The blog listings in Thing #4 were of various genres. One that opened my eyes to the effective use of blogging was one that was addressing cyberbullying. The style of writing was a profound strong position of how parents and teachers need to be aware of this danger.
Another blog targeted the focus of how beneficial the video games are on developing of the mind and coordination toward good health. The author presented a position of being for this game playing, that being the mental ability to think across the board of multi-tasks was developed greatly. Conversely, many teachers see the negative effects of video games in the classroom in the lack of focus and behavior exhibited.
In reading these posts in Thing 4, I have noticed that blogging involves a great deal of time and effort. It is not only reading, but taking the responsibility to reflect and present questions to the blogger. Time is lost if we don't work through the article processing it in our mind. Our mental growth depends on this if we want to expand our thinking.
The topics of blogging are extensive in scope: "If you think of it, someone's most certainly blogging about it." In Technorati's article, it was reported that there were 70 million weblogs at this time. Wow!
The article, "Patrick's Update", helped me to note how blogging can be used in the classroom.
I plan in fourth grade this year to provide this tool as an interactive way for student's to learn writing, goal-making, working out plans, reading, and reflecting on one another's work.
This really has opened my eyes. Getting a slower start in the class due to extended family needs, I acknowledge that we must learn all we can learn about this Web 2.0 and its possibilities. It relates to us as teachers but also as responsible citizens. We can get our own platform and make our words count! http://www.techylearningmawmaw.blogspot.com
I think your 4th graders will love using blogs to respond to others.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find several of your students, who resist writing and learning about writing, blossom when you teach them about blogging. Will you include a lesson or provide rules about blogging etiquette to your fourth graders?
ReplyDeleteFor the reason of a "new experience" for the fourth graders and myself, there will be needful parameters of "what to do" and "how to do" taught first. Rules / expectations will be set for this at the "getgo" in a lesson. Possibly, regarding goals and achievements. Yes, I look so forward to an excited child as they get their first positive response to one of their blogs.
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