This
article is about a kindergarten teacher who has incorporated blogging into her
teaching and learning process for her classroom. Mrs. Davison found that
blogging was a fun way to get her class engaged with learning, exploring, and
building connections. She has four blogs: class blog, life studies blog,
professional blog, and summer reading blog. She posts fun learning activities
they do in class, their nature science discoveries, school events, and
educational resources for parents. Students over the summer on Mrs. Davison’s
summer reading blog can create their own blog and introduce themselves and what
they are reading. During the year, she makes a class Kid Blog where she
connects the students with their blogs the students made over the summer. The students
get to introduce more about themselves beyond summer reading topics. She finds
this helps students build and grow confidence and an eagerness to learn.
As
a future middle school teacher, I am more than confident I will have my own
blog for my classroom. I think it will help students study and be engaged with
the material. In addition, I can post important information beyond the
classroom. I think blogging does improve the learning and teaching process. I
never had anything like that in my own kindergarten class and I find it unique
how they can start building relationships through the blogs, making students
want to come to class. I find this a fun way to connect all students together
and with the teacher. It takes teaching beyond the classroom, which I am
excited about.
This
article clearly represents the ISTE standard number 5. Standard 5 is Digital
Citizenship and is when “students advocate and practice safe, legal, and
responsible use of information and technology.” They must first ask the teacher
before publishing any pictures or videos. By the end of the year, she claims
that her students become entirely independent at creating their own posts.
Davison, S. (April 2013). Yes, Kindergartners Can Blog, and so Can Their Teachers. Learning and Leading with Technology, (40)6, 26-27.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I think blogging is a great way to help students interact with each other. I also think it can give students who may be more shy or less confident in their social skills an avenue where they can feel more comfortable communicating with others. I also agree with your comment about taking teaching beyond the classroom. I think it is really important for students to learn academics, but also other skills that will benefit them in their lives as well. I think it’s great that her students were able to learn how to be safe and responsible, while also becoming more confident in themselves. I also think that I would want to create a classroom blog for my students. I liked the idea of having one central blog, but each week have one students been the “blogger.” That blogger would be in charge of taking pictures, making the blog post, and monitoring comments for that week. I think something like this would really benefit students in a Special Education functional skills highschool class.
ReplyDelete-Jocelyn
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ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the title of your article I was skeptical about the ability of kindergarteners to blog effectively, but that changed as I read on. The first day of kindergarten can be exciting but can also cause anxiety because students don’t know exactly what to expect. By using a summer reading blog this teacher gives her students the opportunity to meet and form friendships before they actually enter the physical classroom. This probably makes the first day transition smoother because the students have already met online. Once the school year is under way and the teacher links the kid blogs to the summer blogs, they become a tool for learning more and connecting with her students’ families outside of class. In my Culture & Inclusion class we are constantly discussing the need to learn as much as possible about your students and their families. We also discuss the importance of multicultural education and differentiation in curriculum. These blogs would be an invaluable resource for accomplishing that goal because they would allow you to understand your students and their families on a more personal level.
Tracy