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Reflecting on how to use a blog in the classroom has brought several ideas to mind. In
Alan November's book, Web Literacy for Educators, he discusses ideas to effectively use blogs in the classroom. One idea is to "build a body of knowledge" (November 2008). I love this idea, especially for 6th graders. My students are extremly social and creating an opportunity for them to communicate, share, and acknolwedge one another's work would be a great project for them to participate in.
We are currently studying Rome in history, so creating a weblog on the many aspects of Ancient Rome would be a great idea. If I assign students a partner, they could then create a posting about their particular topic relating to Ancient Rome. They would have to include links, pictures, and summaries of the information they found. Then, the next part of the assignment would be for them to comment on other's postings and ask questions to further the exploration of knowledge.
Not only would they learn research skills, they would continue to improve their skills of cooperative learning by working with a partner. They would learn how to appropriately respond to their classmates and also ask questions to further the learning process. When students read their classmates postings, they have the opportunity to encourage their peers in their research. At the end of the project, we would have a website containing all sorts of information on Ancient Rome. Students could then reflect back on our unit of study and they could visually see all the work they accomplished.
November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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This is a great way for students to share information about a topic they are researching. What an easy way to write for an authentic audience! Plus, it's very easy for them to supply links to support their research, especially since they are really not at the age to be capable of using MLA format to cite their work.
ReplyDeleteI have started my own blog for my classes where they respond to a question or quote I supply to them, which I think might be similar to what you're doing with your students. The only problem I can forsee is that commenting seems to be simple in that you can only comment on the blog, but you cannot reply back to other commenters. I haven't found a solution to this problem other than students addressing the other commenters and quoting them.
If you try this, I would be interested in knowing how it went! I love the idea!
I think this is a fantastic idea! I think it will really hold the students' accountable for their research.
ReplyDeleteMy only concern is that if the topic isn't clearly stated that the students might not have meaningful conversation. I would suggest that you do a lot of guidance when the students make their inital posts to ensure they address what you are looking for. It might be helpful if they ask a question at the end to start the discussion.
If you complete this project, I think it would be a great place for students to go to review for a test. I would like to try something similar in my classroom.
Great idea!
This is a really great idea. I wish I was in your class!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems I anticipate will be making sure the students actually know how to do what you are asking of them and being able to monitor that its done correctly. I don't know how your students are but I can tell you it would be a job to make sure all comments and postings are appropriate. I would make sure that I tell them how to constructively comment and not to hurt anyone’s feelings.
I really like your idea. I think it is great that students would work with partners, especially if this is the first project of this type. I think the onle challenge would be making sure you spend plenty of time modeling for students what you expected from them. It might be a good idea to show them a finished product before having them create their own to help avoid any confusion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions! I think it will be extremely important to provide specific expectations and let them know what an appropriate comment looks like.
ReplyDeleteHi Kara,
ReplyDeleteI also teach 6th grade and I like your ideas. I wonder though how you plan to teach the steps for constructing the site for each partner group. This will be time consuming! I know it would be difficult for many of my students to accomplish because of the ability to access a site outside of school. We have a lab however this type of project would need several days a week to complete. Does your district block the blogs at your school? Another issue I would face. I believe the students would learn so much more by using your technique to learn.
Linda Valuikas