Instructional Design Special Populations: Spring 2010
Blogging Assignment
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Dr. Denise Hill
(Directions are also on WebCT)
Staying “connected” with fellow teaching professionals is an essential part of your professional growth and learning, and never before has your potential to network with colleagues and peers been so limitless. New technologies are being developed every day that allow for borderless communication and collaboration. One such technology is the Weblog, or “blog.”
For the first part of this assignment, you will explore a few educational blogging sites. You may even decide to join and participate in or begin a blog. Browse through the education blog sites below and to see if one interests you. You will need to copy the URL address and paste it into your address bar.
The Essential Blog: http://essentialblog.org/?p=129
ASCD Weblog http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/
NSCD: Leading and Learning Blog http://www.nsdc.org/sparksblog/2007_02_01_archive.html
Education News, Analysis, and Commentary Blog http://www.eduwonk.com/
Edutopia’s Spiral Notebook Blog http://www.edutopia.org/blogs
Best Blog for Educators http://www.edutopia.org/node/4079
Next, share the insights gained from your “blogging” experiences with your colleagues in this class.
Posting Instructions
http://specialpopsfall2010.blogspot.com/
• Post a brief summary of your experience with blogging. What did you observe from the blogging conversations? Was there one or more blogs that peaked your interest? Did you choose to participate in the blogging on any of the sites? If so, what blog did you join? What was the topic of your interaction? What insights did you gain from interacting with individuals to whom you would not normally have access? What knowledge or insights were you able to offer others that seemed to be beneficial to them?
Before Friday, September 17, 2010
Return to : http://specialpopfall2010.blogspot.com/
• Read our class postings. As you read the responses, note those to which you would like to respond with comment(s).
• Respond to two or more of our class postings in any of the following ways:
o Provide feedback
o Ask a question
o Share an insight
o Offer an opinion
o Make a suggestion
o Note a similarity or difference to your posting
Before Monday, September 20, 2010
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Reflect upon how this tool could be used in the classroom you, especially if you could use it in one of the lessons you teach this semester. Add your idea, and let the brainstorming and discussion begin.
So we just post there?
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to blogging this summer in my Writing class regarding the process of writing and writers workshop. We also blogged as a class, commented on each others blogs and used is a tool for freewriting. It was a fun experience since I am not that great with computers.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed looking through these blog sites, i found some to be very beneficial to myself. I like the Best Blog for Educators because it had many new teacher topic posts full of advice and helpful information involving scenarios an particular situations. I also liked how ASCD was promoting exchange that happens in inservice meetings where educators discuss how best to support their students.
ReplyDeleteI also chose "Best Blog for Educators" I'm interested in the link about technology and laziness.
ReplyDeleteI was first introduced to blogging (as part of an actual course) in an English course. I thought it was an interesting way to have the students freewrite. Even as a college student, I was able to see how important it is for teachers to keep up with the constant change/growth of society. Being the "thumb" generation, our students are capable of going above and beyond the expectations. I am a huge fan of the edutopia website. I was very interested in reading about strategies for differentiated instruction. As I am moving into my second lesson for Field Basing, I think the majority of teacher related blogs are beneficial while learning to adjust and personalize the lessons according to the class. I love how one click reveals a whole new world.
ReplyDeleteI was first introduced to blogging when I took the 3 hour ETEC class that was first required in our degree plans. I'm currently trying to reactivate my account so that I can comment on other's pages, but so far my efforts have been in vain. I am still going to try to do so though. The most interesting blog I found is the blog that offers different helpful Math websites. I tried to ask the teachers who contributed to this post how they would use these webisites in the classroom, but like I said before I am still trying to figure that part out. I found that some of these websites would be a great learning tool for a Math Center because it offers math flash cards and it would also begood to help you generate group or independant practice activities while learning about money and time. The first blog was very formal about current event happening in education. I wanted to comment on an article that was about joining a educational group that contributes to a September 11th memorial.
ReplyDeleteI finally posted on the math site blog and asked the teachers how they use these websites in their classroom. Now I'm just waiting for a response! :)
ReplyDeletep.s. I tried to comment on another blog, but the blog would not let me enter the conversation.
I'm reading comments from teachers about the use of technology. Should teachers "keep up with the times" and teach the fast, easy way using computers and calculators at the expensive of students being not able to spell and do math with just pen and paper? As adults, most of us use the short cuts. I haven't formed an opinion yet so I haven't posted.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked at the different blogging sites, I found that I really liked the Edutopia.org blog site the most. The topics that were being disussed were relavant to many of my own thoughts teaching and gave me much insight about things. There was one blog about doing more than just involving parents into their children's school life. This blog explained that parent involvement and parent engagement are two different things about to engage parents into the teaching aspect of their lives makes a huge difference in how the child will aspire in school. The blog had alot of wonderful ideas of how to engage parents in your school, ideas that I hope to incorporate into the school communitiy that I will be teaching at one day.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first experience blogging and I found the "Leading and Learning blog interesting. Learning about insight or point of views that others have is helpful and interesting considering for the most part they are written by teachers or staff that we more than likely will never meet. Denis Spark states that "thinking differently requires speaking differently." That stuck with me because language and the mental frames he speaks about are what connect learning or teaching the students.
ReplyDeleteJoan commented about learning about computer use because that is not a strong point of hers. I would like to find some more blogs about history and perhaps some teaching methods.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that interaction like this is possible and that along with being informative to future teachers like ourselves, these benefit good causes like the September 11th memorial which Naomi informed us of!
ReplyDeleteStaci,
ReplyDeleteI have always been interested in observing the parental involvement with the student. It has always been on my mind, especially now working in a school district this semester. I have noticed a handful of parents who are offering help, but never to the point of being the "helicopter parent" that hovers over the teacher. The reaction from the students are unbelievable. From my perspective, I see children excited to learn because the parents are excited to be a part of the classroom. I think this leads to great relationships in the community as well. Great post!
Ms. Adams,
ReplyDeleteI've seen the opposite in a high school kids I am tutoring. The grandmaother pushes him to play the sports she whats and go to tutoring when he really doesn't need it. I see alot of apathy from him. He is missing out on the fun of high school.
The first time I used a blog was a couple of years ago in ETEC (the 3 hr course). We were required to create a blog and teach others how to make a blog. After we started the blog, all our other projects were posted on our blog. I liked the idea of using a blog in a classroom, especially my future classroom, but I did not continue using or reading blogs after that class.
ReplyDeleteNow that I am taking ETEC again, once again we had to create a blog. I think blogs are a great way to stay in contact with people and to read other people's opinions. Edutopia.org was my favorite blog from the list. I felt it was the easiest to navigate through (very user friendly), it had the most interesting topics, and the bloggers seem very professional and experienced.
As a new teacher, Edutopia.org would be a blog that I would subscribe to if I needed guidance and advice.
-Rheanna Rivera
I agree with Joann. I really liked that the Best Blog for Educators had new teacher topic posts. Those seemed really helpful.
ReplyDelete-Rheanna Rivera
My first experience with blogging was in my ENGL 3360 course. We met twice a week and each day we met, we blogged on some topic the professor assigned us. My favorite blog site was Edutopia. I like the various topics it had. They seemed really helpful and gave great tips on teaching. There was one particular one called "A Classroom Canvas that Encourages Community." It discussed how easily a classroom community can be created by allowing the students to use their own work to decorate the classroom because it gave them a sense of more ownership in the room. I have not posted anything to any blogs yet, but I agree with what Staci commented about this blog, too.
ReplyDeleteStaci,
ReplyDeleteI saw that blog too! It was really informative and will be beneficial to our future relationships with our students and parents.
-Rheanna Rivera
Rheanna, I think I would also subscribe to Edutopia. It seems like it will be very helpful to new teachers!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rheanna, that Edutopia.org would be a place to go if I needed guidance and advice. I feel that a new teacher needs all the support and resources to make hers/his first year of teaching a success.
ReplyDeleteI looked at Edutopia’s Spiral Notebook Blog. I like how all the teachers put up blogs to write about what they are discovering and techniques that need to be used in order to help students. There was different topics like going back to school and the routines teachers can follow or how to get parents involved in students learning. I really liked how teachers interact with one another and try to help each other out by commenting and giving advice. This is a good bloggig site that new teachers can go to to get advice and feel comfotable in what they are doing in their classroom by comparing with other teachers.
ReplyDeleteI have not had much experience with bloging in the past, I honestly was a big fan of it. I did however find that these blogs were insightful and helpful in many different ways. I explored the Edutopia blog site and found it to be interesting. I like the fact that they had guest bloggers like teacher or other professors, giving advice or idea they have about certain issues. I also noticed that some teachers would post links for people to check out about important topics. It would be very helpful as an educator to be able to connect with others and learn about new ideas. I will be exploring the other blog sites as well, I just found this one to interest me the most.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Staci about parental involvement in the classroom. It is really good for parents to be involved in their student's lives and if they help in the school then the students usually thrive off of that. I also have seen some parents asking the teacher if they can take things home and help in the classroom. This shows the students that they care.
ReplyDelete-Response to Staci
Jenniel, I agree with the Edutopia's site.. I really liked it. the information was seems very helpful!
ReplyDeleteKellly,
that is an interesting point you made. Im not sure how i feel about it either. It is good to keep up with the times, students will eventuallly get out of school and be exposed to the new technology at work and such places. They will need to know how to use it all correctly. It is sad however that students wont be using the old pen and paper like we had too!
I did the Edutopia blog site as well and liked the blogs that they had put up. The teachers really seem to work together and the blog is a great way for them to interact and share information.
ReplyDelete-Response to Tyler
I would use a blog in my classroom by creating one for my students. I would make the blog a conversation tool where they could come in and discuss assignments and share information with each other. I would also assign small groups and have them do a small research and share the information with the class by blogging so they can get tips or facts from other groups. The blog could be used in many ways, but I would use mine to keep the students informed and for research purposes.
ReplyDeleteI think that blogging can be a good and effective way to communicate and learn different things about a topic. You can post what you know about something to help someone, or post a question and have someone respond to you with information you are looking for. I liked The Essential Blog. The posters seemed to know what they were talking about and interacting well.
ReplyDeletejennielg88 -
ReplyDeletei like the idea of uing a blog for a class. it would be a good, effective way to comminicate with your students and them to comminucate with each other.
sbutzke -
ReplyDeleteyes, this interaction is great! it can greatly enhance a child's education and a teacher's and even a parents involvement.
I was introduced to blogging in an english class I took this summer that required us to create a blog and keep it up-to-date on a daily basis. I thought it would be a great (and FREE) way to have students practice journaling and have something to reflect on if needed. My favorite blog page was "Best Blog for Educators". It seemed fairly easy to navigate, and had tons of cool ideas, information, and lots of "traffic".
ReplyDeletePrevious to this, I had very little interaction with blogging. I knew what it was and had read a few of my friends blogs but I had not actually participated in any of them. I found the edutopia site very interesting and I think that I will create my own blog site the first time that I get a chance (which may be never this semester), and I would like to try to check on the edutopia site fairly often. It seems to have some very good information that is coming from 'real people' (not someone trying to sell you something or influence you for their own benefit). I am happy to have found a place where I can ask questions to fellow teachers if I have a concern, and I can find pertinent information to my career when I have a chance to browse.
ReplyDeleteOk. I'm new to blogging so I may be doing this wrong... sorry if I am (I couldn't figure out how to post a comment directly to the person I was responding to). So, to kmcelwee, I agree totally. The 'Best Blog for Educators' seemed to be a great site and I plan on keeping up with it whenever I can find the time. I can see how creating a blog could be beneficial for student writing, and I think it could be used as an information source for what is going on in the classroom (especially if you have students old enough to understand the concept).
ReplyDeletejennielj88, this is the same response that I was just giving above. I think it is a really great tool for an older classroom. The students, teacher, and parents could all benefit from such a place, and blogs seem to be so versatile that the teacher could implement any way that she finds works for her particular group of students... I think I will be creating a blog so that I can start learning the basics and developing a trial-run for my first group of students!
Great Job to all of you who are blogging. It can be a great tool for your classroom. Parents can have a blog to discuss issues at home and at school, or even with homework questions to the teacher. It's just important to check it frequently.
ReplyDeleteYour students will love posting. Much like texting for them. They will often provide responses to Readings, events, etc. online in a blog that they would not do in class. There is safety behind the computer for many students who are hesitant to speak out in class.
Find ways to incoporate into your fieldbased course. Perhaps a "getting to know you blog" where they can express their interests, hobbies, etc. to you so that you can quickly get to know them and begin building a relationship with them. Just always keep it professional.
Dr. Hill
OK I'll try again, this being the third time I've attempted to post.The first website from CES looked like others I've seen and the issues being discussed seemed relavent and interesting. I liked the access to other blogs being available. The next two; ASCD and NSDC looked more like websites than blogspots the information was academic and I was kind of intimidated by there scope of information.Eduwonk is very political and interesting to me, but I'm not sure of a broad based appeal. The two Edutopia sites were wonderful, I plan on going back to them for information and possilble blobbing as well. This exercise demonstrated to me the wide range of blogspots available.
ReplyDeleteI would like to set up a blg for parents of my students so they could interact and I would have another way to post activities and announcments. I think if parents could post without names there could be some interesting results
ReplyDeleteI agree with the supporters of the Edutopia spiral notebook site. I think it's extremely important for us as new teachers to have a forum to discuss and learn about relavent issues
ReplyDeleteI was first introduced to a blog in a class that I took at Texas A&M. I was really intrigues on how the professor incorparated blogging in the class.She had also had us use our writig pieces that we blogged and incorpated into other assignments.
ReplyDeleteI have worked with blogging in a TECA class i had this summer. It seemed like a great platfoarm for a young professionals to be heard. I believe this tool may be truly beneficial in this growing field of teachers. I can see as they move so quickly from subject to terms at different schools that this could be a great source of info waiting for them when ever they need it.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Edutopia site as well and sites like. I feel it's essential that teachers and educators all to have a place to aline thoughts and confer with one another. Especially over curriculum and new tools to the feild of teaching. Sometimes in a this fast paced technilogical world we can actualy lose information through information overoad. Its nice to have it all compartmentalized and easy to find in one site dedicated to one mission.
ReplyDeleteSorry I meant information overload.
ReplyDeleteKayla- I agree I think that is a great idea to open up one of your own and test things out. It can be complicated so the teacher should be aware of how to work the blog site in case students or parents have trouble. Good idea!!
ReplyDeleteI was initially introduced to bloggin in Elwood's class. I think its neat to get ideas and opinions/comments out there. I would like to have a blogging account set up for my students when I begin teaching. This would be a good way for them to stay in the realm of things, when they are absent, over weekends, over holidays, even during the summer.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the Edutopia site is a good resource for a beginning teacher.
ASCD Weblog and Edutopia’s Spiral Notebook Blog where the blog sites that i found to look like they would be the most helpful. these web sites are user friendly and offer more than just blogging.
ReplyDeleteMiss Thomas
i agree with dr hill. teachers should have a blogging site or the parents and for the students. the teachers of yesterday that taught me had no idea how to use computers, but the teachers of tomorrow, aka us, are expected to be fanly adequate at using technology.
ReplyDeleteMiss Thomas
so for me this is my first time blogging. im not shor i would use it that much for teacher to teacher interaction but rether i like the idea of useing it as a way for teachers and parents to communicate profitiontly. how many of you are blogging for the first time?
ReplyDeletejennielg88--
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of using blogging in the classroom. I think it could also be used for parents to converse and keep up with activities going on in the classroom. The teacher could use this to keep up with his/her students and also the parents. Great way to incorporate technology in the classroom!
I love the idea that with blogging you stay connected to people and express you ideas. I think that blogging is a excellant tool to stay communicated to your parents of your student. As a parent myself I would love the fact that I could just blog a note to the teacher amd ask how is my kid doing in class.I will most likely set up a blog for my future class. I really enjoyed the Edutopia site .
ReplyDeleteI like that we have to blog in this class it is keeping us informed and giving us opportunities to reply and give each other support and direction.
ReplyDeleteOn October 21st, Matthew entered gym with smiles and high-fives as always. He went through stretches and warm up laps in the same manner. Throughout the class he began to joke around with his clinical teacher and eventually that teasing proceeded to his peers. They did not respond as easy as his teacher so some feelings were hurt. After a brief talking to, the students ended the class with a few races to run off some energy. As Matthew fell behind, he would "accidentally" fall down and claimed he was hurt. After a few races, I jumped in an slowed my pace down to his for an individual competition. We finished about side by side and he jokingly said he smoked me. I responded that next time I wouldn't take it easy on him. He laughed and exited the gym with smiles.
ReplyDeleteIn class on October 26th, we played beachball volleyball. The beachballs make it easier for the students to hit and they float so the speed of the ball is slower. All students were enjoying the game until Paul, one of Matthews peers became very active and for the most part jumped unfront of everyone as the ball came to their side. Matthew had no problem calling him a ball-hog and a verbal fight broke out. We seperated them and explained that everyone had their spot to cover and letting others get involved was the goal. Matthew kept up with his expression of displeasure and it took about a minute to get him to stop. After the next point was scored, everyone kind of dropped it and kept playing. I noticed that even though it is hard to understand what Matthew is saying most of the time, the kids in his class have been with him long enough to be on the same page. I told the class we need to all have fun and they agreed. Matthew and Paul made up and headed back to their classroom.
ReplyDelete