Monday, January 17, 2011

Welcome to ED 2255 Spring 2011!

List some ways that a blog could be used with the students in your classroom. State possible advantages and disadvantages.

23 comments:

  1. An advantage of using a blog is that it is a great way to share ideas with class mates and instructors outside of the class room.

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  2. Provide feedback on projects they might like to do. Gives everyone a chance to participate. It doesn't allow for real-time discussion or debate.

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  3. A blog can be used...

    - in a service learning project to keep the community/ participants informed on the progress being made.
    - to communicate with parents (newsletter type situation)
    - as a reflective journal for individual students (tie in w/ literacy curriculum)

    some disadvantages:
    lack of internet access @ home or
    not enough computers at school
    privacy issues

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  4. Jon

    If the teacher forgot to mention something during class regarding the topic of discussion, it would be a great way to inform students after the fact and help to add clarity.

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  5. Nicholas Lombardo

    A blog could be a great way for a teacher to display all upcoming assignments in an organized manner. It would also be a nice way where students could collaborate and comment on future assignments.
    One disadvantage could be that some students may not have internet access at home. Teachers do not want to rely on blogs or the internet for the only source of information, because often times the internet goes down, for example due to a power outage.

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  6. A blog can be used for students to exchange ideas visually through the internet. This way, other students get to actually read another student's input and take in their idea as opposed to small comments made by classmates during the class session. Those comments may be easily forgotten. A disadvantage of blogging may be the fact that it's not an exchange in person so other students can't see or hear the expression behind the idea noted.

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  7. Angelo Monterosso

    Fortunately i have used and have experiences with blogging cites before. There are many advantages to a blog. For example, one advantage is to share ideas and information. One disadvantage is that there is a lack of one on one communication verbally.

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  8. I think that a blog can be helpful to students because there are some students who do not wish to speak up in class due to shyness or not being able to think of something they might deem as "valuable." A blog gives students a space where they can express any thoughts without the added pressures of a classroom setting. A disadvantage that follows along the same lines is that students may rely too heavily on the blog for participation and not exercise the skill of vocally expressing thoughts in front of people.

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  9. Blogs could be an effective for students to use in a classroom setting because it can allow them to answer prompts or questions posted by the teacher about the material being discussed in class and there for the teacher can have a better understanding of what the student is learning in the class and where some of there strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, this can be a way to instigate a discussion in the classroom because a question can be asked of the students for homework and then at the beginning of the next class period review the responses to the questions and start a conversation from there. Blogs can be disadvantageous because not everyone has access to a computer and furthermore, its a rather informal form of discussion.

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  10. Students can use blogs after presentations of other students that will give them positive and negative feedback. If the feedback is negative the student can remain anonymous so nobody's feelings are hurt.
    They can be negative because a student can ask someone else to write their blog for them if they forget and the teacher would never know.

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  11. One way a blog could be advantageous would be that the blog creates another way for a student to participate especially if the student has trouble talking in front of a class. The blog could also be a way to add comments to the class that a student really wanted to express but wasn't able to do to time restraint.

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  12. If we had a discussion in class and not every student had the opportunity to voice their opinion, a blog would be a great way to give every student a chance to share their ideas about the class discussion. In addition, some students are timid and do not like to speak up in class, so it gives them an opportunity to share their opinions.
    The advantage is that it gives everyone a chance to voice their ideas.
    The disadvantage would be that some students do no go back to read their other students posts; therefore, it does not work efficiently because students are not reading their other students' ideas.

    Lauren Sniscak

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  13. A blog can be used so that all students within the class can express their opinions on important topics discussed in class. It is a great way for those students who don't participate much in-class to give their take on the topic in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. Another advantage of blogs is that they allow a greater interaction between the students in the class that may not interact otherwise.

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  14. Bryan Baker
    Blogs are a good tool that can be used outside the classroom. With access students can enter into discussions at any instant. This could help students with homework, studying, and ideas that are taught in class. Being at their fingers tips, blogs could also contribute to more cheating.

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  15. I believe a blog is a positive thing to use with your students. A lot of things students might not think of something right away or do not want to say it in class in front of everyone. However, a blog gives them the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. A negative aspect of blogging is that students might not check the blog to see if other classmates made any comments that day. So blogs could be unread by many students and they will not benefit from what was posted.

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  16. Students can use a classroom blog for multiple purposes. One way is to share with the class new ideas that they have learned, as well as questions they have to the material. This is an advantage since it promotes reflection on new learning, as well engaging curiosity. Another advantage of a blog is to promote social networking tools, which may be helpful later on in life. One disadvantage to classroom blog is that a student or group of students could have trouble or anxiety with technology. Another disadvantage is that students can use the blog to publicly bully other students.

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  17. An advantage to blogging with a classroom could be that the students who do not feel comfortable speaking aloud in the classroom environment have another outlet to provide information and have their voice heard. However, it could be a disadvantage as well, because students may portray it as encouragement to not speak aloud in class and this may effect social interactions within the classroom, as well as a classroom which does not interact very well.

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  18. A blog allows a creative outlet for students. The instructor could then learn the students' thoughts on the class as well as how the student may think or express themselves. It is also useful for teachers in getting word out to students about any changes or updates on the class.

    One negative is that a blog does not allow for an effective back and forth between people in that it does not properly simulate a real classroom discussion.

    - Nick Noyes

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  19. A blog can be used to assess students reactions to different things that they've learned. Some students may feel more comfortable writing on a blog than participating in class which can be advantageous. In my field (Art) a blog might work well to learn more about the students interests or to display their work. Disadvantages might be that students may have limited access to a computer or other technology to create a blog. Another disadvantage might be that kids could also use what others write on their blog against them.-Meghan

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  20. A blog could be a great way for students to share their creative writing in an English class. It would be advantageous for them to have access to comments, critiques, constructive criticism, and praise from their peers. A disadvantage could be inappropriate material, but this could be remedied by blog moderation.

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  21. Molly Swisher

    An advantage for secondary English students would be that often times students do not feel reading books really relates to their lives, yet they are frequently engaged in alternative forms of literacy. The blog incorporates students' real world knowledge and offers the opportunity for them to voice their opinions and experiences.

    My disadvantage comes from my own personal experience with blog assignments, that they are easy to forget. If a student has trouble remembering to do their homework, they might often forget the blog because it is not physically in their bookbag with their other handouts.

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  22. I believe a blog would be a great way for students to expand their learning into their daily lives making classroom relative to what they do daily which is take part in social and virtual activities. By having the blog the students are engaging in an activity innate to them already. I believe this is an advantage to students because they can find a "medium" between academic lessons and real world practicality and usage for such social platforms such as a blog. However, the limit to a blog as an educational medium, for most students the blog activity will stop at the end of the day due to limited technology resources at home. Therefore having the opportunity to expand the classroom into the student's personal life is limited if they don't have the technological access at home. This is an issue most teachers will have to face when using blogs in schools with students that have little technological access at home and even at schools.

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  23. I believe a blog would be a great way for students to expand their learning into their daily lives making classroom relative to what they do daily which is take part in social and virtual activities. By having the blog the students are engaging in an activity innate to them already. I believe this is an advantage to students because they can find a "medium" between academic lessons and real world practicality and usage for such social platforms such as a blog. However, the limit to a blog as an educational medium, for most students the blog activity will stop at the end of the day due to limited technology resources at home. Therefore having the opportunity to expand the classroom into the student's personal life is limited if they don't have the technological access at home. This is an issue most teachers will have to face when using blogs in schools with students that have little technological access at home and even at schools.

    ReplyDelete