Okay I guess it is official... I am a blogger! I mentioned to colleagues at work that I had to have a blog for this class and laughed "what would I do as a math teacher?" They assured me that I can easily have an entry a day without any concern! Really!?!?! This surprises me.... I am a talker and love to tell stories but to write?
Well they have assured me that I will love this outlet! So I am excited! Now just to get participants... that's the next goal.
How would I get my 6th grade math students to use the blog space? For journaling and linking math to every day life would be the most obvious. I would like to provide a way for the students to add posts through comments that would show how they see math in real life and especially the material we cover when it arises in real life. So that would be a definite goal of my blog!
But what about the curriculum? Do you think the students would share their homework concerns with each other or confusion on a concept with each other through a blog? I think this would be a great use of a blog. Allowing the children to discuss the current homework assignment and the process they used to solve the problem. This is the ultimate form of learning I think. However, with my school's requirements that all posts should be screened would a homework/ concept help spot be beneficial if they have to wait to see their posts?
I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate links on my site, I might have to switch sources for my blog, I think having links and activities for the students to find interactive material would be great and comes highly recommended by my panel of experts ( Nonny's gang)!
Just some Words of Wisdom from me ... please share yours with me!!!
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I really like the idea of your students connecting math to everyday life and describing why they think they should know the math skills you are teaching them. I also like the idea of having the students teach each other about math concepts on your homework blog. Even though they may not be able to respond to each others blogs immediately, I think your students could still benefit from learning from others rather than hearing it from the teacher all of the time. This just gives them another avenue of discussing math and sharing links and information with each other. I know you are considering posting interactive sites on your blog which I still think you could incorporate with your homework blog. You could respond to the students' questions by suggesting websites for them visit for more practice.
ReplyDeleteKatherine
Enabling the students to view questions and answers from their peers is a wonderful tool to have on your blog. Many times I feel as though students can really help one another when there is confusion about the directions of an assignment. You had mentioned that there would be a feature where students could discuss the current homework assignment and the process they used to solve the problem. Do you think that some students will take advantage of this feature and wait for an "answer" to be posted on your blog on how to solve the problem rather attempting to solve it on their own first? I think that screening posts would be a good idea for this section as it may prevent student reliance on others for accurate answers.
ReplyDeleteI'm still getting use to using a blog as well. I find that incorporating some things into my blog are easier than others. For instance, adding pictures to my blog is a little difficult since I want to place them in a certain spot, crop them, etc. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon, or I'll just have to get use to the placement and appearance of my pictures.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on blogging in the classroom. You'll have to keep us updated on how it works out. :)