I really enjoyed blogging with the students from Fairview Middle School. I think blogging is a great way to get kids involved with technology at a young age. It's simple enough for them to understand and use, and they get to experience appropriate socializing in a supervised arena. I was amazed at the dynamic abilities of the students. Some were very capable of expressing their thoughts in full, complete sentences using correct grammar. Others used abbreviations and more "online lingo" which I think is acceptable in this situation if used properly. What disheartened me was seeing very poor spelling and incorrect usage of wording. These students are in the 5th grade and some of their posts were complete run-on sentences. Teaching correct punctuation when using online technologies is important. My main concern with using blogging as a future educator is circumstances that might require use of a computer outside of a classroom. I'm hesitant to use blogging much more than right in my own classroom in fear that some students might be a low SES or unable to complete assignments due to lack of internet or computers. I also did not like the blogging program that was used. There has to be a better blogging site that allows immediate display of information that can still be monitored and controlled by the teacher.
Overall, I think this activity served as a learning tool for both the middle school students, as well as myself and my college classmates. I would most definitely encourage the use of this activity in any classroom, including my own.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Paying attention to student access to computers outside of school is an important concerns. Many communitites have libraries so students can have access after school hours. You be suprised the ways students find access to a computer! But you should always have an alternative plan just in case you have students with out access. Perhaps let those students have extra computer time while they are at school...
ReplyDelete