Spanish-speaking countries? I could try and make arrangements with former instructors, classmates and friends abroad to have them interact with my students on the blog. If we're learning about theater I could contact a woman I know with a BFA in Theater from the University of San Juan in Puerto Rico. International Relations? One of my best friends is finishing a degree in International Studies with a concentration in the Spanish-speaking world and it looks like she may be going into the diplomatic corps - or whatever it is they're calling themselves these days. Its the age of global networking and I can get my students off on the right foot with a little planning and a little luck.
So, I guess that's my first blog post... Thanks for reading!
I, however, will know better - thanks to this class I'll be able to use a blog with my own students! How you may ask? In a number of ways!
First, I can use a blog as a "Class Portal" where I can post documents (well, probably pdf's) and assignments. Putting them on the web rather than just the chalk board means even the least attentive student has no excuse for not having something in on time. When I did my HS math internship (HS = high school, sorry for throwing in some short hand there!), I learned its good to have a firm, fair, and visible policy on late work and stick by it. A blog where you can point and say "Well, you've known about it for two weeks" would help support a teacher's case!
A second idea would be to start a blog as a class forum. There I could ask questions to subtly lead into upcoming lessons or as a follow-up or debriefing after finishing a unit to see how much or even what my students got out of it. Even if they got a little off track from what I'd expect they may make some huge discovery or come to some conclusion I'd never even consider and may want to find a way to work in to the class. After all, we aren't just teachers, we're students too - learning from the kids in our classes.
Finally, I could use a blog to enhance my classes. What better way to get HS Spanish students into the language than to use it to talk to native speakers? Or at least people who have spent time in Spanish-speaking countries? I could try and make arrangements with former instructors, classmates and friends abroad to have them interact with my students on the blog. If we're learning about theater I could contact a woman I know with a BFA in Theater from the University of San Juan in Puerto Rico. International Relations? One of my best friends is finishing a degree in International Studies with a concentration in the Spanish-speaking world and it looks like she may be going into the diplomatic corps - or whatever it is they're calling themselves these days. Its the age of global networking and I can get my students off on the right foot with a little planning and a little luck.
So, I guess that's my first blog post... Thanks for reading!
5 comments:
Lynne,
You have some great ideas. I hope that you are able to follow through on having your students correspond with native speakers or other advanced learners.
I also loved your comment "After all, we aren't just teachers, we're students too - learning from the kids in our classes." I've always felt that way. Learning really is lifelong and holds new surprises everyday.
Dr. Burgos
Hi Lynne,
I think using the blog as a class portal is a great idea. I've always wanted to do something like that with my students. I hope I'll be able to do so with my future 'older' students (I've only been teaching elementary students so far).
However, the only concern I have is the 'authenticity' level of their submitted works. I mean, how do I know if what they submitted online is really their own work and not done by someone else? Any thoughts?
Ann Lee
Hi Ann.
Thanks for your comment!
At least at first I think I would only use the class portal for my students to get things from me. They could download handouts or check when an assignment was due or what the details of an assignment were. I would want to make sure that ran smoothly before trying to have them upload their homework. Also, personally, I like to have a hard copy in front of me when I read longer things so having my students hand in paper copies will probably still be my method of choice for at least a few years.
As for the plagiarism angle, knowing it's really theirs, we have the same problem now, right? How can we know if a student has copy-pasted, printed, and submitted someone else's work as their own? I guess we still just have to take the time to get to know our students and how each one thinks and writes and then watch for anomalies.
I hope some of my thoughts can help you!
Hi Lynne,
You have some terrific ideas about using your blog in your class. Since I signed up for this class and have been reading about Web 2.0information, I realize how beneficial a blog can be in teaching. I had originally thought that they were just for fun, but realize how using a blog in a class can promote even better connections between students and teachers and between students and their peers.
Judy
Lynne, the correspondence with native speakers is a great idea. How do you think you could go about setting up a network through which to accomplish this?
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