As I was reading Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson, I came across a list of why you should use Blogs in your classroom. Three of his ideas really stood out to me.
The first idea was using a blog as a means for discussion. If, say, every week you posted a new discussion question (in the language that you are teaching in your classroom), you could have students post their opinion within the first three days. The for the last four days of the week, the students would be responsible for posting responses to at least 2 or 3 of their classmates ideas in the L2. This is giving them the opportunity to use the L2 in a real life setting, practice using new technology and showing them that their opinion matters. You could use world wide topics, school topics, community topics, etc.
The second idea was to use the blog as a means for students to do and submit work. If each student had to create and maintain a blog I think the final products would be very interesting. They could post their essays/dialogs/opinions/ etc. to their blog. They could show their work to the world and to the teacher. Parents would be able to access the website (I'm not sure they would all understand the language, but who cares!). I think this would be an interesting way to complete a project for a topic in their L2 Class.
The final idea was using a blog as a class organizer. Students could frequently check the blog to look at their homework, when tests are coming up, what they missed if they were absent, what are the project guidelines, etc. I think it would save the teacher time in the long run to be able to just have students look at the website. Parents and administrators would also be able to look at the website and learn about what is going on in your classroom.
All in all I think blogs can be a really helpful tool in the L2 classroom.
3 comentarios:
Hi Mary Caitlin,
I think you have mentioned a few good ideas on using the internet in L2 classroom. Truthfully, I was a bit skeptical about using weblog for my future classroom. However, after reading the text and researching some more, I ended up hitting myself on the head for missing out on such a wonderful tool. Considering the time I spent in front of the computer, I can't believe I've never thought about using weblogs for my classroom! In any case, I hope you'll have a chance to use the ideas you mentioned and best of luck to both of us :)
Mary Caitlan,
Good choice of ways to use blogs in the classroom. I especially like having the students comment on each other's posts. That increases motivation for both the "poster" and the "commenter."
I love your graphic!
Dr. Burgos
Hi Mary,
I agree with your last idea,
The blog will be very effective medium for most of learners to be on the right track.
Especially, the student who were absent in class or those who missed something or couldnt catch up on lesson will get help.
looking forward to your next posting!
Minyoung
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