Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jog and Blog
I am a special education teacher and I teach students with learning disabilities. I currently teach Senior English and I also have two resource periods called Study Skills. I see this blog as a way to bridge the gap with the students and another way for me to assess my students. I would use a blog to check students understanding of the materials that were covered during the day. I would kind of" jog" their brains about the information that was covered in the daily lessons, and then they can "blog" their comments and responses. I think that the students would get into blogging. The first thought that came to mind is that the students would kind of think of this as checking a MYSPACE page. The students are so consumed with MYSPACE and texting these days. I know that they would get a kick out of the ability to do their homework from their phones! I would also post all of the things that will help their success with the course work, such as syllabus, lesson plans, etc. I would also use this blog as a way for students to communicate with me and each other about old and new concepts that they may need further instruction and modifications. I am so excited about this blog and I can't wait to see how far it will go.
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I like your title for your activity. :) Also I feel like it would be very useful for you to provide a place to review without spending class time on it. Would you make the Jog and Blog a required part of the students' grades or would it be a supplemental activity?
ReplyDeleteDo the majority of your students have internet access at home or is this something that they would do at school? I agree that students are obsessed with MySpace! Perhaps one of the most important things that we can teach them about internet usage is that no one is truly anonymous. Some students in our school think they can say whatever they want online. However, they are in for a big shock when they are suspended from school for threatening or harassing another student online.
ReplyDeleteI believe that any teacher who plans to have their students participate in a blog should first model appropriate usage to prevent problems. Unless students are required to log in under a personal account before posting, all contributions should be moderated to protect the student, the teacher, and the school.
I love the idea of the "Jog and Blog." It sounds like it would enhance the communication not just with your students, but the parents could read what their children were doing also. This would be great to enhance parent involvement.
ReplyDeleteI love all of your comments.
ReplyDeleteApril, I think that I would start off by making it a supplemental actvity at first. I would probably give the students extra credit points for posted the blog. I would eventually like to make it a mandatory part of the class that I would inform the parents of by including it in the syllabus.
Susanna,
The students have daily access to computers because of grant that our district received. Not only can they use the computers in the labs and library, but we also have laptop carts that teachers check out weekly. I do understand your concern about the students privacy issues and inappropriate usage. Fortunately, each student already has their own log in account and can be monitored at all times. The students sign a usage and release form when they register for school, and they understand that they can have consequences for innapropriate use or comments. In fact, students have received suspensions because of it. I would probably send home another form to give permission to post their comments on the site as an extra precaution. Thanks.