Third Blog Post from Session 2 ~ Internet Research
Third Blog Post from Session 2 ~ Internet Research
Use the Internet as a resource in the planning of your project. Information you may try to find includes:
· Others who have attempted projects similar to what you have proposed
1. http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2008/01/27/learning-to-blog-the-elementary-way/
Kim Cofino, a Literacy Specialist at the International School Bangkok in Thailand, introduced blogging to her elementary aged students. In her blog, she describes how she went about implementation.
I really enjoyed reading her post. Kim introduced blogging in her first lesson by having students read the ABC’s of Blogging book in small groups or partners (http://www2.gsu.edu/~coeapd/abc/index.html). I visited the site and it is an AWESOME introduction.
On Kim’s blog was a blogging permission slip. This permission is well written and specific. It not only gives student permission to blog, but also holds students accountable.
http://mscofino.edublogs.org/files/2008/02/bloggingpermissionslip.pdf
Reflection:
I would adapt her style to my classroom, however the ABCs of blogging book is too elementary for my high school students. Instead of having them read the book in small groups – I would have a discussion on blogging etiquette as well as what is expected. I am not sure if I need a permission slip for student blogging (something I will have to double check with administration) however, if necessary I would definitely use the blogging permission slip as a template. Her students used www.learnerblogs.org . To my surprise, learnerblogs.org is another link for edublogs. Similarly I found that blogspot.com is the same as blogger.com.
2. http://mrkaysamericanlit.blogspot.com
Reflection:
Mr. Kay is an English Teacher at Lakeland High School (The school that I currently teach Health and PE courses), and has students blog on a daily basis. Writing across the curriculum has been a main focus in our building this school year. Through speaking to Marc Kay, he has said his student’s writing has improved drastically since the pilot of blogging in his classroom. When I asked him about blogging across the curriculum, he said that he wants other teachers to get “on board” with blogging. He was excited that I am interested in incorporating such an innovative tool to improve student writing.
As I looked through his website, I am eager to ask him more about how to go about posting and having students leave comments. I am more of a visual learner, and benefit from a face-to-face tutorial. I liked how he has his students write their first and last name along with the hour after each post. I would like to implement that as well.
*Today I contacted my media specialist and she sent in the web blog link http://lakelandhealtheducation.blogspot.com to be unblocked so that students can access it at school. Once it is unblocked I am going to post my first question to be answered by my students. Good thing I asked her today because she responded by saying, “OK, I submitted the request, but there has to be a vote before the district web manager can open the site. Normally there is a delay of several days but hopefully it will not take that long. “
· Resources that may help guide your project
· Resources that may help in the implementation of your project
Teacher Tools and Resources:
This website offers a tool to integrate blogging into the classroom. It comes from an online magazine for k-5 teachers, however all grade level teachers can use this site as an informational resource. This content comes specifically from, WATER, ICE, AND SNOW – ISSUE 5, AUGUST 2008 and describes how to maximize the potential of technology into one’s pedagogy as well as how to integrate technology into instruction.
Areas of focus:
- what is a blog?
- why do teachers blog?
- getting your students blogging
- getting started
- free blogging services
www.epals.com
www.edublogs.org
www.blogger.com
(Blogging site that is a part of google)
- resources
2. http://edublogs.org/10-ways-to-use-your-edublog-to-teach/
Edublogs is one of the many free blogging sites offered among Web 2.0 technologies. This site describes 10 ways in which to implement blogging in the classroom.
www.http:/edublogs.org is an optional blogging site to use in the k-12 classroom.
3. http://blogsforlearning.msu.edu/
This site is listed under resources in the aforementioned article, WATER, ICE, AND SNOW – ISSUE 5, AUGUST 2008. Through searching through various links on this site, I was provided with information and resources about the technical and pedagogical aspects of blogging in the classroom. This site is geared toward college level blogging, however one can apply information to the k-12 classroom. I even came across a blog by Leigh Graves Wolf. You should check it out 
4. http://www.slideshare.net/dannynic/blogging-in-schools-presentation
This site offers a Quick Guide to Blogging slideshow.
· What is a blog
· What do I need?
· Why blog?
· Blogging for teachers
· Blogging with students
· Newsletters
· School trips
· Internet safety
5. http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tltoolkit/info_tech/info_tech_32_3.html
Information on Educational Blogging is expressed in this article.
Laurel A. Clyde discusses:
· educational blogging
· Weblogs as sources of information for teachers
· Weblogs in the curriculm
6. http://sherifabdou.com/2009/01/10-websites-that-offer-free-blog-hosting/
This blog site describes the 10 Best Free Blog-Host-Providers. It is an individuals opinion, however gives insight on various blogging sites.
Blogspot.com is a Blog site to use for educational purposes.
As stated previously, I have created an account to be used by my students using this blogging site by google:
http://lakelandhealtheducation.blogspot.com/
A free blogging site, however it looks very complicated. There is too much on the page for students to remain focused. It may be inappropriate to use for classroom purposes (as one of the blogs on the site expresses how to remove a hickey).
9. Title: Blog, Blog, Blog
Source: Writer (Vol. 119, No. 4)
Author: Marilyn Ross
Publication Date: April 2006
Page Number: 39-40
Database: SIRS Renaissance
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://0-www.sirs.com.catalog.wblib.org>
Summary: “Blogs run the gamut from detailed daily diaries to impassioned political journals–and everything in between….Why would [they] interest writers seeking to advance their careers? For several reasons.” ( Writer ) This profile emphasizes the usefulness of blogs for writers wanting to “draw the attention of a publishing-focused audience.” A list of resources is included.
10. Title: Science 2.0
Source: Scientific American Vol. 298, No. 5
Author: M. Mitchell Waldrop
Publication Date: May 2008
Page Number: 68-73
Database: SIRS Researcher
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source http://0-www.sirs.com.catalog.wblib.org
Summary:
“The first generation of World Wide Web capabilities rapidly transformed retailing and information search. More recent attributes such as blogging, tagging and social networking, dubbed Web 2.0, have just as quickly expanded people’s ability not just to consume online information but to publish it, edit it and collaborate about it–forcing such old-line institutions as journalism, marketing and even politicking to adopt whole new ways of thinking and operating. Science could be next. A small but growing number of researchers (and not just the younger ones) have begun to carry out their work via the wide-open tools of Web 2.0. And although their efforts are still too scattered to be called a movement–yet–their experiences to date suggest that this kind of Web-based ‘Science 2.0′ is not only more collegial than traditional science but considerably more productive.” (Scientific American) In this examination of Science 2.0 and the rise of open-access collaboration through the Internet, the author considers the technology’s potential to both support rapid innovation and diminish credibility within the scientific research community.
** I can e-mail the journal articles to your personal e-mail address **
Your report for this assignment should cover two aspects:
· The results of your search
Blogspot.com is easy to use
1. Go to blogspot.com or blogger.com (same website comes up)
2. Create Account
a. Blog title: ex Lakeland Health Education
b. Name Blog: ex. http://lakelandhealtheducation.blogspot.com
3. Choose a template
After searching through and creating a blog through blogspot, I finally found how to have students become authors to my site. Under the settings tab, there is a tab titled “permissions.” This allows other students to become authors of the page as well. I will have to input each student’s e-mail address in order for him or her to become authors of this page. I plan on speaking to one of my coworkers who uses blogspot in his English class. He has students blog every day after school- posting a relevant question to be answered as it pertains to the days lesson.
After searching the Internet, it has been determined that blogging is a beneficial tool to be used for educational purposes. I found an abundance of information on the implementation of blogging in the classroom and hope to apply it to Health Education.
Please see above information on teacher tools and resources, as they were beneficial in my blogging search
· What you learned from performing this search.
o For example, which search engines did you use?
I primarily used Google as a main search engine as it gave me an abundance of resources. I searched “blogging in schools,” and “blogs.” From each initial search, I found more resources imbedded within sites. Each resource I read had even more resources on each of the pages
o What strategies did you use?
One of the strategies that I used to find resources was to check out each link that was imbedded within articles and websites. When I did so, I found a great deal of information. I found so much information “googling” that I did not use another search engine to gather data.
o What helped or hindered your search?
Helped:
o The many resources that were imbedded within each site I searched
o There was an array of information to be found on the Internet
o Teacher Blogs with beneficial information to apply to my classroom
Hindered:
o Validity of each of the sources
o Some of the links to other sites (within the initial page) were not found
o How would you search again next time?
- I would use other search engines to guide my findings as well as different key words.
- I would find more scholarly journals
- I would look for more examples by various blogging sites.
- I would look up more examples from blogspot.com to see how each teacher or student has utilized this site
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
I liked the first resource you mentioned because it talked about using blogs with elementary students. There were a few things that she did that I thought would be helpful, including talking about cyberbullying, showing a “think before you post” movie, and having someway to help students understand what blogs were (ABC book in this case). I agree that it would be too basic for your students, but found it helpful for me!
I also think it is great you are able to get the blogging site unblocked. Not always, but sometimes just by asking some of our technology issues can be resolved. You mentioned posting your first question. Have you decided what that will be yet ?
Do any of your students blog on their own at home? Did you ask that in the survey? Just curious!
Thursday, April 16th, 2009 @ 8:04 pm
I think you have done a great job of collecting a wide variety of resources to help you with this project. I especially liked the two first hand experiences you were able to locate – its going to be really helpful to have someone in your district that is both knowledgeable and supportive. I think the student contract idea is an extremely valuable idea – its great to have a student permission to use contract with mis-use consequences prepared in advance. It was great to hear that your district supports student use of blogging – not all do. You may want to check out these two links. The Marzano link will provide research to support your use of blogs and the second contains an article titled “Hooked on Classroom Blogging.” Marzano’s 9 Strategies site ~ http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/professional_development/strategies/ Article at ~ http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Saturday, April 18th, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Excellent research! I too think that you have great ideas on using blogging with your students. I also thing that having someone else in your district somewhat blazing the trail, can give you some tips to make your experience less stressful or difficult.
Having a contract with your students will definitely help with ethical issues. I like the contract idea because it makes the students become aware of their boundaries and when they cross them they can’t say, “Well I didn’t know that! You didn’t say anything about that.” You can then get the students contract and show them where the rule was located. It can be a powerful lesson on why it is important to read everything before you sign something!
Sunday, April 19th, 2009 @ 11:37 pm
Glad you found that blog post helpful! I definitely think the ABC’s of blogging is way to simple for High School, but some of the videos we use at the middle/elementary level might also work for you. Good luck!