Using Web 2.0 in the Classroom

I read the article:
Blogging?
It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson!
I wanted to see some Blogging used with elementary students. Some of the info was interesting. I especially liked the rubric for evaluating student blogs. I was disappointed that the internet safety link, the classroom, and student blogs were no longer available. I check out some of the other blogs and articles .

After checking out several of your recommended blogs, I thought this article might make the whole idea of student blogging seem more accessible. The article was full of big ideas and the classes profiled seem too blog driven. I agree with the idea that it forces students to take ownership for thir words and focus on revisions and rewriting before posting. I also like that the feedback comes from classmates, not just me – a powerful motivator. However, I need more specifics, and get frustrated with all the searching – sometimes I feel as if I’m spinning my wheels and getting nowhere.

I checked out some of the blog articles and thought…where do people get the time to just search for these articles and respond to them? I can see blogging on a specific assignment (I don’t mind doing it for this class), but I get overwhelmed when I’m searching for material to use – there’s so much “out there”.

I read the article on Blogging Safety. As an ex computer software engineer, I have always found internet security to be a fascinating and challenging field. I am also well aware of how difficult it is to provide a “secure network”. As I read the article I could see all the security issues involved in keeping one’s identity anonymous, and I could see all the security holes that developers and “geeks” have tried to accommodate for. As I read thought the trail of options the article provided I thought it would make a great plot for a suspense movie! The bottom line is, we should always remember that any thing you do on the internet is always traceable.

I found an interesting blog called Friday 5 where a teacher post 5 links each Friday relevant to what she has taught in her class. Although the 100th day of school has passed, I looked at a few links including enchantedlearning.com which gave me some excellent new 100th day activities for next year. 100th day of school seems to be only a big deal at the elementary level.

Ok so this is the second time I typed this and for some reason it did not show up the first time. If it shows up, then I appologize for the repetitiveness.

I tried to focus this week on blogs that were specifically directed to the elementary school level and I was pleased with how many I found. I found one that I thought was great. It was from a reading specialist in Ohio who uses audio in her blogs so that children can record themselves reading and others can hear it.

I tried to think of some applicable ways to use blogs in my classroom and I came up with an idea that I am eager to try. I was thinking of including blogs as part of literature circles. I would not replace the group discussion facet of literature circles solely with blogging, but I feel it will be a great supplement. Often kids have a hard time staying on track during these discussions, or one student monopolizes the discussion. Some students are slower to process ideas, and come up with something great to contribute after the group meeting is over. Some students harbor great observations and may be too shy to say them.

I was thinking that I could have the students respond to their reading in blogs, set up for each group that is reading the same book. Then they can read each others blogs to initiate discussions, then after the discussion groups, they can add to the blogs if they think of more to say. This will allow them to read others comments and trigger their own observations in a way that may be easier then trying to talk in a group.

I will try it out for my next literature circle and let you know how it goes!

I started using edublog with my class this week. They have been commenting on the book NIGHT by Wiesel as we read the chapters. Before we started I went over the rules of blogging and what I would accept from them. Let the fun begin