Blog Use In My Classroom

 




    The blog for my classroom will be for teacher use. I teach Kindergarten, so they do not have the skills of fluently reading or typing responses. I would use my blog to give my students a place to check announcements, get assignments of what we did in class each day, or see what is assigned for homework. I could post links to read alouds, videos, or important information that my students and families should be aware of. My classroom blog would be a place that my students are supplied with all of the information about their learning and school environment. Shannon (2017) stated I her journal, “Blogging is a great way to write and share ideas and serves as a jumping-off point for the many other ways that students can write and share content” (p. 23). Accessing my blog site can give my students more exposure to reading. The families can read the posts to my students as they try and read along. The students are able to use technology to receive information in various ways and resources to demonstrate their level of understanding of the curriculum (ISTE Standards for Students, 1c, 2016). Although the age and skill level of students I am teaching is not able to participate in discussions by commenting and asking questions, they are growing their skills by being exposed to literacy on a different media, as well as, becoming familiar with the use of technology and a resource that will be used in later years. 


Reference

ISTE Standards for Students. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-               students

SHANNON, J. (2017). Ten Reasons to Create a Classroom Blog. Practical Literacy: The             Early & Primary Years, 22(3), 21–23.


 


Comments

  1. M AngeloSeptember 16, 2020 at 8:06 AM

    Hello! I also understand the challenges of teaching students not independent on the computer. I am creating my blog to share information and follow up activities with families. I want learning to continue outside of the classroom. One challenge I anticipate is English as a second language families will need to be able to access the blog, to support their child, in their language. Have you considered identifying resources to help you translate your posts?

    I am also curious about which ISTE standards for educators you feel is reflected in your blog?

    Thank you for sharing!!

    -Mary Angelo EDUC6710j
    https://myteachersaidyay.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brenna DohertySeptember 16, 2020 at 2:03 PM

      Mary,

      I am experiencing the same questions with the students that are in my class. I have two families that speak different languages and one communicates through an older sibling. I want to find ways to break the barrier so I can communicate with the families at home. If you have found any resources to use, please let me know!

      I felt that the ISTE standards for educators (2016) that fit my blog post was 1c. It states, "Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways."

      Reference:
      ISTE Standards for Students. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for- students

      Delete
  2. The Techy TeacherSeptember 16, 2020 at 9:27 AM

    I really love the idea of using the blog for morning/daily announcements. I currently post our morning announcments and work on the board for everyone to see, but I think creating a blog could be fun. Reading your blog has inspried me to have my 4th graders create our morning work annoucements. I am thinking of assigning them a week and by Friday they get to decide the morning work activity and share anything they want. That would really make coming into school more interactive and exciting.

    I know working with Kindergarten students may be a challenge with using sophisticated technology like blogs, but I think they would really love to see themselves featured in the blog, especially if this is something that families can see. Have you thought of incorporating a Star Student and featuring them in the blog? You could take a picture of them in front of their Star Student poster or whatever you choose to use and underneath that picture could be a little bit about the student. It still gives you control of creating the blog, but it also allows your students to get excited about being featured in your class blog. By simply allowing your students to choose where they want their picture to go will start getting them to think has an innoative designer. They will start to think about and practice the skills of organization and layout (ISTE Standards for Students, 4b, 2016), even if it is very rudimentary. I love your ideas, just one way to get your students more involved.

    ISTE Standards for Students. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for- students

    -Jess DeGracie EDUC671j
    https://thetechyteacher4th.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brenna DohertySeptember 16, 2020 at 2:07 PM

      Jess,
      I absolutely love the idea of posting the Star Student on my blog! The students can tell me anything they would like to share and I can write it for them. I teach two classes a day, am and pm, and this would help in introducing all of my students to each other even though they are in separate classes! Thank you!!

      Delete
  3. RyanSeptember 19, 2020 at 3:59 AM

    I think using the blog for other teachers is great but as a communication tool for parents to see what is happening in the classroom could make it an even more powerful. Our school's primary section using Seesaw as a type of classroom blogging portal that teachers can use to share what is happening in the classroom on a daily basis. Teachers can post images, videos, audio recordings or written reflections on learning. What I've encouraged teachers to empower their students to take ownership of these posts. Students as young as 5 are posting pictures of their work with short captions about their learning. This is a great example of using the Empowered Learner Standard 1: Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. This also starts to develop a student digital portfolio of work that is used to document their primary learning. For me, Seesaw has been an invaluable tool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownSeptember 20, 2020 at 9:53 AM

    Hi!
    I relate a lot with you because I also teach Kindergarten and majority of my students do not have the reading skills as of yet to read or read independently. I like that you will use the blog to post what you do in the classroom every day. Will you provide a session or tutorial for parents that don't know how to use or find your blog? Teaching the parents how to use your blog, might give you the opportunity to post assignments/homework and ask parents take a picture or record responses to post in your blog. I like to involve parents when assigning work because I believe it creates a teacher- parent relationship as well as a stronger parent-child relationship. This also allows for students to become Empowered Learners (ISTE 1). Although an adult might be doing all the reading from your posts, but it gives students the opportunity to learn using a different platform.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Catherine Claros CruzSeptember 20, 2020 at 9:56 AM

    Hi!
    I relate a lot with you because I also teach Kindergarten and majority of my students do not have the reading skills as of yet to read or read independently. I like that you will use the blog to post what you do in the classroom every day. Will you provide a session or tutorial for parents that don't know how to use or find your blog? Teaching the parents how to use your blog, might give you the opportunity to post assignments/homework and ask parents take a picture or record responses to post in your blog. I like to involve parents when assigning work because I believe it creates a teacher- parent relationship as well as a stronger parent-child relationship. This also allows for students to become Empowered Learners (ISTE 1). Although an adult might be doing all the reading from your posts, but it gives students the opportunity to learn using a different platform.

    - Catherine Claros Cruz
    https://mscruzteacheskindergarten.edublogs.org/

    ReplyDelete

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