Welcome

Welcome to our Class Blog!
We'll use this blog to comment on readings for Chapters 1-3 of Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts. By commenting here, you'll get practice in blogging while you go about the task of setting up your own blog. (See Blogging Assignment for guidelines).

In the right sidebar, I have included A Blog List, which will provide updates on each of your blogs. [Until you have set up your blogs, I am keeping a sample of several blogs from last Spring.]

Use the The Link List: Sample Teacher Blogs to find an example blog to comment on in the first assignment.

Click on Blogging Basics for more information.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Discussion Question #1 (Week 2)

Many teachers read educator blogs to keep abreast of latest developments. (For background on blogs, see this article: www.teachervision.fen.com/educational-technology/blog/33550.html.)
To get a sense of how teachers are using blogs, look over the education blogs listed on the Link List: Sample Teacher Blogs (in the right sidebar--below the list of group blogs). (Alternately, you can search for an Education Blog of your choice). Comment on this message, telling why you were interested in the blog you have selected. Provide the URL for  the blog so that others can view it easily.  Initial comments due by Saturday. Respond to at least ONE other class members' comments by Tuesday.

(If you want to include a clickable link in your comments, here's how.)

25 comments:

  1. I stumbled across Missy McCarthy's Flipped Classroom Blog (http://www.mathwithmccarthy.com/flipped-classroom-blog.html) last spring when I was doing some research on the flipped classroom. Ms. McCarthy's was the first resource I came across where the flipping was being used by a math teacher.

    I especially like Ms. McCarthy's blog because it shows a high school math teacher's real experiences using technology. Since the math teachers with whom I work are not tech savvy, being able to read about Ms. McCarthy's experiences is helpful and encouraging. I also enjoy her conversational style.

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    1. Thank you so much for locating this blog. I read several entries, including her recent use of Ask3 (an iPad app). The blog not only illustrates an excellent reason for teachers to blog (to reflect on classroom learning), but also it provides us with an authentic window into an excellent teacher's thoughtful integration of technology into her teaching. I applaud her willingness to share her reflections in a public space! I am so impressed with this teacher's willingness to include her students in her journey of discovery (about what approaches to flipping the classroom work/don't work). ( I noticed that one of her students commented one one of her posts.)

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  2. I was very excited to find this blog under the links provided! Patties Blog
    I have actually stumbled upon this blog before while explore one of my all time favorite sites, Pinterest. I love Patties Classroom blog because it provides so many resources that I can use in my own classroom. She teaches one grade level below mine, but I can easily adapt the lessons and ideas to fit second grade. I like how she posts images and student work as she goes through the year. The blog really allows you to peak into her classroom and truly get a feel for what it would be like. I also like that she provides links to describe herself and math games. Her blog uses a format that I have been seeing a lot when reading other teacher blogs. I would like to use a similar format on my own.

    P.S. I hope I did this link correctly!

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    1. Hi Sarah,
      I was not able to follow your link to Patties Blog.
      ~Louisa

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    2. Thanks Louisa. There must have been something write with my code. The address is http://pattiesclassroom.blogspot.com/

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    3. Hi Sarah,

      I really enjoyed reading Patty's Blog. It's just the kind of think I could see me doing if I taught that level. I really love my job and my teen girls (most of the time), but looking at Patty's Blog leaves a little bit of yearning for those delightfully precocious little ones (and paint and glitter and stuff).

      My one wish is that the Page was broken up a bit. I'm sure, for the parents and students, it's nice to have the whole day laid out on one page, but I kind of got tired of scrolling down trough the page.

      Thank you for sharing http://pattiesclassroom.blogspot.com/.
      ~Louisa

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    4. Thanks for helping we out with the link, Louisa. I also wish the page was broken up a bit more.

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  3. I wanted to share this blog that I have used many times just to get some great ideas to use with my own first grade students which I came upon through Pinterest one night randomly searching for an activity. The blog is called First Grade Garden and is so rich with ideas, pictures, and many different resources you can take away and use. I love that there are pictures of her classroom with the students actually completing the activities or assignments. Many of these ideas I have taken and adapted to fit the needs of my own students. This blog is easy to use and I also love that you can find other links to blogs through her site which are also very useful and rich with ideas. The bright colors made me interested which was how I really got into reading through this blog. I want my blog to catch a viewer's attention through vibrant colors and easy navigation just like this one.
    The link for the blog is:



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    1. http://first-grade-garden.blogspot.com/



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    2. Hi Ashleigh,

      First-Grade-Garden is a great blog. Thank you for sharing. I especially liked her creativity in keeping her students' identities hidden - the use of a smiley face to cover their actual faces is inspirational. Amanda's enthusiasm comes through loud and clear. Her "Five for Friday" and "Currently" posts are neat ideas.

      Thank you for sharing this blog.

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  4. I am actually quite excited about learning how to set up my own blog and using blog posts as a form of communication in this course. Blogging is a cross-referenced and invaluable tool used by a vast segment of the education community. Since last summer, the Edutopia Web site has become a constantly used resource as I seek perspectives across different disciplines. While researching the collaborative teaching concept this past week, I came across the blog post for Monica Burns, under the Edutopia Web site. In addition to posting about the CTC, the blogger offers perspectives in education and technology and how she applies it to her classroom setting. I enjoyed the information shared by the blogger, because she touches on some of the primary reasons why integrating technology will become a mainstay and necessary for student learning. There are three blogs posted, which I find useful since I am also a new blogger. Please review the blogs at http://www.edutopia.org/user/195582. Please cut and paste the link into the browser.

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    2. Hi Kia,

      Thank you for the Edutopia source. I took a look at Monica Burns's site. It's very interesting. I like how she develops lessons for her fifth grade class that are aligned to the Common Core and use technology effectively. Her many suggestions and evaluations of iPad apps is an invaluable resource for any teacher who might be using iPads in the classroom.

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  5. I chose (on a whim) Free Technology for Teachers, and found that it is not only informative, but a great resource for our cash strapped schools. The icing on the cake is the fact that the author, Richard Byre, has been awarded for his contributions through his blog writing.
    He includes everything from tools and uses, to keeping up with current events- Interactive Resources for Learning About Asteroids. It is a great blog for any teacher to subscribe to.

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    1. Rob
      I liked this site too. What I really like is that it includes middle and high school ideas too. I find it very hard to find middle school examples for my subject on-line.
      I especially love the NASA links and the killer asteroid activity. Although my space unit is not until May, the 8th grade space unit is now and with the asteroid in the new this week this is a great and relevant activity.

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    2. Thanks for this great site Free Technology for Teachers,

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    3. Rob, thanks sharing about this blog. I like the asteroid resource page because I co-teach 8th grade science. Even though we have already finished our astronomy unit, it was pretty cool hearing about the meteorite in Russia and sharing videos with my students. I also like the section of the blog you posted that shares Android applications. I just went to an English department meeting last week where our department head shared websites our students can access on their phones during an in class lesson.

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  6. I choose TCPS Science Blog.
    http://www.tcps.org/blogs/science/

    I choose this site because as a science teacher I am looking for ideas on how to blog with my students. In my county before you can start blogging you must take an on-line class about online safety with students. Once you have taken the class you then must take a second class on how to use Edmodo (the only site my county will let us use). Each class is only 2-3 weeks long and all on-line.

    I have completed both classes, however with the topics that are covered in my science class blogging is not always easy. This site has already given me several ideas on how to use blogging in my class.

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    1. Christina,

      This is a really nice site. It is very inclusive of a lot of a variety of topics. I will model this site, or at least some of its content when I set up my blog for my students. I enjoyed the visuals (except for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich--gross!). It provides great reference information and is interactive. I wonder how often the students go on or if it is a better resource for parents and other educators. I wish that it attracted more comments, because it is laid out so nicely.
      Thanks for sharing.
      Kai

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  7. I did my own Google search for teacher blogs and stummbled along this blog:

    Teachforever

    I like the blog because it talks about a variety of teaching topics relevant to me and mentions in one post using popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter to teach.

    The above site also includes a link to another blog that interests me:

    Teachblogging


    This blog specializes in creating, and teaching students to use blogs.





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    2. Hi Natalie,
      I like the teach forever site becuase it provides such a variety of information. I found a lot of great articles as well as inspirational quotes.

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  8. I found a great site:
    http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

    Please if you get a chance check it out. He even talks about setting up an Rss feed.

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  9. Hi Doane,
    I thoroughly enjoyed reading through David Warlick's blog. He has a very friendly, conversational style that left me feeling almost as if I had sat down and had a conversation with him. Thank you for sharing this blog. It has been added to my RSS feed.

    I particularly enjoyed reading his post from 2/11, concerning Darren Kurpatwa's excitement over students using the built in image search and format features of Google Docs. I am in the process of helping my colleagues become comfortable with the Google Apps for Education. As such, this is one feature I would like to spend more time discussing with them. I can see us having a "discussion" regarding this feature and using this resource will help us along our journey.

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    ReplyDelete