When I interviewed for my position at my current school, I had all these grandiose ideas that I spouted out about the many benefits of teacher blogs. I told my principal about awesome examples of blogs I had seen (from random teaching blogs I had come across on the internet AND blogs created by personal friends and colleagues) and how I was going to incorporate all these amazing ideas into a blog of my own that would benefit my students and their families.
Well, I got the job (hopefully not JUST because of my blogging ideas).... and September came, then October, then before I knew it, it was Christmas.....and that amazing blog that I dreamt up never happened. To cut myself some slack, I was teaching a new grade in a new school and with everything that came along with my new responsibilities, I just never found the time or energy to create a class blog.
This year will be different!
That leads me to goal number one (out of many technology-related goals that I have set [and will blog about!] for myself and my classroom this upcoming year), which is inspired by the Web 2.0 class that I am taking this term at Lesley University. I want to find the most effective way to create and utilize a classroom blog for the upcoming school year. So the idea and intention are there, now the real work begins. I imagine the most important thing I need to do is determine a purpose for my blog. So far, this is what I have:
1) Provide effective communication about classroom assignments and expectation to families.
2) Provide a resource for my students when working on any given assignment in class.
3) Document the happenings of Ms. Carlyle's class for students, their families, and other staff members.
My next step is going to be spending quite a bit of time reading classroom blogs (particularly 6th grade) and decide what I think will work best for my students and me. I'm going to start out combing through one of my greatest inspirations (both the blog and the person) which is a classroom blog written by Stephanie Tjaden at Emerald Park Elementary in Kent, WA. (You can find her blog here).I have a feeling I will also get suggestions for blogs to look at through my peers at Lesley University and where else but Pinterest! So for now faithful readers (all two of you... Hi Grandma!), I am off to find what makes a good classroom blog!
Hi, Grandma... LOL. Muchas gracias Brooke!
ReplyDeleteI do have to say, my biggest surprise is how few parents check the blog, even with emailed links & hints dropped. Track parents did, but not classroom.
Yes, our district is trying to block & limit blog access from district comps, which was very hit & miss the past few years.
I like to use blogspot to post assignments for lab (great if you have a sub), math HW Smartboard snips, as well as peer scoring of prompts.
Good luck on your blog adventures. Call if you need support! xx
Disclaimer: on my phone, so apologize for typos.
Steph :)
I have these GIGANTIC ideas floating around in my brain all because of this Web 2.0 class I am taking right now for my Masters. I'm picturing not only teacher created classroom bog...But I would love to see my students blogging as well, or at least communicating with their peers and myself via a class wiki page or something!! It would put a BIG damper on my plans to have valuable websites blocked! I had to make a Voice Thread introductory video about myself for this class and tell a little about where I teach and my experience with technology. I said the following, "My district prides itself in being very technologically advanced...however it is very clear that we have a LONG way to go, especially in schools like mine!" I want to run some of these ideas by my administration....but I think I should get them organized in my head first :) I'm going to send you a really cool *small* article to your school email that you might find interesting. Thanks for the love Steph!
ReplyDeleteI will check that tomorrow night when I get home...why check work email before bed, ha, ha. ;)
DeleteSo, that is exactly what I said. You go to computer lab and only half of the kids can get on the blog. Or, I can't even upload a jpg of the math lesson from the smartboard from school. I take my smart phone to the lab and have to moderate comments from it sometimes, since it might be that day that the blogs are blocked for me to log-on.
I thought we were ahead of the curve, tech-wise, but the people running the IT dept. aren't necessarily teachers or people who have been in the classroom for many years.
Since your principal used to be an IT guy, maybe he can have some sway with them. I take a jpeg every single time I'm blocked and put a "ticket" in for it. That's why when I ran into the IT person, I was told they now posted rules for us to abide by. Good thing she likes me, huh?
S
Brook, This is my goal for the 2013-14 year, as well, and will be tied into my evaluation. So, I look forward to keeping up with your blog and seeing your successes and learning with you. Give yourself a break about your first year...you survived it and I'm sure everything you did was amazing. Now that it's "under your belt", you can start the blogging. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteEveryone starts out their teaching career with high hopes and LOTS of plans! Well, I hate to tell you most of us didn't do the majority of these. Don't beat yourself up over it. The first year is a lot without trying to conquer the world. Little by little you will add more to your teaching and curriculum. Maybe this year you add a blog and next year you add something else like a podcast. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to start it all at the same time because then nothing will get done.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the blog! I am going to start mine this year, too! We can struggle together.