Thank goodness for this book: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools.
I am truly enjoying this book! It is such a relief to understand what I am reading about something I understand a little about!
I want to start a blog with my class and in the future, have my students create their own blogs. I was feeling comfortable about this after reading Chapter 3: Weblogs: Get Started! It is a great explanation of how to implement blogging in the classroom (and how to refine mine!). Edublogs and 21 Classes are two blog spaces for teachers to use with their classes. Both websites offer suggestions as to how to implement and sensor student blogging.
Chapter 4 amazes me as to how we are living in a world of technology that permits us to communicate and share across the world! What a great example of this is the story of the Wikipedia post about the tsunami of Christmas 2004 .
I'm not sure if I would count Wikipedia as an accurate source for classroom research projects (even though Steve Jobs said it is "one of the most accurate encyclopedias in the world"). I find it difficult to rely on a source that anyone can edit and submit it. However, I do find it useful for a general understanding of a subject or event. I do like the idea of using wikis in the classroom for students to create a class Wikipedia. One example of this was how Mrs. Maine used wikis with her students. I like how Mrs. Maine used wikis in her biology classroom. She used it with her students to share the experiments and data with all her classes. It was a great way to share the experiences and work!
Check out this YouTube video of how to use Kidblog! It provides useful step by step instructions about using Kidblog! Cannot wait to get started!
I can definitely relate to your feelings about technology. I also considered myself pretty tech savvy until one of my students had to show me how to find a tool on my SmartBoard! There are so many great resources available for the classroom and I wish I had more time to explore although our book has certainly given me some great ideas to try!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Kate! At times I feel confident and then I'm humbled by my students and even my four year old son showing me something new with technology! I would love to know how you use a blog in your classroom and your thoughts about using KidBlog with first graders.
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