we(B)log

As a frequent visitor of EducationWorld.com, I decided to browse the articles for a change instead of their helpful links to teacher worksheets.  I stumbled upon an article that discusses blogging in the elementary classroom.  As I skimmed the article to decide if I was interested or not, I had an ‘a-ha’ moment.  Did you know…the word ‘blog’ comes from weB-LOG!  When I read that I felt like a fool for never knowing that before…

Anyway, as we blog from time to time, I wondered how this concept could be used in an elementary setting.  I found that this article was extremely relevant for technology class.  It was also  as helpful for my future classroom because I hope to use a blogging tool with my students. 

The article explained how blogging has expanded to more than just “Dear Diary.”  Now, they are used for a series of reasons: publishing news, sharing announcements, ideas, rants, etc., and helping students become better writers.  Studies have shown that students who participate in an online work publishing activity increased their interest in writing and quality of writing.  Students have a direct outlet of connecting with other students through their writing on blogging websites.  There are dozens of student-friendly blog sites like Blogmeister and Kidzblog that are available for use.  Think.com was mentioned in this article and sounded the most interesting to me.  Students are only allowed to access e-mails and websites created by peers or other Think.com schools.  This site acts as a digital journal that students can use to publish their work but is only seen by those cleared for permission.  I believe that if this tool is utilized in the classroom, student engagement could increase because students have a lot of fun using the computers and sharing their work.

I explored a related article that discussed a teachers’ real experience on using blogs in the classroom.  Brenda Dyck discussed how she encouraged students to express their opinions on certain topics and write it in their blog.  In order to give students guidelines on what is expected from their blog, Brenda created a rubric that graded each student’s response.  They were given either: excellent, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory based on each criterion.  This rubric would be a great way to make sure students are not abusing their privileges on the blogs and doing what is expected of them.

With any technological tool present in the classroom, privacy and safety are big concerns among teachers, parents, and school districts.  Many cautions must be taken in order to avoid an unfortunate incident involving student publications.  With the blogging sites I mentioned before, individual website security settings are available during use.  Teachers have the options of reviewing students’ posts before publication and can determine if work is published or needs further revisions. 

Tips for elementary blogging safety:

Check out your schools’ Acceptable Use Policy.

Get the ‘o-k’ for use from the administration, school district, and parents.

Use blog sites that require a password to publish student work.

Review student work before publishing.

Avoid identifiable information on students.

Create a blogging rubric to ensure proper blog use.

Encourage creativity and fun!

Logging out,
Ms. Lyvers

Links to these articles

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice123.shtml

e-Z Reading: The Perks of e-Readers

       I'm not sure about you all, but I'm not the strongest of ladies.  My lack of back and arm strength limits me to the amount of pounds I can lift at a time.  Therefore, I'm not the biggest fan of lugging around 10 lbs. worth of textbooks and leisurely reads in my backpack to and from school everyday.  Fortunately, the up-and-coming e-Reader devices are here to solve our problems!  The e-Readers can hold your ENTIRE library in one lightweight device.
       The e-Reader devices are great resources that students, parents, and teachers alike can use that will benefit student learning.  As textbook prices continue to rise, schools have found themselves unable to purchase new books or even any books at all.  A new trend among schools is to put money towards electronic devices that can download electronic texts.  E-books range from textbooks to leisurely reads and can be downloaded to the electronic tablets instead of buying dozens of heavy textbooks.  Because the e-books are digital, the newest versions can be updated frequently.  That way, all students are accessing the current version of the book.
       These e-Readers really give students a hands-on experience to learning.  You can not only read books on the electronic readers but there are other multi-media tools such as interactive study guides and quizzes that students can use to extend their learning.  You can also highlight words and pages, write notes, copy and paste, listen to recordings and even share notes with other e-Readers.  Another cool feature that I really like is the audio ability the tablets have; some books can be downloaded as audio books!
       The e-Readers like the Nook or Kindle can also be safer than other electronic tablets.  Because the e-Readers don't provide as much Internet browsing as tablets like the iPad, students can use the e-readers safely.  The e-Readers are delicate and valuable so care must be considered.  If the students are held accountable for their responsibility of their tablet, I think that all should be okay.  The opportunity to access unlimited e-books is just too good to pass up so the investment should be made.
       As these products continue to develop, more software will be adapted that will be more student-friendly and continue to extend student learning.  I feel that students will be more interesting in using a piece of technology to read their texts because it 'seems' more fun (and it is!).  I hope that I will have access to these tools when I have my own classroom because I think my students will love them!

More information about e-Readers can be found at 7 Things You Should Know About E-Readers.
More information about e-Books can be found at 7 Things You Should Know About E-Books.

       Check you later!