Thing #4

It is amazing how much blogging has grown. I was actually surprised that one of the blogs I read was from a 5th grader in 2005. I loved looking at this. There were so many great comments that encouraged anyone who struggles in school to keep working. I could see how blogging could be used to encourage our students. School counselors could use this as a way of working with students, since sometimes hearing from another student, instead of an adult, can have a bigger impact. I also like the fact that blogging gives our students the opportunity to use technology. There are so many practical uses for it. As I was looking over the blogs I found one I could use for creative writing. The teacher used the blog to allow her students to communicate with an actual author. What a fantastic idea!

Some of the other blogs I looked at I just found very interesting. I typically don't assign homework so the first blog I looked at was about why a teacher had decided not to assign homework. I agree with almost everything he said and it looked like lots of others agree as well. I found Vicki Davis' blog a little frighting, but very true. I have heard many stories about students using their cell phones to record things in class and it's not always for a good cause. I loved where she talks about the fact that teachers are going to need to start teaching ethics about devices in the classroom. How else are our students going to learn?

Overall, I find blogging very interesting. Especially with the fact that I can see so many different ways to use it in my classroom. I'm actually looking forward to next year when I try this out with my own classes.